‘Google and Barnes & Noble Unite to Take on Amazon’

Alexandra Alter, reporting for the NYT:

Google and Barnes & Noble are joining forces to tackle their mutual rival Amazon, zeroing in on a service that Amazon has long dominated: the fast, cheap delivery of books.

Starting on Thursday, book buyers in Manhattan, West Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area will be able to get same-day deliveries from local Barnes & Noble stores through Google Shopping Express, Google’s fledgling online shopping and delivery service.

I can see why Barnes & Noble agreed to this — they need to compete with Amazon and need help. But my gut feeling is that this too will end badly for them.

★ Thursday, 7 August 2014