Google Begins Same-Day Delivery Service in San Francisco
By Todd R. Weiss
eWeek.com
Posted 2013-03-30
http://www.eweek.com/cloud/google-begins-same-day-delivery-service-in-san-francisco/
Google is launching a test of a new service that allows online shoppers
in the San Francisco Bay Area to make purchases online and get same-day
local delivery through arrangements with a growing number of area retailers.
The new delivery service is being piloted by Google to collect customer
reaction and see how it works on a small scale to start, according to a
March 28 post on the Google Commerce blog by Tom Fallows, product
management director for the project.
"Today we're starting a new experiment, Google Shopping Express,"
Fallows wrote. "It's a local delivery service that we hope will make it
possible for you to get the items you order online the same day, and at
a low cost. It's incredibly early days and so the service is only
available to a small number of people in the Bay Area."
The same-day delivery service initially will feature the opportunity for
online shoppers to make purchases from larger retailers that have stores
in the Bay Area such as Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle and
Toys 'R Us/Babies 'R Us, as well as smaller local retailers like San
Francisco's Blue Bottle Coffee, the Bay Area's Palo Alto Toy & Sport and
Raley's Nob Hill Foods.
The idea, Fallows wrote, is that shoppers will be able to make everyday
purchases without having to make their own shopping trips all over town.
Consumers who wish to join the test pool for the start of Google
Shopping Express can sign up online, he wrote, but interested
participants must live in the city of San Francisco or on the peninsula
from San Mateo to San Jose. The program will initially be free for
participants in the pilot, but will feature delivery charges in the future.
"We're still working out our long-term pricing plan but early testers
will get six months of free, unlimited same-day delivery," Fallows
wrote. "The pilot will expand as we work out the kinks, so please stay
tuned."
Test participants must be at least 18 years old to participate. By
signing up as testers, participants will receive emails featuring
product promotions, new merchant additions and other details about the
program, according to Google.
To use the service, shoppers will be able to browse the Websites of
participating stores, make their item selections, provide personalized
delivery instructions for the couriers who will bring their packages and
get their items delivered on the same day, according to the service.
Google is also continuing to seek additional local retailers to join the
program and add more shopping options for its online customers.
The fledgling Google delivery service was first rumored in early March
as a way for the search giant to expand more into the turf of online
retailer Amazon.com.
Under the program, Google apparently will arrange for third parties,
such as couriers, to pick the products up from local stores and deliver
the items to shoppers.
Google is always looking for ways to expand its markets, and the retail
world is closely aligned with its search services as consumers go to
Google to search for products, which they then purchase elsewhere.
The concept of expanding its reach into retail sales could help Google
close that gap.
Gene Alvarez, an analyst with Gartner, said earlier this month that such
a service could help Google better take on Amazon if it involved these
kinds of same-day deliveries from local retailers.
"What's happening is that people want it now" when they buy online, he said.
When Google eventually begins to charge shoppers for the service, he
said, the company will have to offer a spectacular deal if they want to
challenge Amazon's existing $79-a-year Prime delivery service.
Google certainly has been experimenting with e-commerce for a long time,
with its Google Payments, Google Wallet and Google Checkout products.
In February, Google bolstered its online sales capabilities by acquiring
Channel Intelligence, which lets consumers buy products directly through
product pages on Websites. One of the company's products, its Buy Now
app, allows online retailers to show potential buyers a dynamically
updated list of online retailers that have the advertised product in
stock, where the consumer can purchase the item instantly with a click.
In October 2009, Amazon launched same-day delivery services in seven
major U.S. cities as it expanded its buying options for its customers.
This is not the first time that Google has dabbled with the idea of
same-day delivery. The idea has at least been in discussions since late
2011, when the company began its Google Product Search service.
_______________________________________________
Medianews mailing list
[email protected]
http://etskywarn.net/mailman/listinfo/medianews_etskywarn.net
