http://www.todayonline.com/tech/google-tests-same-day-delivery-service-sparks-marketplace-speculation
Google began testing a same-day delivery service with retailers in recent weeks, the latest move into Amazon.com’s e-commerce turf by the world’s largest Internet search company.
Google Shopping Express helps local retail stores sell products online and have the items delivered to shoppers the same day, according to a source familiar with the test.
Google has not yet decided how to charge for the service.
Google Shopping Express is the latest sign that the company is expanding from its online search roots into e-commerce. It also suggests that Google may be building an online marketplace that connects merchants and consumers, a business model that has made Amazon and eBay successful in the United States.
Amazon has an advantage because it already has a network of large distribution warehouses, known as fulfillment centers, to deliver goods sold through its online marketplace, according to Mr Wingo.
Google is likely taking a different approach, building a network of loosely affiliated local retail stores that, in effect, act like small fulfillment centers, Mr Wingo explained.
EBay took a similar approach when it acquired Milo in late 2010. Milo let shoppers search for products available to buy in retail stores nearby.
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