Google has officially re-introduced its Store Widget, a tool aimed at helping retailers build trust, improve visibility, and ultimately boost sales. Although the widget has existed in some form before, Google is now offering clearer distinctions and fresh features.

What Exactly is the Store Widget and What’s Been Updated?

Google describes the Store Widget as a way to embed key information about your store directly on your website: things like service policies, review summaries, ratings, and whether your store is a “Top Quality Store.”

But what’s new now?

Previously, there was mainly the Top Quality Store badge. Now Google is offering three separate widget types:

• Top Quality Store widget – Earning a Top Quality Store unlocks this section, showcasing your dedication to outstanding customer service and a high-quality shopping experience.

• Store Rating widget – This version will show if you have store ratings, but are not a Top Quality Store on Google. It displays a summary of your store reviews, and key information about your service and policies.

• Store Quality widget – This shows if you don’t have store ratings, and are not a Top Quality Store on Google. It shows key information about your service and policies.

The help documentation from Google (Merchant Center / Search Central) has been updated to clarify these differences.

Why These Widgets Matter: What Retailers Gain

These distinctions are more than just labels, they affect how customers perceive your store and how well you convert visits into sales. Key benefits include:

• Increased Sales: Businesses using the widget saw up to an 8% higher sales lift within 90 days compared to similar businesses not using it.
• More Trust / Credibility: Displaying store ratings, service policies, or a “Top Quality Store” badge helps reduce hesitation among potential customers. Seeing concrete proof helps.
• Improved Visibility: Widgets unify signals about service, policies and reviews, making your store appear more legitimate in Google’s ecosystem. That helps with both ranking trust and customer confidence.

Which Store Widget Should You Use?

Here’s how to decide which one matches your current status:

Where to Find More Info & Set It Up

Google’s updated help documentation gives details on implementation, eligibility, and how the widget behaves for each status.

The Merchant Center / Search Central pages are where you’ll verify your store info, check your eligibility (for example, whether you qualify as a Top Quality Store), and access the widget code.

Best Practices: Make the Store Widget Work For You

To get full value from these widgets, here are some tips:

• Keep store policies & service info up to date
  If Google finds inconsistencies (e.g. hours, shipping policies), it can reduce trust.
• Encourage customer reviews
  If you’re close to having store ratings, prompting satisfied customers to leave reviews can unlock the Store Rating or even Top Quality status.
• Use the right widget for your status
  Don’t try to pretend you are Top Quality if you aren’t; use the correct widget to maintain credibility.
• Place the widget in visible yet relevant spots
  Good examples are your homepage footer, contact/store locator pages, or near product pages, depending on layout.
• Monitor performance
  Track metrics (sales lift, conversions, bounce rates) before and after activating the widget. Google’s claim of “up to 8% higher sales in 90 days” is an average benchmark, not guaranteed.

For retailers, this is an opportunity.. not just to add another badge, but to elevate how your store is perceived.

If you’re already doing good work in customer service, policies, reviews, now you can make sure those show up clearly to shoppers. And that clarity often converts to higher sales.