15 ms·

Google Launches Fresh-Grocery Deliveries

179 points by tacon 11y ago

sogen 11y ago
This is cool until they sunset it like countless others.
- anirvan_m 11y ago
  I think it isn't cool considering even that. It certainly feels like the holding company strategy was done to embark on more traditional run-of-the-mill pursuits, while avoiding obvious questions like how on Earth does it make any sense for Google to do this?!
- dannyr 11y ago
  So what if they sunset this service? The worst thing that could happen is you go back to going physically to the store to buy groceries. It's not like you won't have the ability to buy groceries if the service stops. I personally like that companies like Google are trying out different things.
  - yoz-y 11y ago
    This should not be a Google product, they have Google Ventures to support somebody else to do it. Google has a trillion of rotting product they keep pushing out and then killing. Problem with any of these Google side projects is that they come in with a huge cash reserve so they are not playing on a level field with other companies that would like to do something similar. Then, when they leave, it leaves us with a barren ecosystem and takes time for other players to come in. My favourite example is Google Reader which practically killed RSS services for years.
    - dragonwriter 11y ago
      > This should not be a Google product This is an added feature for Google Express, which is an established Google offering. Google Express was an outgrowth of Google Shopping (originally, it was "Google Shopping Express"), which was an established Google offering. Google Shopping was an outgrowth of Google Search, which is the most core Google offering there is. Why, again, should this not be a Google product? > Problem with any of these Google side projects is that they come in with a huge cash reserve so they are not playing on a level field with other companies that would like to do something similar. Um. Too bad? (And, really, that's not all that different to VC backed startups position. So, if your complaint is that VC backed startups shouldn't be allowed to compete with, e.g., bootstrapped small businesses, well, at least that would consistently applying the principal that is implied in your complaint. But I still think that's a bit silly, even then.)
      - yoz-y 11y ago
        VC backed companies usually have one offering and they have a huge motivation to succeed. Google's reaction to a failed project is a simple "meh". I would compare this more to a government subsidised production that would obliterate competition. And no competition = bad thing. This is why we have anti-trust laws.
- pixie_ 11y ago
  I agree. I'm pretty jaded on Google's side projects.
drglitch 11y ago
What is the long term ROI play here? Buying new eggs (low margin) along with a high margin jewelry or clothing item?
- xvedejas 11y ago
  There's a membership fee after the first three months of $10/mo or $95/yr
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
joelrunyon 11y ago
What's Google's USP here? This service sounds like everything Google that Google goes at great lengths to avoid (physical products, customer service, etc).
- wingerlang 11y ago
  The fact that they are Google seems pretty unique. Other than that I've got no idea.
- wingerlang 11y ago
  The fact that they are Google seems pretty unique. Other than that I've got no idea.
- Outdoorsman 11y ago
  From the article they're simply entering the "delivery" market...picking up items from retail stores and transporting them to willing buyers...obviously a markup is implied...the cost of convenience... There's no holding of inventory...thus no storage-related overhead... When I was in college one of the jobs I had was at a combination "feed" mill/agri-center...the boss was 85 years old and made a speech each year when he distributed Christmas bonuses.... He bought the business as a young man back in the late 30s... He never failed to mention that people relied on what we produced in their everyday lives...he was proud of the fact that he had never laid an employee off... He told us, "People will always want good food when they sit down at the table, and we're part of making that possible..." A truth in the last century...a truth now... Investing in providing one of the basics of life...hard to question the logic...
  - mc32 11y ago
    There have been many players in this market, old and new. And when you don't have warehouses to automate and extract efficiency, you need people to do the picking. It takes me quite some time to do my own shopping, knowing my store's layout, knowing what I want in advance. I only see low, low margins. I mean, this is the opposite of self-checkout efficiency. They're putting more people into to the cost of the product/service.
frik 11y ago
Now that Amazon bought the WebVan brand, Google starts Express fresh-grocery delivery too, and we read about crazy Giphy $300mio evaluation. Btw who owns the Pets.com brand these days?
- autopov 11y ago
  I still have a couple of WebVan's plastic bins. They went out of business soon after my order was delivered. They're still in quite good condition despite the abuse I've heaped on them. Will Google want them back?!
colept 11y ago
I can't wait until the day I can pickup groceries out of the trunk of a self-driving van.
tabdon 11y ago
Do the economics of food delivery change drastically when 1) there is no driver, 2) the car runs on electricity? Maybe this is their way to establish a food delivery brand ahead of what they to believe to be the inevitable driverless vehicle era.
mmgutz 11y ago
I'm skeptical this will be successful. I just can't see these kind of operations selecting ripe and fresh produce like my mother taught me from the grocery store. They're concerned about their bottom line and will send whatever is available. Good for the stores, not good for wise consumers.
- skewart 11y ago
