Does the G in alphabet stand for groceries? Bloomberg is reporting that Google will begin testing a grocery delivery service in select US cities later this year.
The new venture puts Google in direct competition with Amazon, who is also testing a similar store-to-home scheme called Amazon Fresh as well as a 'farmer's market direct' program which hauls organic produce and other goods to customers.
The ecommerce giant announced Tuesday that it would be adding a restaurant delivery service soon.
According to the report, Google's service will begin rolling out same day deliveries in San Francisco and one other US city. The former also happens to be one of the locations where Amazon is currently implementing its food delivery option.
In addition, Google will be offering next-day delivery options in Midwestern states like Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio.
Google is already in the delivery business thanks to its Google Express service, which allows users to shop online on Google's website and have their purchases delivered right to them.
For their expansion into food, Google is teaming up with Costco and Whole Foods among other retailers.
Brian Elliot, Google Express' general manager told Bloomberg:
"For a lot of our merchants that have been successful with this, we're not representing the whole store today. It's in our incentive, as well as the merchant's incentive, for us to help customers get the full store delivered to them."
Elliot says the decision to start delivering fresh goods is a way to cut down on costly warehouse and refrigeration costs.
Bloomberg says that the online grocery market is a $10.9 billion industry in the US. That figure is set to grow by 9.6 percent in the next five years.
Will Google's efforts be enough to unseat Amazon? We'll have to wait and see. Look for Google Express in your city some time soon.
