Photo Credit: bright.stellaservice.com
Say “Yes” to Google Express! Living in a large city has its advantages, none of which are light traffic, easily finding parking spots, free parking, or avoiding crowds. Google Express is a big city dweller’s answer to decreasing some of the big city irritations. I am so excited to have found another service to decrease my dealings with said irritations!! My neighbors and colleagues have been using Google Express for a few months, and I was hoping maybe I didn’t need it. Potential for addiction was mentioned several times. However, after several failed attempts to find the coffee I wanted in-store at Costco (and my general dislike for jumbo shopping carts and crowds), I thought it would be the perfect time to try this service out.
Some of the stores available on Google Express that deliver to my zip code are Costco, Target, Walgreens, Staples, Kohl’s, Ulta, REI, Whole Foods, Barnes&Noble, and Vicente Foods. If you are interested in checking out Google Express for yourself, Step 1 is to determine whether or not it is available in your area by going to https://www.google.com/shopping/express/. If it is, Step 2 is to sign-up for your free 3 month trial membership at the link provided, by March 31st, 2015. You will be asked to provide your credit card information, but won’t be charged until your 3 month trial is over. After the trial period, membership is $95 annually, $10 a month, or $4.99 per eligible order. You will enjoy free delivery on eligible orders over $15. You can find a more complete list of terms by clicking here. P.S. I was not paid to write this, don’t receive referral credit or any kick-backs, just happiness from sharing the joy of making life easier! Step 3 is to shop, place items you want in your cart, and check-out. If you add items to your cart from different stores, only the total cost of items in your cart needs to be more than $15 (Murphy’s Oil was my only purchase from Target at $3.49, but the total cost of items in my cart across stores was more than $15). Step 4 is to pick a delivery time window. I placed my order on a Saturday night around 9:30 p.m., and the only option was for next-day delivery. I am not sure if this was based on the fact that Costco was already closed by the time I placed my order, or if next-day would have been the only option no matter what. None of my items were emergency need-nows, so next-day was just fine for this order. I chose delivery between 9am-1pm today; other time slots were available.
Our first delivery arrived at 9:30 a.m. from Target. The delivery person rang the doorbell and subsequently handed the delivery to my husband who had answered the door. Google Express also sends you a fairly immediate email indicating your package has been delivered and asks you to rate the delivery. Our second delivery was a combination of items from Costco and Vicente Foods, which arrived at 10:40 a.m. This is pretty impressive, as Costco doesn’t open to the public until 10 a.m., and is located a considerable distance from where we live. We didn’t hear the doorbell ring for this delivery, but I knew to go retrieve the package from our shared apartment entryway because I had received the delivery email. We had chosen the “leave at front door” option rather than “signature required.” Your Google Express delivery package has a sticker label with your name and address on it, so no one SHOULD accidentally tear it open.
Pros for Google Express: Satisfies 2 of my top adult-life living priorities, which are saving time and making life easier. Prices appear to be the same as in-store. Seamless between stores online shopping; visually appealing and simple to use customer interface. On-time doorstep delivery at an affordable price.
Cons for Google Express: Limited selection and no perishables. For example, I wanted the Murphy’s Oil Soap Concentrated Wood Floor Cleaner and only Murphy’s Oil Soap Squirt and Mop was available. Needing specific products may be a bigger deal for some than for others; I am looking forward to caring less than I do about things like this. So this may actually be a pro rather than a con for me.
I think it is time for me to go ahead and push my Staples “Easy Button.”