WHAT ABOUT GOOGLE EXPRESS?

Following the footsteps of rival companies, Alphabet Inc. has established their delivery business known as Google Express. The unique characteristic of this is that instead of using warehouses, it has separate branches which serves as their storage and has a drivers to ship the customers' orders.

This unit is Google's first attempt into venturing in the sharing economy, which has been rising as part of capitalism. Through this, the company coordinates with entities who hire their contractors who will bring the goods based on their own schedule. This tactic also keeps costs manageable to maintain the viability of their service.

Another distinct trait of Express is their offerings are not like those of Amazon prime where individuals purchase products from the same business and have them shipped from its own warehouse. Google initially opted for that model as well, but immediately realized that there are more faster and profitable methods they can go for. So they set up something that will allow users to choose items from a several participating stores, which are purchased by Express drivers and send it to people's houses.

There are some companies that are already included in the search engine's shipping unit such as Target and Staples. Currently it is targeting to have drop fresh grocery goods as well.

Operations

The main appeal of Express is its low overhead. This has caused drivers to complain about inconsistent work hours, since the tech firm only pays them when they need to have products delivered. This is mainly because it reduces the staff they need as well as operating costs.

However, those who are expecting to save money might end up disappointed as the service requires a minimum shopping amount.

A member of the program should pay $95 per year or $10 monthly, to be able to avail unlimited orders with a discount fee of $2.00 for grocery or for urgent orders that should be sent within two hours. Those who will opt for a per-month fee will have to pay $4.99 with each store stop. Additional compensation will also be imposed for alcohol purchases or heavy to acquire orders. Another $3 charge is levied on buys lower than $15, or two-hour goods less than $35.

Outlook

The complicated pricing system of Express might be inconvenient for some shoppers but those who usually prefer to stay at home will find the service useful, if there are no cheaper rivals.

This is where another problem enters as Amazon is already prominent on a dozen of cities and has the same features as well. In some areas, same day shipping is also free of charges and the $99 membership payment has extra benefits such as no required sum of order prices. It is the main reason why this program of Google has limited clients since more people choose another platform with a similar offer at more ble costs.