Comparable sales for the retailer’s fourth quarter e-commerce sales increased 19%, driven by key factors including: 1) an industry-wide customer shift towards online shopping; 2) Costco’s website re-platforming; 3) the introduction of new apps; 4) the addition of new categories such as apparel, health, beauty sundries, etc.; and, finally, 5) an improvement in delivery times. Over the past year, the retailer has been testing Google Shopping Express, a Google initiative that provides consumers a platform to shop online from local retailers and get products delivered on the same day. Through this, Costco is mainly looking to expand its e-commerce reach, but it is still in test phase in three markets – the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles and New York. In the years to come, the warehouse giant might look to roll this out on a larger scale, one that can have a noticeable impact on its e-commerce revenues.