Dive Brief:

• Google Inc., noting that its delivery-services pilot has been a success, is expanding its services to more American cities and is instituting a membership fee.

• The service, now called Google Express, allows shoppers to order online from a variety of retailers and receive them the same day or overnight. In addition to San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles, shoppers in Washington DC, Boston, and Chicago as of Tuesday will now have access to Google Express.

• A $10-per-month fee allows for unlimited same-day or overnight deliveries, while non-members can still use the service for $4.99 to $7.99, depending on the order’s value. Previously, deliveries were free and Google made money solely from commissions from retailers.

Dive Insight:

Google Express is expanding apace, and it’s clear more than ever that it sees Amazon, and not simply rival search engines, as a major competitor. The benefit so far is to consumers, who increasingly have an array of ways to shop and to receive the items they’re shopping for in record time at fairly low cost. After all, many retailers still charge more than the $5 to $8 that Google charges for much slower fulfillment on many orders.