It looks as if Google is taking another step away from just being a search engine. Their new idea is Google Shopping Express, which will provide same day delivery of food and many other products that are purchased online.
At first, the service is only in limited release to a small number of consumers in San Francisco and in suburbs south of the city. Google has not told us how many people are included in this test run.
If the pilot program is successful and profitable, Google is going to expand the service to other markets in the US.
Google, which has been updating its algorithm again, noted this week that it hopes that Google users will be able to experience the benefits of local, same day delivery of groceries and other products. It also will help Google to evaluate how effective the new program is.
The new service is a part of Google’s efforts to boost consumer reliance on the Internet. This will give the company more chances to show its online advertisements. The ads are what generates most of the revenue for Google.
Google, which is also introducing its new Google Glass product, has figured out that the more time people are online, the more likely they are to use Google for search, Gmail or Youtube, all of which include Google advertising.
This new service could encourage merchants to purchase more online advertisements, if the same day service will encourage customers to do more online shopping. One of the big negatives for online shopping today is that one has to often wait up to a week to receive product. If that can be reduced to an affordable, same day delivery, there could be a revolution in online shopping.
Amazon and eBay also have been trying to provide same day service in some markets. Google is in the process of hiring courier services in San Francisco to pick up orders at local stores and hustle them out for delivery. The couriers are contractors, but they will drive vehicles with the Google brand and they will wear Google uniforms.