Google
(NASDAQ:GOOG) Oct. 17 said it has added the ability for consumers to not only
pay for goods purchased from certain retailers with the Google Wallet service,
but redeem coupons and earn reward points in the same transaction.
What this
means is that a consumer using a Google Android-based Samsung Nexus S 4G
smartphone can walk into a Jamba Juice and order a beverage. When the consumer
gets to the checkout counter, he or she may tap the phone against a
point-of-sale system and pay for the drink. Wallet will deduct the consumer's digital
coupon without making him or her whip out a piece of paper or rewards card to
get stamped.
Other
participants joining Jamba Juice in this Google Wallet SingleTap effort include
American Eagle Outfitters, Foot Locker, Guess, Jamba Juice, Macy's, OfficeMax,
The Container Store and Toys "R" Us in the U.S.
The search
engine provider launched its Google Wallet mobile payment service Sept. 19
in New York City and San Francisco. The service leverages near-field communication short-range wireless
technology to let users tap Android smartphones against NFC-enabled
checkout systems to pay for goods.
Wallet will
work at over 20 retailers and restaurants, and Visa, American Express, Citi, MasterCard
and Discover have joined Wallet as credit card partners.
Although the
service appears to have made some strides, there are certain challenges. The
most glaring is the fact that Wallet will only currently work on Sprint's Nexus
S 4G smartphone, which severely limits the applicability of the service. Google
is working hard to enable the Wallet application on additional Android phones.
Moreover, even
when Wallet becomes available on more handsets, there is no certainty consumers
want to tap and pay, or at least they don't necessarily want to go out of their
way to do it. Purchasing a phone that supports the Wallet application certainly
falls under the banner of going out of their way.
To give
consumers an incentive to use Wallet, Google and its Wallet retail partners are
trying to entice shoppers with coupons and deals. Retailers offer coupons and
rewards points for frequent shoppers, while Google has set up Google Offers, a
local deals service that has spread across the country to challenge Groupon and
LivingSocial in roughly 40 markets since April.
To that end,
the Offers tab in Google Wallet now boasts a new "Featured Offers"
section with discounts that are exclusive to Google Wallet. Currently, these
include 15 percent off at American Eagle Outfitters, 10 percent off at The
Container Store, 15 percent off at Macy’s and a $2 smoothie at Jamba Juice.
Again, no paper is involved. Users may save favorite coupons in Google Wallet
so that they’ll be cashed in via SingleTap.
Additionally,
Foot Locker, Guess, OfficeMax and American Eagle Outfitters are providing
loyalty cards for Google Wallet to help users accrue reward points as they
shop.
"It's
still early days for Google Wallet, but this is an important step in expanding
the ecosystem of participating merchants to make shopping faster and easier in
more places," explained Google Director of Emerging Markets Spencer
Spinnell.
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