Google reveals what it would do running the Postal Service
The postal sector asked the question yesterday, “What Would Google Do?” if it was running the struggling US Postal Service. And Google came back with a reply.
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Stamps.com announce e-commerce shipping integrations
Stamps.com has announced that its new version 8.5 now integrates directly into e-commerce platforms including Amazon.com Pro Merchant, Yahoo! Merchant, Google Checkout and PayPal – in addition to the previously announced integration with eBay.
Read MoreRoyal Mail backs new marketing business
A new online marketing resource has been backed by Royal Mail.
Read MoreGoogle gives discount to FedEx users
Google Inc., owner of the most- popular Internet search engine, is offering discounts to customers of its online payment service who ship items with FedEx Corp., stepping up competition with EBay Inc.
Merchants using Google Checkout can save as much as 21 percent on express shipments, which are delivered in one to three business days, Mountain View, California-based Google said today on its Web log. Smaller discounts are available for international, ground and home deliveries.
“With the addition of significant shipping-via-FedEx savings, Google now offers merchants an even more compelling reason to adopt Google Checkout,” Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Gene Munster said in a report. He rates the shares “outperform.”
The accord follows a similar agreement last week between EBay, which has a rival service to Google’s, and United Parcel Service Inc. EBay, the world’s largest online auctioneer, decided last year it wouldn’t offer Checkout as a payment option on its sites. Last week it also reduced advertising spending with Google.
Google unveiled Checkout a year ago as part of a plan to expand beyond its Internet-search business. The company added the service in the U.K. in April.
Read MorePayPal granted banking licence
PayPal has been granted a banking licence by the Luxembourg financial services authority (CSSF) and has announcement that it will move its European headquarters to the country. The banking licence will enable PayPal to proactively market its Express Checkout service to retailers, a move which is prohibited under the terms of its current money licence – to date PayPal could only respond to retailers’ approaches to the company.
From 2 July, when the licence comes into effect, PayPal will be setting up local sales teams across Europe to expand the reach of its Express Checkout service – and therefore increase the number of retail sites accepting PayPal as a payment method.
The company says that Google’s launch of Checkout has no bearing on this move and it has no plans to extend its offering away from the online platform.
According to Forrester Research, 23% of European internet shoppers prefer paying with PayPal – which they can do at more than 100,000 websites in Europe.
In 2006, PayPal processed payments from “thousands of retailers” in Europe including Harrods, DHL, Meetic, Pixmania and Boots. The total payment volume in Europe reached GBP 4.29 billion. Over 15 million PayPal accounts are held by internet users in the UK.
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