Google's Now Delivering Fresh Foods In LA, San Francisco
Google and Amazon are engaged in a quiet battle over your groceries, and latest in the saga is an expansion of Google Express, the company's delivery service. Starting today, residents in San Francisco and Los Angeles can have fresh foods delivered to their doorstep via Google Express, giving them another alternative over Amazon Fresh, which similarly operates in certain California cities.
The fresh food delivery options include such time-sensitive items as eggs and meat, things you'd normally have to make a quick stop at the grocery store for after work. The items will be acquired and delivered from retail partners, which means the company is simply serving as the means of delivery, not bothering with the expense and risk of keeping its own food inventory.
The retail partners vary based on location, though there is some overlap — Whole Foods will be available to San Francisco customers, as well as Costco and Smart & Final, while Los Angeles will get deliveries from the latter two and Vincente Foods. Of course, foods such as this can't be out for delivery too long, and so Google Express fresh food deliveries will be done within a couple of hours rather than four hours.
You'll have to order more than a couple things to use the service, though. Previously, Google Express required an order of at least $15, but for fresh food delivery the minimum is $35. As well, those who order will need a Google Express membership, which is $95/year, or they'll need to pay an extra $5/order for delivery (Express members pay $3/order).
Of course, the announcement isn't too surprising: this past September, a report stated that Google would be testing fresh food deliveries in San Francisco and another city, which is — as expected — Los Angeles.
Amazon has a very similar service called Amazon Fresh, which delivers fresh groceries to customers (or their doorsteps). That service is currently available in northern and southern California, New York, and the company's hometown Seattle.
Amazon has much larger ambitions than grocery deliveries, though, at least if rumors are to be believed. Last summer, we heard word from sources that Amazon is considering shaking up the grocery shopping industry with a sort of hybrid between traditional stores and on-demand deliveries. Industry sources claimed the company is looking to open a drive-thru grocery store which would allow customers to place orders ahead of time (through an app, likely), then drive to the store where the items will be placed directly in their trunk.
SOURCE: Wall Street Journal