On Monday, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced plans to expand Google Shopping Express to West Los Angeles and Manhattan. The search giant also hopes to expand service to other cities including Brooklyn, Queens, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and other areas of L.A.
Google launches delivery service in new cities
A little over a year ago, Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) first launched their delivery service in San Francisco in beta form. Months later, the search giant expanded to the entire Bay metro area. This delivery service allows users to purchase items from a variety of national chains including Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM), Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT), Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG), Costco Wholesale Corporation (NASDAQ:COST) (members only), Toys R Us/Babies R Us, REI, and more. Shoppers can use this service to purchase groceries, health products, beauty products, apparel, shoes, home goods, sporting goods, baby goods, toys, office supplies, electronics, and more.
New users get $10 off their first purchase. Users who opt in for the trial program get six months of free delivery.
Amazon and eBay offer competing services
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is not the only company to offer same-day delivery service. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) recently expanded this kind of service to San Francisco and Dallas metro areas. eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) also offers same day delivery service and hopes to expand service to 25 cities sometime this year.
What is most interesting about Google Shopping Express is that the company does not operate a fleet of couriers. Instead, Google teams up with partners who wear Google Shopping Express uniforms and drive the trucks.
GSE’s general manager of operations Jenna Owens added, “We opened the service to shoppers in the San Francisco Bay Area last year and now we’re ready to bring the service to both coasts, starting with West Los Angeles and Manhattan.”
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has mastered the search engine, Android operating system, among other things. If Google can finally master a speedy shopping service effectively offering competition for Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), USPS, United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS), and FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX), it may just change the way people shop forever.
