Google wants you to buy stuff from brick-and-mortar retailers, and then they want to deliver it to you on the same day you place your order, just as long as you live in San Francisco or the surrounding Peninsula area.
Google Shopping Express is a new service that Google is testing in and around San Francisco. It allows consumers to shop online for the same stuff they are already purchasing. Google has already signed on a whole slew of retailers including American Eagle, Blue Bottle Coffee, Lucky, Photojojo, Office Depot, Palo Alto Toy & Sport, Raley’s Nob Hill Foods, Staples, Toys”R”Us/Babies”R”Us, Target, and Walgreens. With today’s announcement it appears that have added even more stores, including Guitar Center, L’Occitane, DODOcase, REI, and Whole Foods Market.
Google has an Android app in the works for Google Shopping Express. The website is live right now, and you can browse by selecting San Francisco or the Peninsula even if you don’t live in one of those areas. Users in the test market can shop via the app on their smartphone app or the website. Pricing will be the same as it is in-store. If you have a store rewards card or loyalty card you will be able to use that too. Google may charge an additional delivery fee for products if you are not a member of Shopping Express. Right now membership pricing is not available, but Google is encouraging consumers to sign up for a 6 month free trial to test things out. That probably means that final membership pricing has not been established. Negotiations with retailers are still ongoing, it seems, and the membership pricing will probably hinge on the success of the pilot in San Francisco. Supposedly that pricing will be similar to Amazon Prime.
When you place an order, you can select a delivery window from morning all the way to 9 PM. Delivery drivers will be routed based on customer orders. The drivers will arrive in a car that is branded with the Google Shopping Express name and logo. Google has a whole fleet of these hybrids vehicles ready to send out on deliveries.
Google Shopping Express looks to compete with same-day delivery service options offered by Amazon Prime, eBay Now, Postmates, and Instacart. Head over to the Google Shopping Express website to check it out.