  That's a big reason I'm not excited about these services. But if you're buying a lot of processed food - and a lot of grocery carts in the US are mostly processed food - then it's not a big deal.
- cosmie 11y ago
  Customer retention is a key concern for their bottom line, so they're incentivized to not piss off a customer by sending overripe or wilting produce. In the case of partnering with local stores, you'll end up with clashing incentives (the delivery service wants you to get the shiny apple, the store sees you as a way to pawn off the bruised one). But the delivery service can still apply pressure on the retailer, as well as instructing their drivers to do a quality control check before accepting the delivery.
- roel_v 11y ago
  I've been ordering fresh groceries online for a few months now (Netherlands) and while I was concerned about that as well, this hasn't shown to be a problem yet. Vegetables and fruit are very well packaged, in big styrofoam containers that have plenty of room in them, and I've never seen them stack vegetables that can't handle it (i.e., putting some lettuce on top of a cabbage isn't going to damage the cabbage). Obviously there will be variance between suppliers, but my experience has been good and contrary to what I expected.
- Cthulhu_ 11y ago
  It was before my time, but I'm sure there were a lot of people that thought the same thing about self-service stores (before that you'd step up to a counter and order things, at least on this side of the pool). Mind you, I'm sceptical myself; there's several deliver-fresh-food-to-home schemes going on here, they're far too expensive IMO and according to my colleagues, can be very pushy when it comes to maintaining a subscription model of sorts.
mc32 11y ago
What does Google see that WebVan did not and Peapod and the USPS do not? Groceries tend to be low margin and relatively heavy goods. [And, it takes me half hour to an hour to do my shopping, and that's knowing what I want to buy in advance, knowing the store. There is not much room for profit in this scenario, except charging value added rather than flat fee. I mean they are partnering with local grocers rather than automating food stores] If anyone has the reach and network it'd be the USPS (although their fleet would have to be modified to carry perishable goods). Seriously, they've been hemorrhaging money, why doesn't or hasn't the USPS looked into the growing same-day delivery market (beside their Amazon deals). Are their unions holding them back, because if they are, it's shortsighted. They should have logistics down to a science.
- kevindeasis 11y ago
  It seems to make sense for having a fleet of self-driving cars. I think they're gonna go head to head with Uber within a decade.
  - mc32 11y ago
    That would make sense if the grocery bags were waiting to be picked up for delivery without that adding any additional cost (as I mentioned, it takes me (quite some) time to do my own shopping, imagine shopping from a list in a store you might be unfamiliar with) Let's say $300 shopping list (and cost of transport is 0): Grocery store profit: $6.00 Time to shop for $300 of groceries: 40 mins. Dollars/hour/40mins: ? Where is the profit here? $10/mo subscription does not cover it. Ads, coupons?
    - nitrogen 11y ago
      They could have devices similar to those used in distribution warehouses that direct pickers from aisle to aisle, picking multiple orders at a time.
    - roel_v 11y ago
      - Reduced need for stocking staff - Less stores needed, just distribution centers. You could have your suppliers deliver in shipping containers and have your order picking robots (in a few years) pick straight from the containers. All you'd need is a big-ass warehouse with loading docks and a few cranes. - Customer targeting and upselling. I'd spend more of my money in a store that would know my food preferences, family makeup, habits and that would advise me on what to cook. I'd even pay for a service that would let me pick, say on Sunday, what to eat for the rest of the week (guided by good suggestion algos of course) and would then deliver the groceries for that in one or more deliveries over the week. But even without paying for that service, it would let a supermarket get near 100% of a certain customer's total spending on groceries.
bobbles 11y ago
Woolworths and Coles have been competing on this in Australia for some time now. You shop online in the same categories as the shelves in a real store, then arrange a 3-4 hour delivery window. So much better than going into the store, plus they do stuff like 'you bought this last time'
- stevekemp 11y ago
  In the UK this is common too, all of the larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury, and Waitrose do online delivery. As you say they remember what you bought in the past, and our delivery slots can be booked for 60 minute windows. Generally there's a flat-fee of £5 for a delivery, which is pretty good compared to having to having to do the job yourself.
vishalsankhla 11y ago
Imagine the advertising opportunity they have on this service. CPG companies spend billions of dollars on advertising in stores and via coupons and have no real way to measure ROI. This service could change everything, not only can they measure ROI - they can target coupons to specific people based on demographics. I think the potential is huge, no surprise that Google is loosing money on Google express and probably this service too, but if they can manage to get millions of users on this service - they can make up for all that in no time. Google has deep pockets to afford this service. This is similar to how they invested heavily in YouTube and now its a cash cow. I think this opportunity is bigger much much bigger
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
n0us 11y ago
I enjoy going to the store to get food.
SixSigma 11y ago
As Wal-Mart rolls back, Google rolls in. Sounds a bit "me too" wrt Amazon
nickpsecurity 11y ago
