Google has announced two major changes for Australian online retailers and advertisers, as the first Android apps are released for Chromebooks and other devices running Chrome OS.
In a post on its official Australian blog, Google said that after a period of beta testing, it is rolling out a program called Google Trusted Stores to Australian online retailers.
The program asks “verified customers who opt in” to take a survey about the online retailers they shop at, and allows participating businesses to display a “Trusted Store” badge.
Google said the badge will demonstrate a “business is highly rated by [its] customers, offers reliable shipping, and delivers great customer service”, with the tech giant offering free purchasing protection for consumers on orders of up to $1000.
The customer feedback, in turn, will contribute to a company’s “seller rating”, which in turn will be used to help determine how high its ads appear on a search page. A rating above 3.5 stars out of five will also be displayed on a company’s ads.
The change comes as Google rolls out the first four Android apps to work on Chrome OS devices, as part of a change first announced at its Google I/O conference.
Duolingo, Evernote, Sight Words and Vine are the first four apps to be released through the App Runtime for Chrome (Beta) program.
Andrew Sadauskas is a former journalist at SmartCompany and a former editor of TechCompany.
