Google is teaming up with renowned bookseller Barnes & Noble to compete against their common rival Amazon.com by introducing same-day delivery of books.
Enemy's Enemy is a friend. Google is using just that to compete against Amazon by partnering with renowned bookseller Barnes & Noble to offer same-day delivery of books. The world's largest internet search titan will announce the move on Thursday that will give online book shoppers in Manhattan, West Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area the option to purchase books offered by Barnes & Noble and get them delivered same day via Google Shopping Express, according to a report by the New York Times.
The partnership will equally help both companies, for Google to promote its one-year-old Shopping Express service and for Barnes & Noble to boost online sales of books.
Google originally launched its Shopping Express service in San Francisco last year with an aim to offer competitive services against Amazon. The service is available via mobile on Android and iOS as well as Web. Shoppers can order groceries and other products from local stores and have them delivered to the door step at a convenient time the same day. With its new partnership, Google is padding up the range of its offerings.
"Many of our shoppers have told us that when they read a review of a book or get a recommendation from a friend, they want a really easy way to buy that book and start reading it tonight," Tom Fallows, director of product for Google Shopping Express, told NY Times in an email statement. "We think it's a natural fit to create a great experience connecting shoppers with their town's Barnes & Noble."
Besides Barnes & Noble, Google has 19 retail partners with which it shares the Shopping Express service.
Barnes & Noble will also benefit from Google's Shopping Express as it forays into online sales business. The book sales at its brick and mortar stores have been stagnant and resulted in the closure of 63 stores in the last five years, NY Times added. Still, Barnes & Noble has a wide network of retail base with nearly 660 stores and 700 campus stores.
"It's our attempt to link the digital and physical," Michael P. Huseby, Barnes & Noble's chief executives, told the newspaper.
