Google Inc.’s share price down, to expand its Google Express online shopping service

Google Inc. said in a blog post that it expanded its online shopping and delivery services to more cities in the U.S., including Boston, Washington D.C. and Chicago in an attempt to pose a challenge to its major competitor Amazon.com Inc. in order to lure customers.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, Vice President of shopping, Sameer Samat, commented on the new niche, where Google is trying to consolidate its presence: “It’s a business that at scale can be, we believe, very attractive. We have to invest in and build the ecosystem to get to that point.”

The company revealed that at present its Google Express services same-day delivery option has become available to more than 7 million people. According to Googles blog post announcement, almost 12 million people, who live in Northern California can use the services next-day option. Google is to impose a membership fee, starting this week. Customers will be charged $10 on a monthly basis, or $95 a year. Same-day or overnight delivery of items, which cost more than $15, will be free of charge.

The largest search engine in the world has been trying to expand its reach in e-commerce. Google has also been pursuing to cooperate with retailers in order to become more competitive against Amazon, especially at a moment when it is seeking to increase its growth and reduce its dependence on its Web search business.

The Executive Chairman of Google, Eric Schmidt, said in an interview, cited by the Wall Street Journal: “Many people think our main competition is Bing or Yahoo. But, really, our biggest search competitor is Amazon.” The Vice President of shopping – Sameer Samat commented on the new niche, where Google is trying to consolidate its presence: “It’s a business that at scale can be, we believe, very attractive. We have to invest in and build the ecosystem to get to that point.”

Google Inc. was 1.88% down to close at $544.75 per share yesterday, marking a one-year increase of 24.82%. The company is valued at $364.56 billion. According to CNN Money, the 43 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Google Inc. have a median target of $670.00, with a high estimate of $750.00 and a low estimate of $570.00. The median estimate represents a +22.99% increase from the last price of $544.75.