Taking on Amazon prime, Google has launched its $10 same-day delivery service called Google Express in Greater Boston. The service will allow customers to browse the offerings of local merchants online, order, and get the items delivered within hours.
The service will be available in parts of Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Chelsea, Somerville, Arlington, Everett, Malden, and Medford. So far, google has partnered with Babies R Us, Barnes Noble, Costco, Guitar Center, LiOccitane, Staples, Stop Shop, and Walgreens.
Google is hopeful that more retailers would come on board and help the company expand its delivery areas. Customers will be given a choice of how to pay for the service. If they commit to $95 a year or $10 a month, delivery of orders over $15 will be free. Alternatively, customers can pay a $4.99 delivery charge for each order.
“We’re going to help connect merchants with their existing customers. said Brian Elliott, Google’s head of shopping partnerships. “Our merchants have been seeing growth, and it saves time and effort for customers.”
The launch of the new service increases the competition between Google and online retail giant Amazon, which had launched same-day delivery around Boston in 2009. Subscribers to Amazon’s Prime service pay $5.99 per order; non-subscribers pay $8.99 per order plus 99 cents per item.
Amazon delivers orders from its network of warehouses, while Google Express relies on stores.
When you place a Google Express order, employees at a local retailer receive notice on an Android smartphone, pick the items off a shelf, and put them into a Google-branded bag. Google has hired third-party courier services to deliver the order. Google did not reveal the name of the delivery firms. The Ford Transit and Toyota Prius vehicles used to deliver orders will be wrapped in Google branding and courier persons will wear Google uniforms.