Transaction flows in Actions on Google: Digital goods
In this article I point at some apps I created over the last few years as examples of all the different types of transaction flows for purchasing of digital goods.
For developers looking to monetise their apps, transaction flows are something they look into early on to establish the complexity of integration and find out they may impact the overall User Experience.
Actions on Google documentation covers nicely the breakdown of 3 different types of digital goods transactions, and those are:
- Non-consumable digital goods transactions
- Consumable digital goods transactions
- Digital subscription transactions
However, Google doesn’t do a great job in showing examples of apps where those flows are implemented — and there’s not that many published apps using those forms of monetisation either, so I hope some of you dear #AoG developers will find this useful.
App 1: Word Chain. Non-consumable digital goods transactions
Word Chain uses non-consumable digital goods transactions. What it means is that once a user makes the purchase, the fact about is remembered in a property called stock-keeping unit (SKU). It can only be purchased once.
In case of Word Chain, users purchase access to premium options of the game — unlocking daily games limit, gaining access to another difficulty level and access to leaderboard.
To test it out just say: “Hey Google, talk to Word Chain” and then ask about Premium subscription.
See Word Chain in Google Assistant directory here
App 2: Warriors Land. Consumable digital goods transactions
Warriors Land is an RPG where you enroll on a journey in a fantasy world full of evil creatures and mysteries. As in any other game of this kind you can purchase items and the in-game currency — in this case we’re talking bags of gold, elixirs and cloaks of invisibility…
Users can purchase these items multiple times, without limits. Bags of gold are then added to the inventory of a player and consumed when a purchase is made in the game.
To test this flow, just say: “Hey Google, talk to Warriors Land”. Sign up to the game and after the tutorial ask to purchase more gold. The game is quite complex, so you may want to visit this website first to learn more about it. Don’t forget to check out the map which will help you to navigate around the Warriors Land.
Hint: Sunnyside Village and the City of Fortune offer options to spend your gold on some useful items.
See Warriors Land in Google Assistant directory here
App 3: What’s my Biorhythm. Digital subscription transactions
Recurring payments are thought of a holy grail for many profit-savvy developers. Just like with any other digital services (think Netflix, Spotify etc), Actions on Google offer subscription flow transactions.
This type of flow can be found in an app called “What’s my Biorhythm”. Just initiate it by saying “Hey Google, what’s my Biorhythm” and follow the conversation. You should hear a prompt for premium subscription — if not, just ask about it :)
See What’s My Biorhythm in Google Assistant directory here
How to implement Transactions in my Action on Google
This involves a lot of patience, even more reading and some coding skills. First of all familiarise yourself with official documentation, and then also look for tutorials like this one here. You’ll end up having your own app in Google Play store — once you can access it, it all becomes easier. All my Actions on Google use the same app as the processor for payments, so you’ll only have to build it once.
Bonus: How to control my purchases with Google Assistant
If you want to cancel any of the subscriptions made via Google Assistant, just take a look at the Payments and Subscriptions page in your Google Account settings.
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