Google Testing Same-Day Delivery Service in San Francisco Area
By Karla Robinson
November 2, 2012
November 2, 2012
- Following the lead of Walmart, Amazon, eBay and the U.S. Postal Service, Google is launching its own same-day delivery service, according to two anonymous sources.
- For some Google employees and their friends in the San Francisco area, the service has gone live. They can “buy a product, using their phones or computers, and have it delivered to their homes in a matter of hours,” reports The New York Times.
- Same-day delivery has been in the works at Google for more than a year. “Though the service propels Google into commerce, the company does not intend to operate warehouses or a shipping service but to team up with retailers and delivery companies,” the article explains. “Several San Francisco retailers, including national chains, are participating in the program already.”
- At least one national apparel chain is involved, the sources say. The program is promising for physical retailers facing pressure from e-commerce companies that are taking away brick-and-mortar’s last advantage: same-day ownership.
- It’s not clear why Google is investing in same-day delivery, but NYT notes that the company has been facing increased online competition. Consumers are more frequently bypassing the search giant altogether and going straight to e-commerce sites such as Amazon for their searches.
- “Additionally, Google has been trying to bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds to better understand and profit from mobile ads,” the article explains.
- “On computers, Google and advertisers know if a user clicks on an ad and visits or buys on another Web site. But they lose track of customers who look up a business or product on their phone and then put their phone away, walk into the store and buy something. Online ordering and delivery could help solve that problem.”
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