Google usually operates in high-margin industries. This is the opposite. I've had the "privilege" of working in this one. You're talking all kinds of players working against each other for perceived self-gain with individual companies constantly pushing costs down to the point their staff can barely break even. And Google intends to compete with that using something with higher cost? Pretty crazy. I was unsurprised they'd use Costco and Whole Foods while targeting two areas that already pay too much for stuff. Love to see them try that in my area where people go for whatever costs the least most of the time. Lots of true premium services have gone out of business with what's left being those that approximate premium with right compromises to keep cost down. That's probably true across most of the States. The biggest flaw in all this is what these companies keep ignoring: impulse buying. The big stores put what you need as far away from you as possible. Then, you have to exert physical effort to get to good deals while seeing, at arms reach, all kinds of profitable items. This is a hard to quantify, but big, chunk of grocery revenues. So, these companies doing online deliveries or personal shoppers have to make more money than the competition while leaving out one of most powerful techniques for making money. Always operating at a disadvantage, there. So, we're not going to see such things proliferate. Those with the most capital, negotiating power with manufacturers, and proven techniques win here. Almost always.
- ISL 11y ago
  When I was laid up in bed with an injury and used Amazon Fresh for groceries, the impulse-buy was extremely powerful, and took a different form. Groceries would sometimes be delivered within hours, and plenty of pricey electronics and media could be had simultaneously. Prime now covers much of that draw. Speed is critical to capturing that impulse now.
- Outdoorsman 11y ago
  So, maybe they're diversifying?...and maybe they're betting on being able to provide a more reliable service...? They certainly have a bit of capital to burn...
  - nickpsecurity 11y ago
kchoudhu 11y ago
Why?
notduncansmith 11y ago
I think that the comments about the profitability of grocery delivery are off the mark. This feels like a loss-leader to get data, and perhaps later on we'll see an integration with Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences).
nikolay 11y ago
I'm pretty happy with the free and near real-time Amazon Now. Amazon Fresh is one of the rare Amazon failures. Well, it's still around, but at $299/year (well, minus $99 for Prime) plus tips for delivery - it's expensive! I got the Express trial and was happy that I'll be able to save trips to Costco, but, no, I won't as they possibly offer less than 1% of Costco's inventory, so, it's a totally useless service for me as I still need to visit the wholesaler.
- Symbiote 11y ago
  The UK has a very competitive market for grocery delivery. It's existed using the Internet since 1997 - it's one of the first services I remember people being attracted to. Everything is available, and after almost 20 years they've obviously worked out how to deliver what people want (fresh / unripe / whatever). Delivery is still £1-5 or so, depending on time, and the supermarkets often have a minimum spend (or additional charge). £40 for Tesco. If shopping every week, that's potentially less than Amazon, and with the full range, so perhaps there's room for competition.
  - lucaspiller 11y ago
    Tesco will deliver for under £40 (previously £25), but will charge £4 extra on top of the delivery fee. Although there are a lot of players, apparently they operate these services at a loss [0]. [0] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2707071/Supermarket-giants-lose-100million-year-online-delivery-services-Cost-delivery-means-effectively-paying-customers-shop-them.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2707071/Supermarket-...
    - ionised 11y ago
      They don't mention the one I use in that article, Ocado, which is an online-only grocery company.
  - dzhiurgis 11y ago
    Their web experience haven't improved much since then.
ehudla 11y ago
SV: Supporting the Asperger life style since 1998.
- kevingadd 11y ago
  Grocery delivery is extremely important for people with disabilities, people without cars, and people who are otherwise not able to burn an hour or two going to buy groceries. It's not just something for rich programmers. When I order groceries from Safeway the extra fee on top is pretty small and their employee brings it up on a cart and carries it all inside. This means that it's much easier to buy a bunch of groceries in bulk, which means less trips to the grocery store and less orders, helping make the fee amortize out a bit more. Safeway's service actually offers more fresh stuff than I can find if I visit a local store. The Safeway closest to me is space-constrained (downtown San Jose) so in practice they only stock around half of the things I can get via the delivery service.
  - ehudla 11y ago
    And you think these are the reasons google decided to go into this business?
- yitchelle 11y ago
  Attaching "lifestyle" as you have used it imply that it is a choice for Aspergers. For many, this is simply not the case. As a dad with two Asperger sons, somedays I wished that it was a choice and can be consciously switched off. Sorry for the vent.
  - ehudla 11y ago
    The joke wasn't on people with Asperger's. It was on people who don't, but prefer to reduce interaction with others (which they often deem inferior, maybe?) and who decided to appropriate the Asperger label. I hoped the sarcasm would come through. Sorry.
Havoc 11y ago
Strikes me as a terrible idea but curious to see them try anyway
veritas213 11y ago
This makes so little sense.. Google seems to prefer hunting anchovies over whales on this one.
veritas213 11y ago
This makes so little sense.. Google seems to prefer hunting anchovies over whales on this one.
rajacombinator 11y ago
