Google is Essentially Building an Anti-Amazon Alliance, and Target is the Latest To Join (recode.net)

Google and the country's biggest brick-and-mortar retailers have one main problem in common: Amazon. Now both sides are acting like they are serious about working together to do something about it. From a report: On Thursday, Target and Google announced that they are expanding what was a years-old delivery partnership from a small experiment in a handful of cities to the entire continental U.S. The expansion will allow Target to become a retail partner in Google's voice-shopping initiative, which lets owners of the Google Home "smart" speaker order items through voice commands like owners of the Echo can do from Amazon. The announcement comes seven weeks after Walmart inked a similar deal with Google to offer hundreds of thousands of products through the service. Other big-box retailers like Home Depot are also on board. Voice commerce was the core of these recent announcements, and it may someday become popular for types of shopping like reordering household staples. But that's not what is most interesting here to me. Instead, it's the promise that Target is also beginning to work with Google "to create innovative digital experiences using ... other cutting-edge technologies to elevate Target's strength in style areas such as home, apparel and beauty."

Comments

Here's a odd idea:

[Gravis Zero]

Why not create a competitive service? -_-

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[Frosty Piss]

Why not create a competitive service? -_-

That's essentially what Google is doing, but without the investment in infrastructure and in most cases inventory, because they don't handle fulfilment, only ordering - their retail partners handle the heavy lifting.

This sort of thing could conceivably put a serious dent in Amazon's business. Perhaps not much initially, but eventually the loss of sales will be noticed.

Amazon has a lot going for it, but a lot of "baggage" as well in terms of their impact on small and large retailers alike. Their quest for World Domination(tm) may come back to bit them. Or take a small nip in their shins...

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[Lunix Nutcase]

Did you not even bother to read the summary? That is exactly what they are trying to do with these retail partners.

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[JohnFen]

Their quest for World Domination(tm) may come back to bit them.

But Google's quest for world domination won't?

I have a hard time seeing how people who would like to avoid Amazon for being monopolistic would be OK with Google's monopolistic tendencies.

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[someone1234]

Well, with Google, it looks like the brick & mortar stores will live on, at least for now. Amazon would kill them all, asap.
Only time will tell if Google will co-exist in a symbiotic relationship with them or is it parasitic.

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[JohnFen]

But it looks like Google is only teaming up with the big box retailers. If preserving brick and mortar businesses is a priority, that's pretty weak sauce.

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[Junta]

It's less about the consumer impression and more about the business impression.

If you are target, the situation with Amazon is looking grim. Google sounds like a household name that is less overtly threatening, so for now, an alliance.

WalMart is interesting as they recently bought Jet to compete with Amazon on more equal footing, and hypothetically they would have more control over their destiny that way, but probably a wise idea to hedge their bets.

The brick and mortar thing is nice for me as there is at least a chance for instant gratification if it happens to be in stock. Even if not in stock, I'd feel better grabbing it from a store after it ships rather than left on my doorstep. If I were in a rural setting that would be different of course.

The challenge of course is that Google doesn't feel like a brand that can pull this off, and they have a long history of random bets they've had to abandon. This seems ripe to be the next failure.

Re:Here's a odd idea:

[JohnFen]

A competitive duopoly is much better for consumers than a monopoly.

Well, yes, a duopoly is better than monopoly, but not by very much. If a duopoly is firmly established, then the two tend to start colluding and generally acting together as a monopoly.

Sorry, Google

[JohnFen]

A year or so ago, I would have welcomed this -- but since then, you've done pretty much everything in your power to burn your bridge with me. And you've succeeded.

Re:Sorry, Google

[JohnFen]

They are. They'll never say it out loud, but you can see it in their eyes.

Re:Sorry, Google

[DNS-and-BIND]

James Damore did not say what most people think he said. He did not say women are unsuited for tech jobs. He did not say women only have tech jobs due to affirmative action. That is all bullshit piled on by those mau-mauing him, in an effort to expel someone whose questioning made them uncomfortable.

Why it made them uncomfortable is the fascinating part of all this.

It makes them uncomfortable because it shatters the brittle shell of their enforced narrative, which can only be kept by keeping everyone from saying anything against it. It is very much a "the king is naked" situation. If James Damore is allowed to say men and women are different, the entire project of feminism shatters.

And yet everyone who doesn't live in academia or in a social justice echo chamber knows that men and women are different. If you think statistically different from men means inferior, then YOU are the misogynist.

Doomed

[Tailhook]

So I have to have a google bug device and struggle with a "voice" interface buy stuff... this is DOA. Just put in my regular not-mobile web browser with a fast, full size, not-flat, non-suck UI. Make EVERYTHING in Target/Home Depot/Walmart have accurate stock levels and be same-day delivery from this site. That's how you compete with bleeping Amazon.

that is fine with me

[FudRucker]

i been an amazon customer for a few years and for the most part they are okay, but the last year or two i noticed they have been slacking off when it comes to checking the quality of the people they allow to sell on amazon, i been ripped by deceptive bait & switch items a couple of times and it reminded me of the ebay tricks that made me quit buying from ebay, (are the bad vendors following me around?)

I've got zero brand loyalty

[rsilvergun]

and my kid had what I think could be negative brand loyalty. It's funny because I know people in their 60s who still have it and it's weird to talk to them. They'll say good things about a brand without much cause and if you point to a cheaper / better alternative they're not interested.

Still, I wonder what happened that killed brand loyalty so completely. I'm guessing the crap economy and declining wages mean folks pinch pennies a lot harder. Maybe general cynicism but that could be chocked up to the wage thing too.

Re:I've got zero brand loyalty

[JohnFen]

I'm an old fart, but I've never had brand loyalty as such. The very idea always struck me as bizarre.

Are they out of touch or am I?

[Cajun Hell]

which lets owners of the Google Home "smart" speaker order items through voice commands like owners of the Echo can do from Amazon.

Seriously? You seriously believe anyone wants to do that?

One of two things is happening:

1) Everyone-except-me spends most of their time shopping. If you're not asleep, then you're probably shopping. We all just sit around thinking about things we want to buy, and we're all frustrated that it takes so much work (ugh, the clicking! the endless clicking!!) to get them purchased. It's hell on earth, we have a problem, and we need it fixed. If only I had a convenient thing that would take voice commands for shopping! I would pay for that. I would order it. I'm ordering things right now. Anyone wanna sell me one of those? Oh well. I'll be ordering more stuff again in 15 minutes, so maybe my fantasy shopping interface will be ready then.

2) The aforementioned isn't true, but the people who run Amazon and Google think it's true.

Re:Are they out of touch or am I?

[JohnFen]

It's actually really simple:

by erasing, to the greatest degree possible, every single hassle required to buy something, you greatly increase the amount of impulse purchases. You'd be amazed at how often a minor amount of effort keeps people from buying something that they only maybe-kinda-sorta might want to buy.

This is great for retailers, and terrible for customers.

Yup

[Presence Eternal]

Clearly voice shopping is the Achilles heel of Amazon. It's a market they have no part in and by the way, it is huge.

Said no one ever. Sounds more like a ship of fools, and doubly so for being captained by a company that never finishes what it starts. At least shoprunner was in the same zip code as a good idea.