Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers

http://googlecommerce.blogspot.com/2013/09/google-shopping-express-now-available.html

by cleverjake • 13 years ago

50 42 13 years ago

googlecommerce.blogspot.com

I've been using GSX for a few months, and it's incredibly convenient. When I think of something I need from the store, I open the mobile app and add it to my cart. Once a week or so I submit the order and it shows up at my door a couple hours later.

On one hand it saves me money because I don't impulse buy anything while walking through target. On the other hand, it's really easy to impulse buy stuff while sitting on the toilet.

phildini• 13 years ago

But what about the East Bay?

fourstar• 13 years ago

Instacart does it, but not quite yet it seems for this.

samspenc• 13 years ago

Looks cool, here's wishing it comes to NYC soon!

But what's Google's play in this? Isn't this a really low-margin business?

cleverjake• 13 years ago

Since its membership based, I imagine the same as amazon prime - when you have a cheap/easy/just awesome way to get a product, you are more likely to use it to purchase things in the future.

BryantD• 13 years ago

Collecting data about customer purchasing habits is valuable in the aggregate. Shopping Express links that data more general data about the customer's habits on the Web, etc. In some cases this will enable Google to serve the customer better, and in some cases this will enable Google to serve advertisers better.

AJ007• 13 years ago

If the long term goal is to sell items directly there is plenty of room for margins.

Combined with Google Now, you should rarely ever run out of anything you need.

I like thinking about how an urban environment re-arranges itself when you remove the need for most store fronts, and driving.

ATMs, CVS/Walgreens/Duane Reade, Target, Best Buy; these are all places that probably won't exist in the volume they do today in eight years. Whether it was low interest rates or other factors that made them multiply, it won't really matter. A mobile phone + a neighborhood distribution center should be all that is needed. Automating checkout won't be enough. (In an ATMs case, cash just won't be used except may be for narcotics.)

What happens to Starbucks, McDonald's, and other chain food service is a whole other question.

r00fus3• 13 years ago

They saw Amazon Fresh, and are skating to where the puck will be. I'm guessing if it puts pressure on Amazon, it's worth it even if Google doesn't make big margins.

r00fus3• 13 years ago

The only downside to Shopping Express is that sometimes items run out. And then never get restocked (e.g.: Udi's GF bread).

Otherwise, it's amazing. They have very eclectic coverage. Prices are a bit higher than, say, Amazon, same day is very hard to beat.

Meanwhile I'm still waiting for Instacart to deliver to my neighborhood...

dougmccune2• 13 years ago

I've been surprised by how useful this has been over the past few months. Just last week I busted my phone USB charger by accidentally knocking it off the table and bending the connector. This was around 10pm, so I ordered a new one and it arrived around 10am the next morning on my doorstep, well before my phone ran out of battery. Call it a first world problem, but same-day (or next morning) delivery is a minor but surprisingly convenient luxury.

dave51043• 13 years ago

I don't have a car, so I always use public transit to go to and fro the store. My biggest joy for GSE is ordering heavy/bulky items, like laundry detergent and paper towels--and not having to lug them onto the bus! It's a very convenient luxury indeed.

alwaysdoit• 13 years ago

People always complain that Google is making us dumber. Now I guess they can complain it's making us weaker as well.

Instacartlove• 13 years ago

I really hope Instacart and Postmates can compete with them! I see different use case for all of them. My first choice for groceries that i need the same day would be Instacart, i also love the on-demand food from great restaurants and the ability to get a few grocery items within the hour by Postmates and Google Shopping Express looks like a good Amazon alternative.

jstepka• 13 years ago

I like Instacart better than Google's service. Instacart delivers produce, butcher meat and seafood from Safeway, Costco, and Whole Foods.

One problem that I've noticed with these delivery services is that the freshest food is not always delivered. I'll take my time at the grocery store to find the best pick; these shoppers seem to grab the first thing they see.

signed0• 13 years ago

Google Shopping Express just started delivering from Whole Foods.

abbott2• 13 years ago

what happens to fresh food and preservatives if you're not home?

r00fus3• 13 years ago

GSX doesn't do groceries (yet). Even though they have Raley's and Whole Foods, you can't, for example, order essentials like Milk.

Which makes sense - mostly non-perishables shelf-able items. At first, the lack of groceries made me wonder if it was useful at all, but being able to find e.g. 2 gallon-sized jugs of distilled vinegar awaiting at my doorstep is quite nice (local stores often just don't carry the stuff).

