Google and Wal-Mart Inc., will be joining forces to challenge rival Amazon.com Incorporated’s grip on the ecommerce sector. The partnership will enable voice ordered purchases from the retail giant on Google’s virtual assistant and will add thousands of Wal-Mart items to Google’s online shopping marketplace, Google Express.
Through the partnership, consumers will now be able to take advantage of Walmart’s “Easy Reorder” feature through an integration with Google Express. This will mark the first time the world’s biggest retailer Wal-Mart will make their products available on an online portal apart from their own website. Along with adding thousands of items to Google Express, the deal will also give Wal-Mart access to voice ordering by speaking to Google’s virtual assistant and Google’s voice controlled speakers. The feature will soon be available on other devices as well.
Wal-Mart’s Head of ecommerce Marc Lore, in a blog post, said they’ll be working with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of items for voice shopping via Google Assistant, starting late September. Google Express will also be ditching their $10 per month membership fee and have promised free delivery across its retailers in one to three days, as long as customer orders are above each store’s minimums.
Launched in 2013, Google Express enlists third party firms to fulfill orders from a variety of retailers. They currently provide access to Target, Costco, Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, PetSmart, Staples, Toys R Us and Walgreens among other companies. The partnership with Wal-Mart will allow users to link their Wal-Mart accounts to Google Express, so when Wal-Mart shoppers ask the Google Home for more toothpaste will get the same brand they bought last time.
Amazon is known for inventing the concept of voice shopping and their vast data on customer’s past purchases allows their device Echo and assistant Alexa to recall the preferred brand, size and type, without requiring shoppers to scan through different product listings. The ecommerce giant also recently acquired Whole Foods to strengthen their hold in the groceries sector as well.
Wal-Mart, recently also partnered with Uber to expand their grocery delivery services and are also testing deliveries by store workers. By next year, Google and Wal-Mart hope to enable users to order fresh groceries via voice for in store pickups as well.