Google Shopping Express (the superior name) is the best delivery service I've used. One of the best Google products too. For car-less city dwellers like myself, it is a huge time and effort (and potentially money) saver to get bulky and heavy dry goods delivered to my apartment. There is definitely profit to be made here if they cut out the middlemen (stores) and operated their own warehouses. Right now they're probably trying to piggyback demand data, if they're smart. When you add in Google's ability to make quality software and algorithms it makes sense where their edge can come from. But sadly, it will probably be just another "me too" side project that gets axed.
danr4 11y ago
Hey here's one of my ideas thrown to HN crowd: Subscription for perishables i.e bread, meat, eggs, fruits and veggies - You shouldn't actually buy things you buy every week, you should just get them shipped!
- awqrre 11y ago
  here's another idea: 1. Create a grocery list online, 2. pickup packaged ready-to-go order at local warehouse
  - MarkyC4 11y ago
    This is the "click and collect" model. For example: http://shop.loblaws.ca http://shop.loblaws.ca
- Symbiote 11y ago
  This is an extremely old idea, and used to be normal for things like bread, milk and eggs in much of Europe, America etc. There are some extracts from historical texts here [1], with accounts of delivered milk in the 1790s. You can still get milk and some dairy products delivered in a few places in the UK. My parents had milk delivered until about 2005. More recently, a "veg box" is a box of vegetables: https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/ https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/ [1] http://susannaives.com/wordpress/2012/03/buying-bread-and-milk-in-18th-and-19th-century-london/ http://susannaives.com/wordpress/2012/03/buying-bread-and-mi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkman
beyondcompute 11y ago
It'a good they didn't do some other consumer-facing product this time. Algorithms and infrastructure are their strong points.
tempodox 11y ago
I can't wait until the Goog finally builds entire cities, countries and planets. Stop trifling with the details.
- dagw 11y ago
  Company towns used to be quite popular back in the day, maybe Google should take a stab at bringing them back.
rodionos 11y ago
I still own a Webvan share certificate to remind me of stupid things I did during the last bubble. Anyway... Does Google Express have an API? I'd be great if I could a) automate my repeat orders and b) be a bit opportunistic for non-perishable promo items. That's what I do in store - I buy either Evian or San Pelegrino depending in promos.
jt2190 11y ago
* Google Express provides delivery only * Partner retailers provide "warehousing" and order picking. * 3 USD per delivery fee for memebers * 5 USD per delivery fee for non-members * 35 USD minimum order * San Francisco and Los Angeles only, for now.
SideburnsOfDoom 11y ago
Does google feel that they have to compete with Amazon as a "rival stack" ? They're both integrating things from cloud computing to autonomous vehicles, and now to to parcel delivery.
coldcode 11y ago
Google delivering groceries. Wish Steve Jobs was around to poke fun at that one. How does that leverage any advantage Google has or add to their profitability?
hrb1979 11y ago
Another issue that's not been mentioned is Google's concerns over ad revenue. Consumers are increasingly searching directly in Amazon versus in Google for product purchases, which is a significant worry to the Google ad revenue model. By participating more directly in the shopping experience Google can hope to stem some of these traffic losses. Doing it in groceries, which is such a regular purchase, they might believe they can change habits more quickly. And at least charging margins for convenience versus pure grocery retail, which as others have mentioned, are brutal.
fs111 11y ago
They do the alphabet-rename thing to better split things into different brands, yet this is attached to the Google brand. How does that make any sense?
- rhino369 11y ago
  Because the alphabet rename was a stupid idea in the first place. There is no reason to do business under the name of your Conglomerate entity name.
- dragonwriter 11y ago
  > They do the alphabet-rename thing to better split things into different brands, yet this is attached to the Google brand. Because this is a new feature of Google Express, which was part of the established core Google business when the Google/Alphabet split happened, not one of the pre-existing non-core things broken out into Alphabet or a new venture by Alphabet post-reorganization.
tjl 11y ago
In Kitchener-Waterloo there's two different online grocery stores, Grocery Gateway (which has been operating since the '90s) and Grocera (which is very new). I've been using the former for a long time. I checked out the latter (which is backed by Google) and the markup was too high on the items I checked over Grocery Gateway. Tofu was $4.99 vs. $2.49 and soy milk was over a dollar more (I have health-related dietary restrictions). Grocery Gateway is operated by a store chain, Grocera picks them up from local stores.
jedicoffee 11y ago
Could just offer to buy Instacart or another service that is already established and stop trying to kill startups.
Animats 11y ago
Services which do this by sending people to retail stores suffer from out-of-stock problems. They don't have inventory information. So you tend to get orders with missing items. Amazon, which has its own automated warehouses, knows what it has in stock when it accepts the order, and can tell you at ordering time what's out of stock. Google is doing an Uber-like job here - they just run the shopping cart program. Others do all the work.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
anarchitect 11y ago
How does this "organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful"? I'll be disappointed if there isn't some ulterior motive at play. Some in this thread have pointed out they stand the collect more customer information or they may potentially have a use-case for drones.

