Google is always on the cutting edge of trying new products and online placements to help small businesses try to reach more customers. In the past, a great example of this was the creation of Google Local Service Ads years ago, which Bing is just now beginning to respond to with their Professional Services Ads. In the space of e-commerce Google has a product which will make it easier than ever for small businesses to compete with large retailers in the online space. Think about it the way which you shop, have you ever been in need of a product but need to buy in-person? Unless you are dealing with a large retailer like Target or Walmart, you are forced to call or go in-person to determine if that store has a particular product. Pointy from Google attempts to dress this use case as well as many others.
What is Pointy from Google?
Google Pointy is a POS add-on which allows for businesses to scan the barcode of their product in order to easily upload this information to their Google Business Profile. This is a game changer for small businesses. Being able to easily upload your products with just the scan of a barcode cuts out the costly integration of a POS system with an e-commerce website. For many small businesses this large cost prevented them from entering the digital space. Google purchased Pointy for a total cost of $163 million during January of 2020.
There are multiple set up types for Pointy all dependent upon the POS system which you are using. The sign up process for Pointy makes it simple and easy for business owners to get the instructions for the set up which works for their business.
Which POS Systems Integrate with Pointy?
There are a large number of POS systems which directly integrate with Pointy. If you have one of the point of sale systems which integrates directly with Pointy, then there is no additional hardware which is necessary to get start with Pointy. Below is a list of the POS systems which have direct integration with Pointy.
- Square
- Clover
- Lightspeed
- Vend
- AIM
- Telus
- WooPOS
- Liberty
- Idosoft
- TransActPOS
- BottlePos
- etailpet
- CSY
- Many more!
If you POS system is not listed above DO NOT WORRY! This just means that your point of sale system does not have a direct integration with Pointy from Google. This does not means that you are unable to use Pointy with Google. If your point of sale system does not have a direct integration with Google, Google can provide an additional piece of hardware which connects to your UPC scanner and enables a connection to Pointy. This means all businesses can take advantage of Pointy, however; if your POS does not integrate directly then there are some additional set up steps which are necessary. There are some cases where Pointy is not able to integrate with a POS system. If the scanning gun is entirely wireless and the POS does not have a direct integration, Pointy may not work for your business.
How Much Does Pointy Cost?
Pointy is absolutely free for businesses. Even if your POS system does not integrate directly with Pointy, Google will send the necessary hardware to you for free! It makes zero sense for businesses to not take advantage of this free feature offered by Google.
Business owners may ask, “what is the catch?“. Simply put, there is no catch. Google benefits by offering this free product to the local businesses who mainly do not have an online business presence. By offering this product for free, businesses who take advantage are likely to see an increase in sales, which could lead them into spending money with Google’s Ad platform. For Google it is a win-win, they offer a better experience to their users by having local inventory directly in search results, while also creating an opportunity for an additional advertisers within their ecosystem who previously would not have participated.
There is no disputing that Pointy from Google will be a game changer for some local businesses. Of those businesses which are successful, it is likely to be early adopter who have the easiest time gaining and maintaining visibility. In the experience of Results Guaranteed, the earlier you are able to adopt and learn a new Google feature or ad format, the more likely you are to gain a competitive edge on your competition. If you have more questions about Pointy from Google, or would like to discuss with a professional how Pointy from Google would fit into a digital marketing strategy, speak with Results Guaranteed today for a free consultation.