Target Optimizes Pickup, Delivery for Holidays

Target Corp. is continuing to invest in its same-day delivery services. With the addition of flexible features available through Drive Up and Order Pickup, plus the latest in same-day delivery with Shipt, Target is allowing guests to customize their shopping experience this hectic holiday season.

The retailer’s newest enhancements include:

• More Assigned Drive Up Spots: More than 18,000 assigned spaces have been added for curbside pickup in parking lots.
• Shopping Partner: In case plans change, the new Shopping Partner feature allows guests to send someone else, such as a friend or family member, to pick up their Drive Up or Order Pickup order through the Target app or on Target.com.
• Forgot Something: Guests can easily order more items after a Drive Up or Order Pickup order has been placed in the Target app and pick everything up at once.  
• Backup Items: Guests can designate a secondary backup item option for food and beverage pickup on Target.com or in the Target app, excluding adult beverage items.
• Expanded Assortment and Personalized Store Selection for Same-Day Delivery with Shipt: Target has made even more items available for delivery, including apparel and accessories, premium Ulta Beauty products, electronics, toys, and — new this year — adult beverage items. Plus, with even more Target stores in the Shipt network and the ability to select what store their shopper shops at, guests have more options to personalize their delivery.

“Our guests love the convenience of our same-day services, and we’ve seen tremendous growth in these offerings over the past year, driven by continued investments in our amazing team members and our stores. With even more flexibility in these options this holiday season, we’re ready to make our guests’ Target runs easier than ever,” said Mark Schindele, chief stores officer at Target.

For the second quarter ended July 31, Target’s digital comparable sales grew 10%, following growth of 195% last year. Digital sales were led by same-day services (Order Pickup, Drive Up and Shipt), which grew nearly 55% this year, on top of more than 270% last year. More than 95% of Target’s second-quarter sales were fulfilled by its stores.

The retail giant has tripled the number of its store fulfillment expert roles over the past two years to better serve guests and support its in-demand Drive Up and Order Pickup services. In response to guest demand and to create new opportunities for the team, all new store team members will be backup trained in same-day fulfillment.

New research from Mercatus and Incisiv has confirmed the broad appeal of online ordering and on-site fulfillment. Among other findings, the research showed that 75% of survey participants prefer store pickup. Nearly two-thirds (61%) of American shoppers who buy digitally said that they’ve used curbside pickup at least once in the past year, up from 9% in the companies’ 2020 survey.

Brimingham, Ala.-based Shipt is an independently operated, wholly owned subsidiary of Minneapolis-based Target Corp., which is No. 6 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, with more than 1,900 locations.