Google Checkout Buyer Experience

This section describes your customer's experience in completing an order with Google Checkout. During this process, the buyer progresses through four different pages beginning with a page on your site that displays a Google Checkout button and culminating with the Google Checkout Order Confirmation page.

The following steps explain the user experience on these pages.

1. The Google Checkout order process begins when the customer shops on your site and adds items to a virtual shopping cart. In addition to your regular checkout options, your web pages will display a Google Checkout button. This button will be contained within a form on your page. That form will also include hidden input fields that contain information about the buyer's shopping cart.

2. When the customer clicks the Google Checkout button, the customer's browser will submit the shopping cart information to Google. Google Checkout will then display the Sign In/Sign Up page, which shows the items in the customer's order and the shipping options available for the order. The Sign In/Sign Up page, which is shown below, also allows the customer to create a new Google Account or log in to an existing account.

   

   If Google detects a cookie indicating that the customer already has a Google Account and the account already contains credit card information, the right side of this page will display the email address for that account. In this case, the customer will only need to enter the password for that account. If the customer has recently shopped with Google Checkout and has a valid cookie, the Sign In/Sign Up page may not appear at all, in which case the customer will proceed directly to the Place Order page. The interface will also change slightly for customers who have a Google Account but do not have a credit card associated with their account.

3. After the customer creates a new Google Account or signs in to an existing account, Google will display the Place Order page. This page, which is shown below, lists the items in the customer's order and the shipping options available for the order. The Place Order page also lets the customer choose the shipping address for the order and the credit card to charge for the order. In addition, the Place Order page allows the customer to choose whether to share her email address with the merchant or receive promotional email from the merchant. Finally, the Place Order page displays Google's billing policy and can also display information about your return policy.

   

4. When the customer clicks the Place your order now button on the Place Order page, Google starts to process the order and displays the Order Confirmation page. This page thanks the customer for completing the order and also displays a link to your site so the customer can continue shopping.

   

5. In addition, after confirming an order to complete the checkout process, the buyer can refer to her Purchase History page to track the status of the order. The image below shows a sample Purchase History page for a shipped order.

   

   Note: The Purchase History page displays a link below the order history that allows the buyer to contact you with a question about the order. For example, the buyer could ask to change the shipping address for the order or to request a refund for the order. Google will then send you an email with the buyer's question. If the buyer requests a refund, Google does not automatically process a refund or cancel the buyer's order. Google just forwards the request from the buyer and you can issue a refund or cancel the order in the Merchant Center.