Google Shopping Express Courts Early Adopters With Free Membership And Deliveries

Google this week expanded Google Shopping Express to the masses — but only the masses that live in San Francisco and the San Fransisco Bay Peninsula. Shopping Express lets you shop major retailers for groceries, clothing, electronics, and a wide array of other products and have them delivered to you on the same day. The location limitation in the early stages makes sense considering Google is located in nearby Mountain View.

To get the ball rolling, Google is now offering free membership and six months of free deliveries. Delivery fees are similar to those charged at Amazon (a $17-dollar 30-pack of toilet paper, for example, normally costs $4.99 to be delivered.) The current lineup of participating retailers includes American Eagle Outfitters, Guitar Center, Nob Hill Foods, L'Occitane, Office Depot, REI, Target, Toys"R"Us, Walgreens, Whole Foods and others. Retailers are invited to participate through Google's dedicated retail sign-up portal.

Google Shopping Express is accessible via any Web browser, but you can also download the Android app on Google Play. The company bills the service as a way to save time and get more done by outsourcing your errands to the Internet. One early review of the app reads, "Laziness just got so much easier." Indeed.

Google Shopping Express was released to a small beta audience in March of this year as a response to Amazon's long-standing fast-delivery service Amazon Prime and its related service Amazon Fresh. This Amazon service focuses on same-day grocery delivery service in Los Angeles.