Target is expanding its free curbside pickup program, Drive Up, ahead of the busy back-to-school season, making it available at 1,550 stores and adding coverage in the Northeast, the company reported in a blog post.
Markets being added to Drive Up service include Massachusetts (Boston metro area, Springfield, Worcester), Rhode Island (Providence/Warwick), Maine (Portland, Augusta, Bangor) and New Hampshire (Manchester, Concord, Keene).
Target is also expanding Drive Up coverage in existing markets in the Northeast, including New York (Rochester, Syracuse, Albany/Schenectady, Binghamton, Buffalo/Niagara Falls, Ithaca), Pennsylvania (Pittsburgh, Altoona, State College) and Connecticut (Hartford).
The service was first introduced by Target in 2017 in its native Minneapolis, and has been growing ever since. Associates bring out orders to the parking lot within two minutes, Target claims. The company had pulled the plug on a pilot with vendor Curbside in 2016, deciding to build its own internal app-based capability.
Curbside pickup is a win-win for retailers, creating significant savings on last mile costs and giving shoppers another fulfillment option when they’re out and about. Walmart has also been aggressively building out its curbside offerings, including self-serve kiosks, as have a number of grocery chains.