179 points by tacon 11y ago

sogen 11y ago

This is cool until they sunset it like countless others.

anirvan_m 11y ago
I think it isn't cool considering even that. It certainly feels like the holding company strategy was done to embark on more traditional run-of-the-mill pursuits, while avoiding obvious questions like how on Earth does it make any sense for Google to do this?!
dannyr 11y ago
So what if they sunset this service? The worst thing that could happen is you go back to going physically to the store to buy groceries. It's not like you won't have the ability to buy groceries if the service stops. I personally like that companies like Google are trying out different things.
- yoz-y 11y ago
  This should not be a Google product, they have Google Ventures to support somebody else to do it. Google has a trillion of rotting product they keep pushing out and then killing. Problem with any of these Google side projects is that they come in with a huge cash reserve so they are not playing on a level field with other companies that would like to do something similar. Then, when they leave, it leaves us with a barren ecosystem and takes time for other players to come in. My favourite example is Google Reader which practically killed RSS services for years.
  - dragonwriter 11y ago
    > This should not be a Google product This is an added feature for Google Express, which is an established Google offering. Google Express was an outgrowth of Google Shopping (originally, it was "Google Shopping Express"), which was an established Google offering. Google Shopping was an outgrowth of Google Search, which is the most core Google offering there is. Why, again, should this not be a Google product? > Problem with any of these Google side projects is that they come in with a huge cash reserve so they are not playing on a level field with other companies that would like to do something similar. Um. Too bad? (And, really, that's not all that different to VC backed startups position. So, if your complaint is that VC backed startups shouldn't be allowed to compete with, e.g., bootstrapped small businesses, well, at least that would consistently applying the principal that is implied in your complaint. But I still think that's a bit silly, even then.)
    - yoz-y 11y ago
      VC backed companies usually have one offering and they have a huge motivation to succeed. Google's reaction to a failed project is a simple "meh". I would compare this more to a government subsidised production that would obliterate competition. And no competition = bad thing. This is why we have anti-trust laws.
pixie_ 11y ago
I agree. I'm pretty jaded on Google's side projects.

drglitch 11y ago

What is the long term ROI play here? Buying new eggs (low margin) along with a high margin jewelry or clothing item?

xvedejas 11y ago
There's a membership fee after the first three months of $10/mo or $95/yr
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]

joelrunyon 11y ago

What's Google's USP here? This service sounds like everything Google that Google goes at great lengths to avoid (physical products, customer service, etc).

wingerlang 11y ago
The fact that they are Google seems pretty unique. Other than that I've got no idea.
wingerlang 11y ago
The fact that they are Google seems pretty unique. Other than that I've got no idea.
Outdoorsman 11y ago
From the article they're simply entering the "delivery" market...picking up items from retail stores and transporting them to willing buyers...obviously a markup is implied...the cost of convenience... There's no holding of inventory...thus no storage-related overhead... When I was in college one of the jobs I had was at a combination "feed" mill/agri-center...the boss was 85 years old and made a speech each year when he distributed Christmas bonuses.... He bought the business as a young man back in the late 30s... He never failed to mention that people relied on what we produced in their everyday lives...he was proud of the fact that he had never laid an employee off... He told us, "People will always want good food when they sit down at the table, and we're part of making that possible..." A truth in the last century...a truth now... Investing in providing one of the basics of life...hard to question the logic...
- mc32 11y ago
  There have been many players in this market, old and new. And when you don't have warehouses to automate and extract efficiency, you need people to do the picking. It takes me quite some time to do my own shopping, knowing my store's layout, knowing what I want in advance. I only see low, low margins. I mean, this is the opposite of self-checkout efficiency. They're putting more people into to the cost of the product/service.

frik 11y ago

Now that Amazon bought the WebVan brand, Google starts Express fresh-grocery delivery too, and we read about crazy Giphy $300mio evaluation. Btw who owns the Pets.com brand these days?

autopov 11y ago
I still have a couple of WebVan's plastic bins. They went out of business soon after my order was delivered. They're still in quite good condition despite the abuse I've heaped on them. Will Google want them back?!

colept 11y ago

I can't wait until the day I can pickup groceries out of the trunk of a self-driving van.

tabdon 11y ago

Do the economics of food delivery change drastically when 1) there is no driver, 2) the car runs on electricity? Maybe this is their way to establish a food delivery brand ahead of what they to believe to be the inevitable driverless vehicle era.

mmgutz 11y ago

I'm skeptical this will be successful. I just can't see these kind of operations selecting ripe and fresh produce like my mother taught me from the grocery store. They're concerned about their bottom line and will send whatever is available. Good for the stores, not good for wise consumers.

