Looks like I can't get fresh milk from these people, unlike with Instacart. Fail for me.
Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
21–30 of 43 posts
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#22Does 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?
Geez. So much hate.
If it's not viable, why do you think Google is expanding it after testing it for months?
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#23A question to ppl who are currently using this service. Do you tip the drivers, if so, how much?
Nope. I've only seen one driver ever since I've been using it.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#24I'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!
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.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#25This 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.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#26I'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…
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.
People always complain that Google is making us dumber. Now I guess they can complain it's making us weaker as well.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#27Does 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?
Geez. So much hate. If it's not viable, why do you think Google is expanding it after testing it for months?
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.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#28Looks 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?
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.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#29I 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.
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.
Google Shopping Express just started delivering from Whole Foods.
Re: Google Shopping Express now available to all SF and Peninsula Shoppers
#30Google 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.