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posted by martyb on Thursday August 24 2017, @04:47AM   Printer-friendly
from the ask-and-ye-shall-receive...-with-a-bill dept.

Walmart has partnered with Google, allowing items to be bought online through Google Express. Google has also gotten rid of the annual membership fee for the service, instead offering free shipping for orders above a minimum amount (dependent on the store):

With an eye on the future of online retailing, Walmart and Google are teaming up to go after rival Amazon in a play that also targets the growing market for voice-activated shopping. Starting next month, Walmart customers will be able to access hundreds of thousands of products from the company's shelves — everything from dish washing soap to dining tables — via the online retailing service Google Express. Until now, Walmart's enormous inventory was available online only through the company's own website.

Walmart customers will be able to place an order by simply saying it out loud, using either the Google Assistant app or the voice-activated speaker Google Home. Voice-enabled shopping is still in its infancy, but analysts say it is a rapidly growing piece of the pie. "When it comes to voice shopping, we want to make it as easy as possible for our customers. That's why it makes sense for us to team up with Google," Marc Lore, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S. eCommerce, writes in a blog post today.

Also on Wednesday, Google announced that it was getting rid of a $95 annual membership fee for Express and would offer free delivery on orders above a minimum.

The move is seen as a response to Amazon and Alexa voice ordering.

Google Express was launched in 2013.

Previously: Walmart Kills Amazon Prime-like Service, Expands Free Shipping


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  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:35AM (2 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Thursday August 24 2017, @05:35AM (#558327) Journal

    Amazon allows third party sellers on the platform which are the source of most of the weird stuff you see like: $3.78 + $15.50 shipping. Theoretically this is a good thing since there are a wider variety of items for sale, but it can mean more junk to sort through.

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  • (Score: 2) by coolgopher on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:48AM (1 child)

    by coolgopher (1157) on Thursday August 24 2017, @07:48AM (#558367)

    As someone outside the US, Amazon became useless when they added all the third-party junk, because most don't ship internationally. Haven't bought anything from Amazon in years as a result.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @08:12AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Thursday August 24 2017, @08:12AM (#558372)

      Internationally? Oh, I _wish_ they shipped internationally! They do not even ship to Alaska or Hawaii, like these states were foreign countries, or something. And don't get me started on shipping to Guam, which is about to be nuked. Do you think North Korea is going to charge for delivery?