Google and Walmart may be planning a strategic partnership that will aim to overthrow Amazon’s service. While Amazon makes it easier for consumers to order products from the company’s website through Alexa, with Google, Walmart will probably have the same unfettered access to consumers who are looking to purchase items from the Google’s own virtual assistant.
The partnership between Google and Walmart was announced today. Using Google’s shopping service Google Express, customers will be able to take advantage of Walmart’s special “Easy Reorder” feature. This will enable users to order through Walmart’s range of products just be speaking through Google Assistant. This will also be accessible through Google Home as well. It is expected that this added functionality should be available through an update in the near future.
As The New York Times mentions in its report, this will be the first time that the largest retailer in the world will be making its products available outside of its own website in the United States. The movement is in response to Amazon’s rising dominance over brick and mortar stores across the nation, which are facing tough competition from the online giant. Despite the partnership, Google and Walmart will have a tough task ahead of them, since Amazon is still the preferred option for most online shoppers. Walmart has been thriving with its own app so far, but has still lagged behind in terms of actual sales figures. Google, on the other hand, already has a tryst with e-commerce which has so far not fared well for the tech giant.
All that users would need to do in order to get Walmart access on their Google devices is to link their Walmart account to Google’s Google Express. This will the Google Express platform more credible and well-endowed, providing it with greater attention from potential customers. There are also plans to incorporate voice shopping that will enable the customers to list the groceries they want by voice to the Google Assistant and it will be made available ready for pickup at the store. Because of Google Assistant’s AI nature, it will also be able to study the preferences of the customers for future use. Amazon’s Alexa is also expected to be made available to over 128 million Alexa devices by 2020. Even by then, Walmart may not consider tying up with Amazon.
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