skewart 11y ago
That's a big reason I'm not excited about these services. But if you're buying a lot of processed food - and a lot of grocery carts in the US are mostly processed food - then it's not a big deal.
cosmie 11y ago
Customer retention is a key concern for their bottom line, so they're incentivized to not piss off a customer by sending overripe or wilting produce. In the case of partnering with local stores, you'll end up with clashing incentives (the delivery service wants you to get the shiny apple, the store sees you as a way to pawn off the bruised one). But the delivery service can still apply pressure on the retailer, as well as instructing their drivers to do a quality control check before accepting the delivery.
roel_v 11y ago
I've been ordering fresh groceries online for a few months now (Netherlands) and while I was concerned about that as well, this hasn't shown to be a problem yet. Vegetables and fruit are very well packaged, in big styrofoam containers that have plenty of room in them, and I've never seen them stack vegetables that can't handle it (i.e., putting some lettuce on top of a cabbage isn't going to damage the cabbage). Obviously there will be variance between suppliers, but my experience has been good and contrary to what I expected.
Cthulhu_ 11y ago
It was before my time, but I'm sure there were a lot of people that thought the same thing about self-service stores (before that you'd step up to a counter and order things, at least on this side of the pool). Mind you, I'm sceptical myself; there's several deliver-fresh-food-to-home schemes going on here, they're far too expensive IMO and according to my colleagues, can be very pushy when it comes to maintaining a subscription model of sorts.

mc32 11y ago

What does Google see that WebVan did not and Peapod and the USPS do not? Groceries tend to be low margin and relatively heavy goods. [And, it takes me half hour to an hour to do my shopping, and that's knowing what I want to buy in advance, knowing the store. There is not much room for profit in this scenario, except charging value added rather than flat fee. I mean they are partnering with local grocers rather than automating food stores] If anyone has the reach and network it'd be the USPS (although their fleet would have to be modified to carry perishable goods). Seriously, they've been hemorrhaging money, why doesn't or hasn't the USPS looked into the growing same-day delivery market (beside their Amazon deals). Are their unions holding them back, because if they are, it's shortsighted. They should have logistics down to a science.

kevindeasis 11y ago
It seems to make sense for having a fleet of self-driving cars. I think they're gonna go head to head with Uber within a decade.
- mc32 11y ago
  That would make sense if the grocery bags were waiting to be picked up for delivery without that adding any additional cost (as I mentioned, it takes me (quite some) time to do my own shopping, imagine shopping from a list in a store you might be unfamiliar with) Let's say $300 shopping list (and cost of transport is 0): Grocery store profit: $6.00 Time to shop for $300 of groceries: 40 mins. Dollars/hour/40mins: ? Where is the profit here? $10/mo subscription does not cover it. Ads, coupons?
  - nitrogen 11y ago
    They could have devices similar to those used in distribution warehouses that direct pickers from aisle to aisle, picking multiple orders at a time.
  - roel_v 11y ago
    - Reduced need for stocking staff - Less stores needed, just distribution centers. You could have your suppliers deliver in shipping containers and have your order picking robots (in a few years) pick straight from the containers. All you'd need is a big-ass warehouse with loading docks and a few cranes. - Customer targeting and upselling. I'd spend more of my money in a store that would know my food preferences, family makeup, habits and that would advise me on what to cook. I'd even pay for a service that would let me pick, say on Sunday, what to eat for the rest of the week (guided by good suggestion algos of course) and would then deliver the groceries for that in one or more deliveries over the week. But even without paying for that service, it would let a supermarket get near 100% of a certain customer's total spending on groceries.

bobbles 11y ago

Woolworths and Coles have been competing on this in Australia for some time now. You shop online in the same categories as the shelves in a real store, then arrange a 3-4 hour delivery window. So much better than going into the store, plus they do stuff like 'you bought this last time'

stevekemp 11y ago
In the UK this is common too, all of the larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury, and Waitrose do online delivery. As you say they remember what you bought in the past, and our delivery slots can be booked for 60 minute windows. Generally there's a flat-fee of £5 for a delivery, which is pretty good compared to having to having to do the job yourself.

vishalsankhla 11y ago

Imagine the advertising opportunity they have on this service. CPG companies spend billions of dollars on advertising in stores and via coupons and have no real way to measure ROI. This service could change everything, not only can they measure ROI - they can target coupons to specific people based on demographics. I think the potential is huge, no surprise that Google is loosing money on Google express and probably this service too, but if they can manage to get millions of users on this service - they can make up for all that in no time. Google has deep pockets to afford this service. This is similar to how they invested heavily in YouTube and now its a cash cow. I think this opportunity is bigger much much bigger

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

n0us 11y ago

I enjoy going to the store to get food.

