Target is expanding its same-day delivery service via acquired unit Shipt, opening it up to all major categories of product in 2019 and continuing its efforts to keep customers from fleeing to Amazon Prime, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Launching in 70 markets, Shipt now is available for same-day delivery from Target stores in 200+ markets in 46 states, with 55,000 SKUs available as of December. The company said membership has tripled in the past year, according to the report. Shipt is still run as a separate company and membership costs $99 per year, although there is a $50 discount for Target customers.
Most of Shipt’s deliveries had been grocery orders after it was acquired in 2017, but clearly that’s changing as Target ups its same-day game and fully leverages the asset.
For the holiday season, Target went aggressively after competitors, offering same-day delivery in 46 states from Nov. 1 to Dec. 22. It also offered free two-day shipping plus curbside pickup on hundreds of thousands of items with no purchase threshold.
Target is also an omnichannel machine, fulfilling half of all ecommerce orders out of its stores, a figure that jumped to 70% during the 2017 holiday season. The company’s goal was to hit 90% during the just-concluded holiday season; final numbers will likely be provided on Target’s next earnings call.
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