Google to start testing fresh food and grocery deliveries

SAN FRANCISCO: Google will start testing a delivery service for fresh food and groceries in two US cities later this year, stepping up competition with online retailer Amazon.com and startup Instacart.

The trial will begin in San Francisco and another city, said Brian Elliott, general manager of Google Express, which already delivers merchandise, including dry foods, to customers. Whole Foods Market and Costco Wholesale will be among Google's partners for the new service, he said.

“For a lot of our merchants that have been successful with this, we're not representing the whole store today ,“ Elliott said. “It's in our incentive, as well as the merchant's incentive, for us to help customers get the full store delivered to them.“ Google is investing in delivery services for homes and businesses as it seeks to lure more traffic to its websites.