SixSigma 11y ago

As Wal-Mart rolls back, Google rolls in. Sounds a bit "me too" wrt Amazon

nickpsecurity 11y ago

Google usually operates in high-margin industries. This is the opposite. I've had the "privilege" of working in this one. You're talking all kinds of players working against each other for perceived self-gain with individual companies constantly pushing costs down to the point their staff can barely break even. And Google intends to compete with that using something with higher cost? Pretty crazy. I was unsurprised they'd use Costco and Whole Foods while targeting two areas that already pay too much for stuff. Love to see them try that in my area where people go for whatever costs the least most of the time. Lots of true premium services have gone out of business with what's left being those that approximate premium with right compromises to keep cost down. That's probably true across most of the States. The biggest flaw in all this is what these companies keep ignoring: impulse buying. The big stores put what you need as far away from you as possible. Then, you have to exert physical effort to get to good deals while seeing, at arms reach, all kinds of profitable items. This is a hard to quantify, but big, chunk of grocery revenues. So, these companies doing online deliveries or personal shoppers have to make more money than the competition while leaving out one of most powerful techniques for making money. Always operating at a disadvantage, there. So, we're not going to see such things proliferate. Those with the most capital, negotiating power with manufacturers, and proven techniques win here. Almost always.

ISL 11y ago
When I was laid up in bed with an injury and used Amazon Fresh for groceries, the impulse-buy was extremely powerful, and took a different form. Groceries would sometimes be delivered within hours, and plenty of pricey electronics and media could be had simultaneously. Prime now covers much of that draw. Speed is critical to capturing that impulse now.
Outdoorsman 11y ago
So, maybe they're diversifying?...and maybe they're betting on being able to provide a more reliable service...? They certainly have a bit of capital to burn...
- nickpsecurity 11y ago

kchoudhu 11y ago

Why?

notduncansmith 11y ago

I think that the comments about the profitability of grocery delivery are off the mark. This feels like a loss-leader to get data, and perhaps later on we'll see an integration with Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences).

nikolay 11y ago

I'm pretty happy with the free and near real-time Amazon Now. Amazon Fresh is one of the rare Amazon failures. Well, it's still around, but at $299/year (well, minus $99 for Prime) plus tips for delivery - it's expensive! I got the Express trial and was happy that I'll be able to save trips to Costco, but, no, I won't as they possibly offer less than 1% of Costco's inventory, so, it's a totally useless service for me as I still need to visit the wholesaler.

Symbiote 11y ago
The UK has a very competitive market for grocery delivery. It's existed using the Internet since 1997 - it's one of the first services I remember people being attracted to. Everything is available, and after almost 20 years they've obviously worked out how to deliver what people want (fresh / unripe / whatever). Delivery is still £1-5 or so, depending on time, and the supermarkets often have a minimum spend (or additional charge). £40 for Tesco. If shopping every week, that's potentially less than Amazon, and with the full range, so perhaps there's room for competition.
- lucaspiller 11y ago
  Tesco will deliver for under £40 (previously £25), but will charge £4 extra on top of the delivery fee. Although there are a lot of players, apparently they operate these services at a loss [0]. [0] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2707071/Supermarket-giants-lose-100million-year-online-delivery-services-Cost-delivery-means-effectively-paying-customers-shop-them.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2707071/Supermarket-...
  - ionised 11y ago
    They don't mention the one I use in that article, Ocado, which is an online-only grocery company.
- dzhiurgis 11y ago
  Their web experience haven't improved much since then.

ehudla 11y ago

SV: Supporting the Asperger life style since 1998.

kevingadd 11y ago
Grocery delivery is extremely important for people with disabilities, people without cars, and people who are otherwise not able to burn an hour or two going to buy groceries. It's not just something for rich programmers. When I order groceries from Safeway the extra fee on top is pretty small and their employee brings it up on a cart and carries it all inside. This means that it's much easier to buy a bunch of groceries in bulk, which means less trips to the grocery store and less orders, helping make the fee amortize out a bit more. Safeway's service actually offers more fresh stuff than I can find if I visit a local store. The Safeway closest to me is space-constrained (downtown San Jose) so in practice they only stock around half of the things I can get via the delivery service.
- ehudla 11y ago
  And you think these are the reasons google decided to go into this business?
yitchelle 11y ago
Attaching "lifestyle" as you have used it imply that it is a choice for Aspergers. For many, this is simply not the case. As a dad with two Asperger sons, somedays I wished that it was a choice and can be consciously switched off. Sorry for the vent.
- ehudla 11y ago
  The joke wasn't on people with Asperger's. It was on people who don't, but prefer to reduce interaction with others (which they often deem inferior, maybe?) and who decided to appropriate the Asperger label. I hoped the sarcasm would come through. Sorry.

