Google Goes After Amazon With One Day Delivery
The competition between the world’s biggest tech companies seems to be heating up once again. Google has quietly been in talks with major retailers to offer one-day delivery on merchandise, a move that would place it in direct competition with Amazon.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal this morning. The Journal cited multiple sources who said that Google has pitched the project to big retailers that it has teamed up with in the past, including Macy’s, Gap, and OfficeMax.
The company doesn’t plan to become an online retailer itself by building gigantic warehouses or selling directly to customers, the sources said. What it does want to do is help consumers find goods they want to buy through Google’s search engine’s product-search feature and then swoop in to provide quick shipping while the retailer provides the merchandise.
It was not clear what type of cut, if any, Google would get by providing the retailers with delivery service. By beefing up its product-search feature, Google will get more revenues from its ads on the site, sources told the Journal.
The move, which Google did not confirm, is a direct shot at Amazon Prime, the e-commerce giant’s $79-a-year service that gives shoppers fast shipping at no additional charge. Prime helped drive a 42 percent increase in the company’s sales in the first nine months of the year, the Journal reported.