I've been using Google Shopping Express (beta invite from a former coworker) for the past month now, and I love it. I ordered a toothbrush going into work yesterday, and the courier was at my desk by noon. I especially like that it includes a variety of local stores (including budget places like Walgreens and Target) so I almost always get the best price. A couple of potential flaws I see with the service are:
* The price point. Right now the beta gives me free delivery on everything. So I can order from numerous stores with tiny orders, which is great. But normally it looks like it will cost $4.99 for a one-store delivery, which may not be worth it for me unless I really need something urgent. Amazon Prime will almost always be worth it for me in that case, unless it's something I can't go two days without. Now, maybe if Google came out with a Prime-like one time annual fee for unlimited deliveries...
* The type of products available. Right now, you can't get a lot of the things you would normally go to the store for: perishable food items, alcohol, etc. That takes away a lot of the value of Same Day delivery. Amazon Fresh really has a big edge here, but I guess that's only available in Seattle.
I'm in the beta as well and the account section explicitly mentions an annual membership and the date that the trial ends and the membership starts. It would make absolutely no sense for them not to offer this as a subscription.
* The price point. Right now the beta gives me free delivery on everything. So I can order from numerous stores with tiny orders, which is great. But normally it looks like it will cost $4.99 for a one-store delivery, which may not be worth it for me unless I really need something urgent. Amazon Prime will almost always be worth it for me in that case, unless it's something I can't go two days without. Now, maybe if Google came out with a Prime-like one time annual fee for unlimited deliveries...
* The type of products available. Right now, you can't get a lot of the things you would normally go to the store for: perishable food items, alcohol, etc. That takes away a lot of the value of Same Day delivery. Amazon Fresh really has a big edge here, but I guess that's only available in Seattle.