Havoc 11y ago

Strikes me as a terrible idea but curious to see them try anyway

veritas213 11y ago

This makes so little sense.. Google seems to prefer hunting anchovies over whales on this one.

veritas213 11y ago

This makes so little sense.. Google seems to prefer hunting anchovies over whales on this one.

rajacombinator 11y ago

Google Shopping Express (the superior name) is the best delivery service I've used. One of the best Google products too. For car-less city dwellers like myself, it is a huge time and effort (and potentially money) saver to get bulky and heavy dry goods delivered to my apartment. There is definitely profit to be made here if they cut out the middlemen (stores) and operated their own warehouses. Right now they're probably trying to piggyback demand data, if they're smart. When you add in Google's ability to make quality software and algorithms it makes sense where their edge can come from. But sadly, it will probably be just another "me too" side project that gets axed.

danr4 11y ago

Hey here's one of my ideas thrown to HN crowd: Subscription for perishables i.e bread, meat, eggs, fruits and veggies - You shouldn't actually buy things you buy every week, you should just get them shipped!

awqrre 11y ago
here's another idea: 1. Create a grocery list online, 2. pickup packaged ready-to-go order at local warehouse
- MarkyC4 11y ago
  This is the "click and collect" model. For example: http://shop.loblaws.ca http://shop.loblaws.ca
Symbiote 11y ago
This is an extremely old idea, and used to be normal for things like bread, milk and eggs in much of Europe, America etc. There are some extracts from historical texts here [1], with accounts of delivered milk in the 1790s. You can still get milk and some dairy products delivered in a few places in the UK. My parents had milk delivered until about 2005. More recently, a "veg box" is a box of vegetables: https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/ https://www.abelandcole.co.uk/ [1] http://susannaives.com/wordpress/2012/03/buying-bread-and-milk-in-18th-and-19th-century-london/ http://susannaives.com/wordpress/2012/03/buying-bread-and-mi... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkman https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milkman

beyondcompute 11y ago

It'a good they didn't do some other consumer-facing product this time. Algorithms and infrastructure are their strong points.

tempodox 11y ago

I can't wait until the Goog finally builds entire cities, countries and planets. Stop trifling with the details.

dagw 11y ago
Company towns used to be quite popular back in the day, maybe Google should take a stab at bringing them back.

rodionos 11y ago

I still own a Webvan share certificate to remind me of stupid things I did during the last bubble. Anyway... Does Google Express have an API? I'd be great if I could a) automate my repeat orders and b) be a bit opportunistic for non-perishable promo items. That's what I do in store - I buy either Evian or San Pelegrino depending in promos.

jt2190 11y ago

* Google Express provides delivery only * Partner retailers provide "warehousing" and order picking. * 3 USD per delivery fee for memebers * 5 USD per delivery fee for non-members * 35 USD minimum order * San Francisco and Los Angeles only, for now.

SideburnsOfDoom 11y ago

Does google feel that they have to compete with Amazon as a "rival stack" ? They're both integrating things from cloud computing to autonomous vehicles, and now to to parcel delivery.

coldcode 11y ago

Google delivering groceries. Wish Steve Jobs was around to poke fun at that one. How does that leverage any advantage Google has or add to their profitability?

hrb1979 11y ago

Another issue that's not been mentioned is Google's concerns over ad revenue. Consumers are increasingly searching directly in Amazon versus in Google for product purchases, which is a significant worry to the Google ad revenue model. By participating more directly in the shopping experience Google can hope to stem some of these traffic losses. Doing it in groceries, which is such a regular purchase, they might believe they can change habits more quickly. And at least charging margins for convenience versus pure grocery retail, which as others have mentioned, are brutal.

fs111 11y ago

They do the alphabet-rename thing to better split things into different brands, yet this is attached to the Google brand. How does that make any sense?

rhino369 11y ago
Because the alphabet rename was a stupid idea in the first place. There is no reason to do business under the name of your Conglomerate entity name.
dragonwriter 11y ago
> They do the alphabet-rename thing to better split things into different brands, yet this is attached to the Google brand. Because this is a new feature of Google Express, which was part of the established core Google business when the Google/Alphabet split happened, not one of the pre-existing non-core things broken out into Alphabet or a new venture by Alphabet post-reorganization.

tjl 11y ago

In Kitchener-Waterloo there's two different online grocery stores, Grocery Gateway (which has been operating since the '90s) and Grocera (which is very new). I've been using the former for a long time. I checked out the latter (which is backed by Google) and the markup was too high on the items I checked over Grocery Gateway. Tofu was $4.99 vs. $2.49 and soy milk was over a dollar more (I have health-related dietary restrictions). Grocery Gateway is operated by a store chain, Grocera picks them up from local stores.

jedicoffee 11y ago

Could just offer to buy Instacart or another service that is already established and stop trying to kill startups.

Animats 11y ago

Services which do this by sending people to retail stores suffer from out-of-stock problems. They don't have inventory information. So you tend to get orders with missing items. Amazon, which has its own automated warehouses, knows what it has in stock when it accepts the order, and can tell you at ordering time what's out of stock. Google is doing an Uber-like job here - they just run the shopping cart program. Others do all the work.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

anarchitect 11y ago

How does this "organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful"? I'll be disappointed if there isn't some ulterior motive at play. Some in this thread have pointed out they stand the collect more customer information or they may potentially have a use-case for drones.