Google Launches Delivery Service in LA & NYC

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)  is launching a same-day delivery service called Google Shopping Express in both Los Angeles and New York City. Customers will be able to order items from retailers like Costco (NASDAQ:COST), Walgreen (NYSE:WAG) and Target (NYSE:TGT) and it will arrive in a selected delivery window.

Google began testing the service in the San Francisco Bay Area last year. Other Internet giants such as eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) are also making efforts in the same-day delivery space, with Amazon announcing its expansion to Dallas, San Francisco, and Los Angeles last week.

Customers can sign up for a six-month trial for free, unlimited deliveries. Otherwise, there is a $4.99 per store fee. There’s no minimum purchase and Google says it will not raise item prices. Orders can be placed online or via mobile apps.

In addition to grocery and drug stores, speciality retailers like L’Occitane, Staples (NASDAQ:SPLS) and Toys “R” Us  are participating. LA customers can even get a musical instrument delivered from Guitar Center.

The Google service will begin in the West LA neighborhoods and Manhattan. Google says it will expand into Brooklyn, Queens and as well as other Los Angeles neighborhoods soon.

Mobile startups like Uber and Postmates have also been getting into the delivery space. The market is now saturated with competition for same-day delivery services in major metropolitan areas like New York and San Francisco.

A food delivery service, GrubHub Seamless, went public last month.  The recent optimism about same-day delivery is a marked change from the dot-com crash, when grocery delivery service Webvan, was one of the notable failures in 2001.

Google stock is down 8% in the last three months. It is currently trading around $526 per share.