Google Express

Google Shopping Express vehicle, original livery

Google Shopping Express vehicle, newer livery

Google Express, formerly Google Shopping Express,^[1] started out as a same-day shopping service ("shop local stores online and get items delivered on the same day"^[2]) from Google that was launched on a free trial basis in San Francisco and Silicon Valley in spring 2013 and publicly in September that year. In spring 2014 it was expanded to New York and Los Angeles, and in fall 2014 to Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC. While the original intent was to be a same-day shopping service, currently deliveries are frequently available only on a next-day basis or not at all if no next-day slots are available.

The service was first announced in March 2013 from San Francisco as far south as San Jose. Retailers include a mix of national and local stores.^[3][4][5] It was publicly launched on September 25, 2013, with some added retailers but still temporarily restricted to San Francisco and Silicon Valley.^[6] Apps for Android and Apple smartphones were announced the same day; using these enables customers to use their loyalty accounts.^[7] In May 2014 the service was expanded to New York City and West Los Angeles,^[8][9] and in October 2014, they added service in Chicago, Boston, and Washington, DC, and additional retailers.^[1][10]

Google has waived the subscription fee for testers and for the first six months after sign-up;^[8][9] the fee is somewhat below that for Amazon Prime. Amazon, which is also testing same-day delivery in selected markets, is the main competitor.^{[4][5][11][12][13]} Delivery began with Prius sedans in Google Express livery, about 50 cars as of August 2013, when the service was available in 88 ZIP codes.^[14] The fleet was later expanded to include Ford Transit vans, and the company announced it might use bicycle and on-foot delivery in some areas.^[15] The deliveries are subcontracted to a courier service, 1-800-Courier, as well as Dynamex. Dynamex contracts with individuals with private cars without commercial plates; sometimes there are failed deliveries because the Dynamex drivers cannot park in areas such as many parts of downtown San Francisco where the only parking is for vehicles with commercial plates. ^[16] In the testing phase, retailers are also not charged or pay only a nominal fee. Customers pay $5 per shopping stop and receive deliveries within a three- to five-hour window.^[13][14] Customers must have a Google Wallet account.^[14][17]

The service displays a map of the merchandise pickup and delivery locations, and attempts to use the nearest available outlet,^[13][14] not always successfully.^[16][18]

In addition to the fleet referred to above, Google Express also contracts for delivery with Ontrac (http://www.ontrac.com/ to most of Northern California outside the San Francisco and Silicon Valley delivery zones, for next day delivery. Some items are available in the Ontrac delivery areas but not the San Francisco or Silicon Valley delivery areas - e.g., users in San Francisco cannot get delivery from Frys but users in the Ontrac delivery area can. Certain items that were once available have been removed from the Ontrac delivery zone - e.g., deliveries of 12 oz. cans of soda were available at one time in the Ontrac zone but now are not - but are still available in the San Francisco and Silicon Valley zones.

See also

• Kozmo.com, now-defunct 1998-2001 business that provided a similar service

References

External links

• Official website