Google tests same-day delivery, raising marketplace speculation

SAN FRANCISCO (REUTERS) - Google Inc began testing a same-day delivery service with retailers in recent weeks, the latest move into Amazon.com Inc'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 person familiar with the test.

Google arranges for third parties, such as couriers, to pick the products up from local stores and deliver the items to shoppers. Neither the stores nor Google handle the deliveries, the person explained on condition of anonymity, because the service is still in the early development stage.

Mr Tom Fallows, a Google product management director with over a decade of e-commerce experience, is running Google Shopping Express. The test is focused on the San Francisco Bay Area and has been going for at least a month, the person added.