Target Expands Grocery Delivery Service

Target has expanded its fresh and frozen grocery order pickup and curbside pickup service nationwide, with the program now available in more than 1,500 U.S. stores, which represents about 85% of the chain’s retail locations.

The effort, announced earlier this summer, is reaching fruition as Target (and other retail chains) are reporting massive spikes in e-commerce during the ongoing pandemic. On Wednesday, Target said that it's experienced nearly 200% digital growth in the second quarter of 2020, one of the trends fueling this delivery and pickup service expansion.

From milk and eggs to fresh veggies and frozen pizza, the expanded pickup assortment offers thousands of grocery items, including fresh, frozen and dry goods, in addition to more than 250,000 items across categories like beauty, essentials and home.

Here's what Target is offering via the expanded service:

• Shoppers can use Target.com or the Target app to easily search and add items. Once placed, orders will be ready within a few hours. For a contactless option, consumers can use Drive Up and have a Target team member bring orders out to waiting vehicles in minutes.
• Both fulfillment services are free of charge, with no membership or minimum order required, and savings apply via RedCard and Target Circle discounts and benefits
• Consumers can switch from Order Pickup to Drive Up, or vice versa, by using the Target app.

For the second quarter of 2020, Target said that its stores fulfilled more than 90% of Target's second-quarter sales. Same-day services (Order Pick Up, Drive Up and Shipt) grew 273% and accounted for approximately six percentage points of total company same-store sales growth. Specifically, Target’s curbside pickup service jumped by 734%. 

Meanwhile, Target-owned Shipt has expanded its own grocery delivery options in recent days. In addition to its annual membership offering — $99 per year for unlimited free deliveries of orders of $35 or more — the Birmingham, Alabama-based company now offers customers and prospective customers the opportunity to pay per order, purchasing Shipt passes for one, three or five Shipt shops for $10, $9 or $8 per delivery, respectively.

Target operates more than 1,800 stores, 39 distribution centers and Target.com. The Minneapolis-based company is No. 7 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer's 2020 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.