In eCommerce, there’s something new every day. Now comes Google Merchant Next, the evolution of Merchant Center with a new user experience. Its main purpose is to simplify the tool and make it more appealing to advertisers.
What is Google Merchant Next?
Google Merchant Next, like Google Merchant, is a comprehensive eCommerce platform developed by Google. It gives online merchants an efficient way to list, promote and sell their products directly across Google’s channels, such as Google Search, Google Shopping and the Google Display Network.
Key features of Google Merchant Next
The impact of Google Merchant Center Next on PPC specialists and direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands remains to be seen. According to reports from early beta users, some features are missing from the new interface, suggesting additional transition steps will be needed to avoid problems with feeds or automatic updates. That said, it’s still in beta and we’ll have to see the final product.
We’re in favor of simplifying any tool to make marketers’ work easier. Some aspects of the current Google Merchant Center have become complicated over time, and it would be good news to see them with a better UX. For example, Shopping campaign metrics control in GMC is too technical. Instead of having separate promotions and sale price fields, which may or may not trigger certain ad elements, it would make more sense to have a simplified interface option for any potential promotion, regardless of whether the price is activated on a product page.
When will Google Merchant Next be available?
Starting in 2024, users will enjoy major improvements and changes in Merchant Center. The current Merchant Center will be replaced by the more advanced Merchant Center Next, which will offer new features to improve the user experience and meet today’s market demands. These improvements will mark a major evolution in technology and design, giving users access to a more advanced and complete platform. With Merchant Center Next, managing online stores will be more efficient and easier than ever, thanks to innovative tools and streamlined processes that will help users achieve their business goals effectively.
There are also opportunities to further simplify data feeds. While feed rules work well, they can be complex to execute without technical knowledge. It would be an improvement if feed rules allowed more customizable and multiple solutions when editing attributes. We could take ideas from external feed tools such as Channable, for example.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen whether this interface update is simply a useful upgrade to an outdated product or another step by Google to take manual control away from more advanced PPC specialists.
