U.S. retail giants Amazon and Walmart are engaged in a heated grocery delivery battle, and now a third retail rival, Target, is also upping its investment in the service.
The Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.-based operator of more than 1,800 stores recently said it would offer free two-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of Target.com items. In addition, the company recently announced plans to offer same-day delivery of groceries and other products through Shipt, which it acquired in December 2017. The service is already available at more than 440 stores across the Southeast U.S. and in Minneapolis, and it will expand to the majority of Target stores and all major markets by the 2018 holiday season.
Target’s announcement comes after Walmart announced a USD 11 billion (EUR 8.9 billion) capital expenditure plan that involves remodeling numerous stores. The retailer is also expanding online grocery delivery and adding Pickup Towers, in an effort to grab a greater share of the U.S. grocery market.
And Amazon, which boasts more than 100 million members of its Prime service, said it was expanding its online ordering and home delivery service into Los Angeles. Whole Foods delivery via Amazon Prime Now first launched in February and is now available in seven cities, with plans for continued expansion across the U.S. throughout the rest of the year, according to Amazon.
Meanwhile, Target said that millions of additional customers will have access to Drive Up, Target Restock, and same-day delivery of in-store purchases from select urban stores for a flat fee.
“We’re making Target America’s easiest place to shop. That means blending the best of our physical and digital assets to create new experiences for our guests and reimagining our network of stores into hubs for commerce and community – inspiring showrooms, service centers and neighborhood-based fulfillment centers,” Target Chairman and CEO Brian Cornell said in a press release.
Target’s delivery of customers’ in-store purchases will expand to all five New York City boroughs, along with select urban stores in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C., this year.
“Guests in these cities who often commute on foot or by mass transit will have the convenient option for their in-store purchases to be delivered to their home or office later the same day for a flat fee,” Target said.
Target also announced it will expand its Drive Up service from 50 to nearly 1,000 of its stores this year. And, after a successful 2017 launch of Target Restock, the company will expand the next-day home delivery service of essentials to more than 30 new cities, serving nearly three-fourths of the U.S. population by the end of 2018.
