Target Is Trying to Become America's Easiest Place to Shop. Here's How

By the end of April, Target said it will offer same-day delivery for in-store purchases at nearly 60 stores in Boston, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and Washington, DC. When checking out, shoppers at these stores will have the option to choose a two-hour delivery window for a $7 fee, while oversized purchases may also come with an additional $25 handling fee, according to an announcement on the company's site. Target has piloted same-day delivery at four New York locations since 2017 and found its "Home" department was most popular among urban shoppers selecting delivery. “Scaling this handy service for city-dwellers in five major markets is just one of many ways we’re making Target America’s easiest place to shop,” the retailer added. Akin to Amazon, Target is also offering free two-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of items to customers who use their Target Redcards or spend more than $35. Target said that by the end of the year, it will also offer same-day deliveries nationwide through grocery delivery service Shipt, which is based in Birmingham, Alabama. Target acquired Shipt in December for $550 million; in Alabama and Florida, the retailer began rolling out same-day delivery of groceries and other products via Shipt in February. The retailer is working to expand its other services, as well. Restock, its overnight essentials delivery program, will expand to 40 markets in 2018; additionally, the company is now expanding Drive Up—in which consumers pick up orders from Target stores—to nearly 270 stores in the South and Southeast, which a Target rep said is partially to bring additional services to markets where Shipt was already available. In March, the retailer said it planned to scale Drive Up to nearly 1000 of its 1800 stores in 2018. Target began testing the service in the fall of 2017 in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota and said it has seen an approximate 10 percent increase in orders week over week, with half the consumers who tried Drive Up returning to use it again. Target said Drive Up is also a popular among parents and guardians of small children, with diapers and paper towels among the most ordered items. And, like same-day delivery, Drive Up has also proven to be popular for purchases of bulky items. After placing an online order through the Target app and selecting Drive Up, the service alerts shoppers when their orders are ready, which Target said is usually within an hour. Shoppers can then pull into the designated Drive Up parking area to receive their orders. Robert Hetu, research director with the Gartner Retail Industry Services team, said this is the next phase in the battle for last-mile delivery, which is a necessity for Target to compete. "I don’t think it gives them a significant advantage over Walmart. Both Target and Walmart have an advantage over Amazon when it comes to inventory deployed close to the customer across the US," he added. "Efficiency and profitability of these models ... is highly questionable in the current business environment. However, that is not the primary objective at this time." For his part, David Clarke, global chief experience officer at professional services network PwC, said retailers must create experiences that allow employees to elevate the customer relationship. "Research shows that customers are willing to pay more for the basics," he said, citing PwC research that customers would pay more for "greater convenience," "greater speed" and "knowledgeable and helpful service."

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Target Is Trying to Become America's Easiest Place to Shop. Here's How

Retailer expands pickup and delivery options

Lisa Lacy

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