As per reports by Tech Crunch, Google launched a "same-day delivering of products" to public last week. Although its still in its pilot phase, Google Shopping Express service is being touted as the congruent of a Amazon, a Walmart and eBay who follow such a business model.
Retailers and consumers, alike, have specific benefits to derive from the move. Open to a select sample users group in Bay Area, the prominent participants reportedly are Target, Walgreens, Staples, American Eagle, Toys"R"us/Babies"R"us, Blue Bottle Coffee to name a few.
As per their blog announcement, the initial batch of testers are being offered a six month free delivery service with items billed at par with that of the stores' prices. Despite no clear pricing policy as of now, Google announced the service at $69 a year, a good $10 cheaper than Amazon Prime.
It is still unclear when the actual market launch of the Service will happen. The current internal testing is being reviewed by Google's e-commerce product manager, Tom Fallows and could just be the stepping stone to Google's plan to launch centralized stores. This is likely to bring together the best aspects of brick-n-mortar retailing and e-commerce.
Infact, Google has been closely covering up its steps to compete effectively with Amazon's aura in the niche. Last November, Google acquired Bufferbox, a Canada-based locker storage service and Channel Intelligence- a online data management tracking service.
Tom Fallows explains in a blog post their mission statement "Hopefully, no more trips across town for simple errands". The existing players in the market like Amazon, eBay and Walmart, each have their own advantages and loopholes when it comes to items bought and required to be shipped.
Coming onto the retailers side, the best part about Google's move is that it promises to bring in more customers to the seller. How? Well as per the plan, users will be allowed to make purchases off multiple retailers to be delivered simaltaneously. This automatically amounts to an increased sales volume. However, Google will have to come up with a prudent pricing policy to balance out the differentials among various brands.
The start seems promising, what unfolds is yet to be seen. Best of luck Google!
Those interested in registering for the tester can click here to sign up and the retailers visit this page for details.
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