Lightspeed Announces Global Retail Partnership With Google
According to new data from Google, while consumers are interested in shopping local, many are starting the journey online with searches for “local” combined with “business” or “businesses” growing more than 80 percent in the last year and searches for “who has” combined with “in stock” growing more than 8,000 percent in the last year.
As consumer preferences for shopping local increases, Lightspeed, the cloud-based omnichannel commerce platform, has announced the integration of Google tools directly onto its platform with the goal of helping independent businesses globally, allowing omnichannel retailers to automate ads and real-time inventory levels directly from the Lightspeed platform.
“We know that so much of business today starts with a Google search,” said Dax Dasilva, chief executive officer at Lightspeed. “By combining forces, Lightspeed and Google are eliminating the pain points that prevent SMBs from effectively promoting their products online to the communities who prefer to shop local, providing them a springboard to simplify and scale their businesses as they prepare for the welcomed return of in-store shopping.”
The global collaboration integrates three tools: Google Local Inventory Ads, Google Smart Shopping Campaigns and Google My Business. According to a statement from Lightspeed, enabling access to these digital tools is strategically aligned with the company’s mission to “simplify entrepreneurship and level the playing field for independent merchants.”
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“Small and medium-sized businesses have been hit the hardest during the pandemic, but globally we’ve seen a rallying cry to support them,” said Sabrina Geremia, vice president and country director at Google Canada. “Customers are shopping both online and in-store and expect a seamless shopping experience between both. As we look toward recovery, this integration with Lightspeed will provide a scalable solution for Lightspeed merchants of all sizes looking to reach customers in this new omnichannel reality.”
The new Google My Business and Local Inventory Ad Integration offerings from Lightspeed and Google are now available to all Lightspeed retail customers, with Lightspeed’s Smart Shopping Campaign capability additionally expected to arrive in the coming months.
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