Google, Target Collaborate to Offer Voice-Activated Shopping; Partnership to Deepen Competition With Amazon
Google and Target recently announced they were extending their services to offer voice-activated shopping to their customers. Meanwhile, reports see the companies' expanding partnership deepening Google's competition with Amazon.
Recently, Target announced that they were expanding their offered services through Google Express -- Google's centralized shopping hub.
In a release, Target confirmed that their partnership with Google involves "Target's nationwide expansion on Google Express, including voice- activated shopping."
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Target's online shopping and delivery option were initially offered in California and New York City. The endeavor appears to be a success since the company is now offering these services across the United States.
Target's chief information and digital officer Mike McNamara also said in the release: "In the markets where we've offered Google Express, guests tell us they love the ease and convenience of shopping Target through Google. So we're excited to offer this service nationwide in time for the busy holiday season."
Meanwhile, on Google's announcement, the company confirmed that Target's online shopping feature will become more accessible as it will be supported by Google Assistant. This means Google Express customers can place orders and reorders through their Google Home smart speakers.
Like most online shopping and delivery schemes, Target promised to ship ordered items to customers within two days.
On the other hand, reports see Google and Target's expanded shopping services as a direct taunt to online commerce giant Amazon.
Last year, Amazon took a huge step forward by introducing their own AI smart assistant, Alexa, and an entire lineup of Echo speakers. At the heart of the advanced features that these offer was the convenience of being able to shop online with just the user's voice.
Notably, the announcement of being able to do voice-activated Target shopping via Google Express came not long after Google also announced a partnership with Walmart, which aims to offer more convenience to their customers through a digitally advanced mode of shopping.
In the past few months, Google and Amazon are apparently in a race to claim the top spot in the smart speaker market. Both companies have devotedly improved their smart assistants' features and have already added free phone calls and voice recognition features.
