Google on Monday announced it is expanding the quick delivery service it first launched last year in Northern California to three new cities: Chicago; Boston; and Washington, D.C.
The Web giant is also giving the service a bit of a rebrand, shortening the name from Google Shopping Express to just Google Express. Already available in the San Francisco area, Manhattan, and West Los Angeles, the service offers same- or next-day delivery from dozens of merchants, including Target, Fairway, Walgreens, Costco, and Staples.
That list of merchants is also expanding. Google said it has added 16 retailers over the last couple of months, including 1-800-Flowers, Barnes & Noble, Nine West, PetSmart, Vitamin Shoppe, and Sports Authority, plus regional stores like Paragon Sports in New York; Vicente Foods in Los Angeles; Stop & Shop in Boston; Giant Food in D.C.; and Lux Roses, TigerDirect, Treasure Island Foods, and Wrigleyville Sports in Chicago.
And even better — those in the Bay Area who are of legal drinking age can now order alcohol.
Google is also pushing a new Express membership option, which costs $95 a year or $10 a month and offers same-day or overnight delivery on all eligible orders over $15, first dibs on delivery windows, and the option to share your membership with someone else in your household. You can also still choose to pay as you go at $4.99 per eligible order.
New shoppers can get the three months of membership for free to test out the service.
"One year ago, the first Google Shopping Express order was delivered—a box of granola," Brian Elliott, head of partnerships for Google Shopping, wrote in a blog post. "Our idea was to make shopping your favorite local stores as easy and fast as shopping online, and to help you get what you need delivered the same day. Since then, you've told us how we helped you restock diapers in the nick of time, made sure you had Bananagrams for family game night, and even made you feel connected to the outside world when you were home sick."
Check out some other same-day delivery services in the slideshow above.