Target’s Acquisition of Delivery Startup Shipt Is an Effort to Catch Up With the Rest of the Industry

Hoping to stay competitive with Amazon, Walmart and other retailers

Target’s New Year’s resolution: figuring out same-day grocery delivery, considering the company’s latest acquisition of startup Shipt.

The $550 million acquisition is yet another move to keep up with Walmart and Amazon. It is Target’s second acquisition of the year, having bought another startup, transportation tech company Grand Junction, in August. With the Shipt purchase, however, industry insiders question whether this bet will pay off for the Minnesota-based retailer.

What we’ve really seen in the U.S. is fast, same-day delivery is super appealing for general merchandise but delivery is not working super well for perishables,” said Jason Goldberg, svp of commerce and content practice at SapientRazorfish.

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