Google has been steadily but quietly building its e-commerce empire, barging into a market in which Amazon has long been established. On Tuesday, TechCrunch reports that a source says Google is working on a same-day delivery service for retail giants such as Target, Walmart, Walgreens and Safeway, called Google Shopping Express.
This comes on the heels of an announcement in early December that Google had acquired BufferBox, a company that offers the same service as Amazon Locker. Amazon's service gives users a place to receive packages at all times of the day and once delivered, the subscriber can pick up a delivery whenever it's convenient.
In early February, Google acquired Channel Intelligence from ICG Group for about $125 million. CI is responsible for tracking nearly 15 percent of transactions online, and offers services such as product searches, driving about $2 billion in sales.
Google Shopping Express will cost about $10 or $15 less than Amazon Prime, says TechCrunch's source, so when it goes live it will cost around $65 or $69. It would work well in tandem with other services Google provides, such as Wallet and Shopping. The initiative is reportedly led by Tom Fallows, an e-commerce product manager at Google.
No company embodies the idea of keeping its eggs in separate baskets as well as Google. It not only has a stake in search engine market share, but an investment in the mobile sector with Motorola and Android. The company's Chromebook brings it into the PC and laptop market while Google Glass gives it a foothold in the wearable computers territory. Even the idea of a self-driving Google Car takes the company into a sector that few other tech companies have broken into — although it was one of Steve Jobs's dearest wishes to have an Apple car.
It's no surprise, with Motorola's recent shortcomings and Samsung's rapid ascension, that Google wants to branch out even further. Now with e-commerce ambitions, Google Shopping Express's success will hinge on how many people make the switch from Amazon and how many new users Google can tempt into the fold.
(Edited by Lois Heyman)
