Alphabet Brings Google Express Deliveries To Houston

Search giant Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) has taken another step toward expanding its mobile shopping service.

The company announced on Wednesday, the launch of its on-demand delivery service Google Express in Houston. The service will be expanded to parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

The service will enable customers to sign up for overnight or two-day delivery from several U.S. retailers that Google partners with.

Google Express currently offers overnight, same-day and two-day delivery services across several U.S. cities. It was launched in San Francisco and Silicon Valley in 2013 and later expanded to New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C.

Brian Elliott, general manager of Google Express said, "We think of this as being part of our ongoing mission to connect customers with the retailers and brands that they love.”

How it Works

Google Express costs its members $95 annually that includes free delivery for $15 minimum order value. There is also a Pay-as-you-go option that costs $4.99 per eligible order. Members can get overnight deliveries from Barnes & Noble (NYSE:BKS), Costco (NASDAQ:COST), PetSmart, Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ:WFM) and Walgreens while deliveries from Ulta, Vitamin Shop, Moosejaw, Fry’s, Guitar Center, L’Occitane, Kohl’s, Treasure Island, Sur La Table, Ace Hardware, buybuy Baby, Roadrunner and Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) will take a couple of days.

Leapfrogging Competitors

We see this move as Google’s push to wrestle market share from its closest peers such as Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE:WMT) in the delivery service space.

In 2015, Wal-Mart launched its pick-up grocery service in Oklahoma. The company launched Walmart Pay in Arkansas, Texas and Oklahoma just weeks ago.

Amazon Prime, launched in Houston in 2015, offers same-day delivery service for an annual charge of $99 with free cloud storage and access to songs, videos and discounts online.

Even startups joined the race with Smackdab targeting the furniture space and Instacart targeting alcohol delivery.

At present, Google has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A better-ranked stock worth considering is Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) , sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).