Target answers Walmart, Amazon with ‘Restock’
Retailer set to launch home delivery service
Retail giant Target is testing next-day home delivery of everyday household staples — from laundry detergent to granola bars — in an effort to take on online competitors.
Amazon and Walmart already operate similar services for online shoppers.
The service, dubbed Target Restock, is currently being tested among employees in the Minneapolis area, where the company is headquartered. Target will launch the pilot service more broadly in Minneapolis this summer, it said in a company blog this week. In the employee trial, users are limited to two 45-pound boxes.
Target didn’t specify pricing but said delivery will be available for “a low, flat fee.” When it’s rolled out to the public, pricing will be comparable to other deliv- ery services, Target spokesman Eddie Baeb says. Amazon’s Prime Pantry service, which delivers groceries and household goods to its Prime members, costs $5.99 per box per delivery that arrives usually within four days.
In Target’s pilot program, customers wishing to use the delivery service must have a company-issued credit or debit card, called a REDcard. They will be able to select from “thousands” of household goods, including laundry detergent, paper towels, granola bars and coffee, it said. Orders placed before 1:30 p.m. will be delivered by the next business day.
Online shopping for groceries and household goods is a growth opportunity for retailers and gro- cers that have seen their market shares increasingly captured by Amazon and other online startups. Nearly a quarter of American households buy groceries online, up from 19% in 2014, according to a report in January by Food Marketing Institute and Nielsen.
By 2025, the share of online grocery spending could reach 20%, representing $100 billion in annual sales, the report said.
Target currently offers free instore pickup service for online orders. Customers shop online and pick up packed bags at their local store within two hours.