New free services at Target and Walmart

Shopping on Amazon may be convenient, but Target and Walmart are still very much in the retail horse race, offering trendy new services in stores. Target is expanding Drive Up, a free service that brings online orders of merchandise (not groceries, unfortunately) out to customers’ cars. The service, introduced at Minneapolis stores in March, is now available in nearly 100 Florida stores, the company announced Tuesday.

Customers place orders via the free Target app and select the “drive up” option, if it’s offered, during checkout. At the store, customers pull into specially designated parking spaces near entrances and employees deliver orders to cars within two minutes of arrival, the company said.

Target said it expects to offer the new service in 1,000 stores by year’s end. Target is using the new, convenient service as part of a multifaceted strategy to fight Amazon’s and Walmart’s quest for total retail domination. Target began delivery of groceries and other products in South Florida through its acquisition of Shipt in February. For $99 a year, members receive unlimited free grocery deliveries within an hour on orders over $35. There is a $7 delivery fee for orders under $35.

Like Amazon and Walmart, Target.com also now offers free two-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of items on Target.com for orders of $35 or when paying with a REDcard. No membership or annual fee is required, unlike Amazon Prime, which costs $99 a year.

Meanwhile, Walmart is now delivering groceries via Postmates in North Carolina and five other markets (not South Florida yet) with plans to rapidly expand the service to 40 percent of households by year’s end, the company announced earlier this month. Customers order online at Walmart.com/grocery or on the free Walmart Grocery app and select a delivery time at checkout. Orders are being picked and packed by Walmart’s 18,000 personal shoppers and a member of the Postmates fleet delivers to doorsteps. The cost is $9.95 with a $30 minimum order.

As I’ve reported, the world’s largest retailer also offers free online grocery pickup service in 1,200 stores with 1,000 more to be added this year. Target no doubt will be adding grocery pickup as part of its Drive Up service to compete with Walmart.

Walmart also is testing a program called Check Out With Me in more than 350 stores. Employees in the Lawn & Garden center will be outfitted with cellular devices and Bluetooth printers to check out customers on the spot. If you’ve ever been to Apple stores, it’s the same idea. Customers won’t need to haul