Also Instacart has TJ's. That one store is a winner all by itself.

awwstn• 13 years ago

I've really loved using this service in the free beta, but I've often wondered whether I'd be willing to pay the delivery fee on a regular basis. We'll see!

dave51043• 13 years ago

I think for me, the delivery fee is going to really influence my frequency of buying. I never hesitate to think of one item I need--and order it for same or next day. I think once my beta period shuts off, I'll probably instead keep a running shopping cart of stuff and only order periodically.

RestlessMind• 13 years ago

If/when they start charging for GSE, Google should bundle it with unlimited play store content (a la prime). I will gladly pay as much as I pay Amazon.

daphneokeefe• 13 years ago

Installed it on my iPad and tried to set up a credit card. Total failure. The UI is hideous and doesn't render properly on iPad. JavaScript validation error on page load disables the user -- can't go back, can't cancel out, and closing & re opening the app returns you to the frozen page. Who needs this aggravation? Uninstalled and wandered off. Back to shopping on Amazon.

k-mcgrady• 13 years ago

They have mobile apps available now according to the blog post.

abbott2• 13 years ago

download the iOS app for iPhone and iPad — https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-shopping-express/id69...

gnu8• 13 years ago

Does this represent a viable Google service, or is it just another perk for those living in San Frangoogle to be subsidized by the electronic serfs that are Google's users?

cromwellian2• 13 years ago

It extends to the entire peninsula not just SF. Obviously, scaling something like this nation wide is a major undertaking, so it will take time.

I don't get the dig against Google's users. Why must every HN comment on Google these days be accompanies by some snark.

melange• 13 years ago

Because for years Google received unalloyed adoration from the tech community because they presented themselves as a genuinely better kind of company, but now that have shown themselves to be just another corporation that will say or do anything for profit, people are cynical about them.

dannyr• 13 years ago

Geez. So much hate.

If it's not viable, why do you think Google is expanding it after testing it for months?

bsullivan012• 13 years ago

If it's not viable, why do you think Google is expanding it after testing it for months?

Expanding to where exactly? Nationwide? Nope, a very small and high density area. Google's loses are limited.

Don't take it a snark, but this is not Google's main line of business at all and quite a few companies have gone under doing just this. Google can afford to lose a certain amount but expect this to end when Google's growth is slowed and spending cuts need to be made.

If you pay the same prices as in store, the money has to come out of somewhere and labor to deliver same isn't that cheap.

g123g• 13 years ago

A question to ppl who are currently using this service. Do you tip the drivers, if so, how much?

tb3032• 13 years ago

No, you mostly won't even encounter the drivers, they are so busy they're already back in their cars by the time you get to the door!

andrewryno• 13 years ago

Nope. I've only seen one driver ever since I've been using it.

eliben• 13 years ago

I think it's an important part of the model that there are no tips. This keeps the prices very attractive. You rarely see who brought you the package - you just find it by the door.

tb3032• 13 years ago

I have been using this weekly since first getting access. Totally worth it. I've had a magsafe adapter (Staples) same-day delivered when I forgot mine at work, groceries when I wasn't able to swing by the store on the way home that day, etc. One of the best things is how the UI suggests your frequently bought items. This is a better way for me to restock household items than amzn subscribe and save, which has left me (via my own mistake in specifying interval) with enough q-tips to last through the year 3000.

gms• 13 years ago

Looks like I can't get fresh milk from these people, unlike with Instacart. Fail for me.

simulate• 13 years ago

This is useful for getting kitchen supplies for our 25 person office.

It's a small bummer that they don't deliver beer and wine from Whole Foods or Lucky for our Friday Beers but otherwise a great improvement in convenience. Given that Safeway delivers alcohol and Whole Foods and Lucky clearly stock it, it must be a policy by Google Shopping Express that prohibits beer and wine delivery.

mcpherrinm• 13 years ago

I think part of the concern is that GSE seems to drop products and run, whereas Safeway drivers always have me sign for my package and get the bins unloaded before they go. I'd think there would be issues with leaving unattended alcohol, given this country's laws on controlling it.

pasbesoin• 13 years ago

Google autonomous vehicles may, amongst other things, ferry seniors around safely.

Shopping Express may save them a trip and trying to lug lots of stuff around.

I don't know much about this market, but it's an interesting perspective.

Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers

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