These days, it’s important for ecommerce companies to provide as many payment options as possible for their customers. To meet that need, CRM solutions provider NetSuite (News - Alert) recently announced that it has added Google Checkout to its award-winning ecommerce platform.

Google (News - Alert) Checkout is an online payment service that lets customers make purchases with a single click, without having to enter their credit card, shipping addresses or other personal information. The merchant is charged a small percentage (1.9 to 2.9 percent, on average) on each transaction, based on a tiered structure, but the service makes it many times easier for customers to make purchases and “impulse buys,” and, as a result, it can significantly boost an e-merchant’s sales.

In addition to storing customers’ credit card numbers and shipping information, Google Checkout also offers fraud protection, as well a unified page for tracking purchases and their status. Because of the high level of security they offer, such online payment systems have been growing in popularity among online shoppers and merchants alike.

"We're pleased to be working with NetSuite to provide merchants, and ultimately buyers, with more choice in their payment options," said Dan Rubinstein, director of product management at Google, in a release. "Google Checkout helps merchants increase their sales by driving more traffic, increasing conversions, and enabling buyers to shop quickly and easily with one login at stores across the Web."

"We are excited to work together with Google to deliver on our shared commitment to Ecommerce businesses," said Mini Peiris, vice president of product marketing at NetSuite. "With Google Checkout, NetSuite provides online merchants with another payment solution that addresses the needs of their consumers and contributes to their business' bottom line."

Merchants that adopt the Google Checkout system can benefit by opting to have the Google Checkout icon displayed in all of their Google AdWords. The icon tells customers that the merchant offers Google Checkout and thus offers a fast and secure way to make purchases.

 

This new integration means merchants using the NetSuite ecommerce platform have a fast and simple migration path to add Google Checkout to their existing payment options. All they have to do is enable the feature and register a Google merchant account, which is accessible through the Google portal in NetSuite.

 

The Google Checkout button automatically displays next to the Proceed to Checkout button in the Shopping Cart, or on the Web site checkout landing page. When shoppers click the Google Checkout button, NetSuite directs them to Google Checkout, securely passing along the items in the shopping cart, shipping options, and tax information. After the shopper completes the transaction, NetSuite is notified and a sales order is automatically created based on the detailed order information provided by Google.

Google Checkout is available in more than 140 nations and offers automatic currency conversions at competitive rates.

"It's very nice to give our customers another option during checkout, to increase the likelihood that they'll purchase from us," said

In the release, Zach Barzee, ecommerce marketing manager at SportsDiamond.com Inc., an online retailer of sporting goods with two retail stores in St. Michael and Lakeville, Minn. that's been using NetSuite ecommerce for three years, said his business scooped up 50 to 60 purchases using Google Checkout after deploying it for only a month. He said this is about 2 percent of the company’s total order volume.

“We feel that's pretty good, especially since we haven't advertised this anywhere,” Barzee said. “As it continues to grow, we expect our conversion rates to increase, which is exactly what we need to stay successful in this tough economy.”

NetSuite also made news recently when it announced that it had appointed former Motorola CEO and Sun Microsystems president Edward Zander to its board of directors.

 

Edited by Michael Dinan