Google Express home delivery service now covers nearly 90% of the US

Over the past several months Google has slowly been expanding its Google Express service to new regions, most recently the majority of the Northeastern US. Now the home delivery service has expanded yet again, this time to the majority of the country (via TechCrunch)…

The latest additions to the service include large portions of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, and Utah — an additional 70 million customers from before. That adds on to service in current regions adding up to cover nearly 90% of the total United States population.

Google Express aims to compete again Amazon, specifically Prime Now, by offering overnight delivery in many major cities. Google Express’ main advantage over Amazon is that it partners with many national retailers who don’t offer one-day delivery yet. Those retailers include the likes of Costco, Whole Foods (no one-day delivery), Kohl’s, PetSmart, Fry’s, Sur La Table, Road Runner Sports, L’Occitane, Payless, Guitar Center, and Walgreens.

Express’ other big advantage is pricing. While Amazon’s Prime Now service requires that customers sign up for a $99/year while Google Express gives customers the option of paying $95/year or paying $5 per delivery. Delivery times do vary by region with some offering one-day delivery and others only offering two-day delivery. In either scenario, Google is giving Amazon Prime a run for its money.

Google plans to expand Express service to the rest of the continental United States by the end of this year.