Google’s Same-Day Delivery Pilot Goes Bi-Coastal

In a sign that Google’s pilot program for same day delivery has legs, the program is now available on both coasts. Consumers in Manhattan and the West Los Angeles area can turn to Google to get items from local shops delivered to their doorstep within a matter of hours.

The company began testing its same-day delivery program, Google Shopping Express, in the San Francisco Bay area last spring. The program is designed to marry the convenience of online shopping with the instant satisfaction of brick-and-mortar purchasing — and compete head-to-head with the Amazon Prime delivery service.

The Los Angeles service will be available to consumers in Culver City, Ingelwood, Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Venice, West Los Angeles and Westwood. Retailers joining the service there include Costco, Staples, Target, Toys “R” Us and Babies “R” Us, Walgreens along with Guitar Center, L’Occitane, and Smart & Final.

Google is already planning expansion in the area to other areas of Los Angeles, Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Pacific Palisades, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista and West Hollywood.

Starting in Manhattan with many of the same major retailers signed on in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Google already plans to expand in Queens and Brooklyn to the coming months.

The ordering platform is available across devices, including via an iPhone and Android app. Transactions are processed through Google Wallet. In addition to getting a piece of the brick-and-mortar pie, the program also gives Google access to more multi-channel shopping data it can tap for its other advertising products.

The company says it is reaching out to other national and local retailers to bring into the program.