Speedy delivery

Madison’s proximity to Chicago is often considered a selling point for people looking to take a day trip. Now it’s a big part of the reason the city — along with the rest of the southern part of the state — is one of the new regions with access to Google Express, a next day delivery service that lets consumers shop their favorite stores online—in a single place.

“Since we’ve launched Google Express, we found that both users and merchants love the experience,” says Michael Pezzicola, regional head of Google Express operations. “People love having their favorite products from their favorite stores delivered the very next day; merchants love providing another way to deliver their items, finding new customers, and extending their reach beyond their geographical reach.

“The Midwest was selected as part of our current expansion due to its location,” Pezzicola continues. “Overnight complements our growing same-day shopping and delivery service, which is currently available in downtown Chicago. We’re using our existing operation, which is a great starting point to expand our delivery service into a much broader area.”

Google Express is available to shoppers in seven cities and last week’s expansion across the Midwest is the first geographic expansion since last fall, when the service expanded to Chicago, Boston, and Washington, D.C.

“Our goal with Google Express is to offer a great shopping experience and connect people with their favorite stores,” explains Brian Elliott, general manager for Google Express. “We’re very excited to be further expanding our efforts, making it easy for over 25 million people in the Midwest to get things they need from stores they love delivered overnight.”

“Shoppers love getting overnight delivery from their favorite stores like Costco, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Barnes & Noble without paying any hidden mark-ups on the product price,” Pezzicola says. “And as we continue to add retailers to our program the service becomes even more useful for a full range of everyday needs.”

Pezzicola notes Google Express’ model makes it easier for the company to offer overnight service in markets that have some proximity to cities where it’s currently offering Google Express. In the case of its recent expansion, the company was able to concentrate on the Midwest because of its presence in Chicago.

“We don’t have any additional expansion plans, but we’re always looking for new ways to bring Google Express to even more people,” Pezzicola adds. “We want to allow everyone in Wisconsin to get this service. We’re working on it.”

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In addition to helping Madison customers get their items faster, Google Express benefits local merchants by extending their reach to new customers throughout the region and increasing the discoverability of their stores and products.

“We work with a number of vendors to power our shopping and delivery platform. As we grow, we want merchants of all shapes, sizes, and varieties to be able to connect to customers through Google Express,” says Pezzicola.

Among the benefits for merchants who work with Google Express, the service helps merchants extend the range of their store by helping them reach new customers who aren’t visiting their physical locations.

“We believe that in the long run, the best way to make sure we faithfully represent a store’s selection, service, loyalty programs, co-marketing, and overall experience that customers know and love is to work in partnership with our retailers,” Pezzicola says. “We’re just in the early days with Google Express. We have a solid model, it’s doing well in current regions, and we’re excited to scale that to even more regions soon.”

Currently, shoppers can sign up for the unlimited delivery membership for $95 a year/$10 month. Google Express is also offering a three-month free trial for new members. Membership perks include unlimited free delivery on eligible orders totaling $15 or more and the ability to share the membership with a household member.

Nonmembers can still enjoy the convenience of Google Express. Delivery starts at $4.99 per store for eligible orders totaling $15, and there is a $3 small-order fee from each store customers make under $15 of purchases from before taxes and fees.

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