Google launches Express delivery service in Michigan

Google Express -- a same day and overnight delivery service for non-perishable items including clothes, toys, electronics and books -- is being offered in parts of central and west Michigan, giving online shoppers another way to buy things without having to set foot in a store.

The service, which stared in San Francisco in 2013, has been available in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Jose, Washington D.C., Los Angeles. It launched today in smaller Midwest cities including, Lansing, Mt. Pleasant, Battle Creek, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids.

It also is being offered in parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin.

"Our goal with Google Express is to offer a great shopping experience and connect people with their favorite stores helping them get what they need, when they want it,” said Brian Elliott, Google Express' general manager. "Today, we're very excited to be further expanding our efforts and bringing fast delivery to over 25 million people in the Midwest."

Google, the Mountain View-Calif. tech company, seeks to appeal to tech-savvy shoppers who don't want -- or don't have time -- to buy at stores or pick items up there, and are willing to pay a delivery fee, while also taking on the largest Internet-based retailer in the U.S., Seattle-based Amazon.com, and smaller delivery startups.

Customers can order items through Google Express on their electronic devices from a list of more than a dozen retailers -- including Costco, Kohls, Pet Smart, Barnes & Noble, Toys R’ Us, Ace Hardware -- and the stores send the products directly to the shoppers homes.

In northern California, Google Express is also testing quick delivery of fresh food and groceries.

A one-year Express membership costs $95, with free delivery on orders $15 or more and a free three-month trial for new customers. Orders less than $15, will be charged a delivery fee of $3. Shoppers who do not wish to become members can also buy items, but the shipping charge starts at $4.99.

Last month, though, Google Express restructured operations and closed two delivery hubs in northern California.

In many ways, e-commerce presents an opportunity for Google and other tech companies by tapping into the trend of online sales and potentially leveraging its other products and services, including an ability to predict what a customer might want by analyzing searches and previous purchases.

Online sales have been edging up since 2008 in both overall dollars spent annually and as a percentage of total retail sales, increasing from about $36.2 billion to $80.3 billion in 2015, and from 3.6% to 7%, respectively, according to data from the National Retail Federation.

Google, which was incorporated in 1998 as an Internet-services company, has expanded to a variety of disruptive businesses and technologies including how people shop.

The company has started looking at easier ways to shop with smartphones, as mobile shopping searches increase and customers increasing use their phones to buy things, including running price compare as they try on clothes and look at merchandise when they are in in stores.

The thinking is that the easier it is for customers to buy online and get their products quickly, the more likely they are to do so.

In addition to bringing in revenue to Google, the delivery service also may help boost sales of participating retailers or help lock them into the convenience of return sales and regular purchases.

Tom Scott, senior vice president of the Michigan Retailers Association, said it's too early to tell whether it well help or hurt local retailers overall.

He also said that some of the group's members didn't seem to know much about -- or had even heard about -- the program.

"There's no doubt online shopping has cut into traditional brick-and-mortar selling," he said. "But most brick and mortar have responded by selling online as well. All retailing is becoming a mix. Everything is sort of blending. We need to see how they develop that program."

Google did not release a timetable or map for exactly when and where it would roll out service next, but said through a spokesman it likely will add delivery to other areas of Michigan, including metro Detroit, and other cites nationwide if it develops and expands the program.

The Lansing State Journal contributed to this report. Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.