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Google Express drops membership requirement, adds Walmart to shopping service

Over the past few months, Google Express — the company’s same-day delivery service — has received a number of updates to drive usage against competitors like Amazon Prime. The latest sees the service drops its membership model completely, while adding large US retailer Walmart as a partner store.

Google Express previously required a membership before being able buy and get goods shipped. However, this is changing today, with Google scrapping the $10 monthly or $95 annual program. This is due to many retailers already imposing their own across-the-board shipping fees and per-store purchase minimums.

Why we’ve made the change:

We’ve recently welcomed new stores to broaden our product assortment. Many of these arrange for their own deliveries and returns, or have listed the same shipping fees and per-store minimums for everyone, regardless of membership status. Delivery speeds also vary, ranging from one day in some areas to one week or more with some specialty stores.

Existing customers will be alerted via email beginning today, with refunds for remaining memberships being processed by early September. The actual refund will appear approximately a week later.

Express today also announced Walmart as a store where users can purchase and receive deliveries from. Google touts the addition of “hundreds of thousands of products at Walmart’s Every Day Low Prices.” However, the store will not appear in Express until late-September.

Current Walmart customers can link their accounts to Google for personalized shopping suggestions that factor in past purchases that are usually repeated.

Recent months have seen Express ordering become accessible via Home, while shopping lists in Assistant moved from Google Keep to a redesigned Express.


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Avatar for Abner Li Abner Li

Editor-in-chief. Interested in the minutiae of Google and Alphabet. Tips/talk: abner@9to5g.com