SPEEDY DELIVERY
Google Express expands, joins online service competition
Google has launched its Express online shopping service in Pennsylvania as the search engine giant continues to expand the program across the country — joining rivals like online retailer Amazon in the push to get goods into the hands of online shoppers more quickly.
Google Express aims to connect customers with fast delivery from big name retailers like Whole Foods, Costco, PetSmart and Sur la Table. The idea is to make it “easy for shoppers to get the things they need in one convenient place, from multiple stores,” the Mountain View, Calif.-based company said. Deliveries can be overnight or two-day shipments.
In addition to Pennsylvania, Google is adding the service throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, estimating that about 70 million more people will now be able to use Express — a calculation based on population and ZIP codes.
“About 75 percent of the U.S. population will have access” after Wednesday’s roll out, said Brian Elliott, general manager of Google Express. “We expect to bring it to the rest of the continental U.S. in a couple of months.”
Google has not disclosed the number of users of its express service.
According to comScore, a Virginia-based firm that measures media audiences and consumers, Google Express had about 1 million unique visitors in the U.S. as of August. Google sites have about 240.7 million unique visitors overall, comScore data.
Mr. Elliot said bringing the service to the Pittsburgh region is personally exciting because a team in Google’s Bakery Square office has been part of developing the project for years.
“It’s about time we bring it to them,” he said.
Google first launched its delivery service in 2013, putting it in competition with Amazon Prime and Prime Now, the Seattle-based online marketplace’s speedy delivery service.
Amazon Prime offers twoday shipping, along with access to movie and TV streaming for $10.99/month or $99 for the year.
Prime Now offers members same-day deliveries in select metro areas from grocery and home stores and restaurants, in addition to what is offered at
Amazon.com.
For Google Express, membership costs $95 the year or, for those who want to pay as they go, $4.99 per order.
“They have a long hill to climb in this part of the sector,” said Neil Begley, a senior vice president for Moody’s Investor Services’ telecommunications/media team.
“That said, Google is hardly a Johnny-comelately company. They’re extremely well recognized and have integrated their services to mobile and desktop, and their pricing is competitive with Amazon. However, Amazon has added benefits with its membership with movies, TV, and books.”
As Google evaluates how it will claim market share in the delivery space, it has shelved plans for a similar service that would deliver fresh groceries, a program that it experimented with on the West Coast in February.
“We’ve been testing a lot of types of services,” Mr. Elliot said. “It worked well, but we can’t really scale that to the entire United States.
“What we’re trying to accomplish is to create a platform that will be available to everybody,” he said. “That’s hard to do with refrigerated and frozen goods, for a lot of reasons, including the packaging and the service being too expensive for some customers.”
So far, Google Express-affiliated merchants include Costco, Kohl's, L'Occitane, PetSmart, Stop & Shop, Giant, Sur la Table, Ulta Beauty, Payless, Adorama, Road Runner, Vitamin Shoppe and Whole Foods.
The company plans to add more merchants, Mr. Elliot said, and make the service available to smaller retailers and independent merchants over time.