Meet the Perplexity Merchant Program: What e-commerce stores need to know
Search — and shopping — is changing.
With Perplexity, consumers can buy what they need without ever leaving the platform. For e-commerce stores, this AI-powered shopping experience opens a new revenue channel.
And it starts with the Perplexity Merchant Program, which WebFx dives into here.
What is the Perplexity Merchant Program?
The Perplexity Merchant Program is like Google Merchant Center — businesses can share their product catalog, including reviews, prices, and specs, so Perplexity can deliver the most relevant and up-to-date product options to searchers.
Consumers can then purchase these products, with Pro users being able to complete their purchase within Perplexity using the “Buy with Pro” feature, which also includes free shipping.
Who is eligible for the Perplexity Merchant Program?
Companies must sell and ship to the U.S. to be eligible for Perplexity’s Merchant Program. Businesses can apply to join the program by completing the official application form.
Completing the form takes less than five minutes and only requires:
- Your brand name
- Your website
- Your name
- Your email
- Your vertical (like home goods)
Do products outside Perplexity’s Merchant Program appear in results?
Yes — for Shopify stores, at least.
Through its Shopify partnership, Perplexity can serve products outside its Merchant Program if those products exist on a Shopify store. The company has also partnered with the tech company Firmly to support other e-commerce setups.
How much does the Perplexity Merchant Program cost?
The Perplexity Merchant Program is free. There are no initial or ongoing costs.
Why join Perplexity’s Merchant Program?
Joining Perplexity’s Merchant Program offers a few perks.
Reach more relevant shoppers with zero fees
Even though it’s smaller than other AI platforms, like ChatGPT, Perplexity’s Merchant Program still offers access to more than 22 million users, who use the platform that is similar to a search engine or news feed.
For e-commerce stores with a target market of high-income college graduates, it’s a worthwhile place to appear since 80% and 65% of its users are college graduates and high-income earners, respectively.
Remove checkout friction for higher conversion rates
Each year, U.S. businesses lose an estimated $260 billion from abandoned shopping carts. Perplexity pushes back on this behavior with an agent-driven shopping experience (for Pro users) that removes friction points, like:
- Completing multiple checkout stages.
- Entering shipping and billing addresses.
- Adding payment information.
- Navigating shipping costs and taxes.
Build AI-powered shopping experiences on site
With free access to Perplexity’s API, you can build AI-powered shopping experiences on your own site to do things like help users find the suitable plan or product size for their unique needs.
This kind of setup can:
- Streamline research times for bigger purchases.
- Help users find the appropriate product fit faster.
- Increase purchase confidence.
- Provide insight into how users are searching.
Improve audience insights with AI search data
Besides providing businesses with a new marketplace, Perplexity is also offering valuable audience insights through its AI search data. You’ll have access to a custom dashboard for seeing:
- Search trends
- Shopping trends
Links from Perplexity to your website also include UTM parameters, so you can see:
- Which product listings generate traffic.
- How users interact with those listings on your site.
- Whether users convert, exit, or visit other site pages.
You can use this data to make strategic marketing decisions, like:
- Improving a product listing’s design, offer, or copy.
- Creating personalized offers for Perplexity traffic, like free shipping.
- Building remarketing campaigns for different product groups.
How to generate an ROI from the Perplexity Merchant Program
Get a better return on investment (ROI) from the Perplexity Merchant Program by:
- Making product profiles complete, like providing dimensions to price ranges.
- Using high-quality product images, including lifestyle photos and studio shots.
- Getting specific with product details, like highlighting use cases, who it’s suitable for, and more.
- Including relevant phrases and keywords, like ‘headphones for running’ or ‘suitable for kids under 5.’
- Increasing product reviews, like through email drip campaigns, offer codes, or packaging inserts.
These optimizations align with other merchant programs, like:
- Google Merchant Center
- Amazon Seller Central
- Microsoft Merchant Center
How does Perplexity’s Merchant Program compare to Google Merchant Center?
When it comes to Perplexity’s Merchant Program versus Google’s Merchant Center, there are noticeable differences (in part because of age and how these platforms approach search):
This story was produced by WebFX and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
