Sources report that Google Express has added grocery delivery to the range of shipping services it is offering in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
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Online grocery delivery is getting its second wind after the dot-com flame-out of Webvan, which filed for bankruptcy in 2001. “If I’ve got to pay someone to drive the product from point A to point B, the bigger the basket size, the more revenue I’ve got to offset that cost”, Brian Elliott, general manager of Google Express, told Bloomberg at the time.
The move to offer fresh produce and perishables is seen as Google trying to elbow in on territory already occupied by the likes of Amazon and its Amazon Fresh delivery service.
Current partners include Costco, Whole Foods, Vincente Foods and Smart & Final. It plans to deliver foods directly from the stores rather than ship from warehouses, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Deliveries for perishables start at $2.99 for members and $4.99 for non-members.
Customers can choose when they want their groceries to be delivered within a two-hour delivery window on the same day provided that they don’t place the order too late. Google Express members – annual subscriptions run $95 – only pay $3 for delivery.
There’s a minimum order amount of $35, so try to have a sizable cart.
San Francisco: Google said Wednesday it was adding fresh foods to its grocery delivery service, ramping up its challenge to Amazon and a long list of delivery startups.
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Right now, you can only try the new Express if you live in parts of San Francisco or Las Angeles.
