Google Rolls out eCommerce Storefronts for Creators

Similar to Shopify, Google has rolled out a U.S. beta launch of Qaya, a platform that helps creators develop web storefronts to sell their products and services, according to a Wednesday (Dec. 15) Google blog.

“Our project began with a simple idea: creators are the next generation of entrepreneurs. As the CEOs of their own businesses, they need the same commercial tools as any successful founder,” writes Nathanial Naddaff-Hafrey, Qaya co-founder and general manager. “Since we began live testing in early 2021, we’ve learned a lot from creators on Qaya, their fans and other creator economy projects.”

Creators use Qaya as the hub for their business across the web, with many linking to their Qaya storefronts from their social media accounts, and highlighting products and services hosted on other sites, according to the blog. Qaya provides personalized URLs with built-in payment functionality.

Qaya provides customer management, as well as analytics tools to enable creators the ability to connect with their audience and understand performance. The platform also integrates with other Google products, such as YouTube, to allow for easier cross-promotion across channels.

For now, Qaya is focused on the U.S., but Naddaff-Hafrey said he expects to expand it to other countries soon.

Qaya’s beta launch comes on the heels of last month’s announcement that Google Pay would be adding various features, including the ability for merchants to easily build an online storefront.

Google Pay for Business, which is home to 10 million merchants and counting, will debut MyShop, which will allow retailers the ability to add photos, descriptions and prices to create an online storefront. Merchants can then share a link to the storefront on social media, PYMNTS reports.

Google Pay expanded access this fall to include more than 80 banks in Switzerland, in addition to financial institutions in Australia, Bulgaria, Chile, Greece, Italy, Romania, Singapore and Ukraine.

Related: Google Pay to Launch New Voice Feature, Online Storefront