Target Aspires to Ramp Up Mobile Payments-Connected Shipt Deliveries in 2019

No one could deny that Shipt was a major expense for Target when the company first picked up the shipping arm. Target was willing to drop over half a billion—$550 million, specifically—on it a little over a year ago, and it’s been making the most of that investment ever since. Now, Target’s let slip on some plans to step up its Shipt connection even farther, and get the most out of that hefty investment as 2019 arrives in earnest.

Right now, Shipt isn’t exactly a sluggard. It’s delivering same-day service to around 200 markets in 46 states, covering much of the same things that Target is selling in its stores. Groceries, electronics, home products and various essentials, with an hour’s delivery time, are being send throughout the United States every day.

Considering that Shipt started out available in just 70 markets and added 375 new employees to the operation, the fact that Target has roughly tripled its outreach in a year is no mean feat. Right now, the most popular items purchased for delivery through Shipt are groceries, and the top 25 items-ordered list reads like the beginning of a really awesome salad, including shredded cheese, bananas, strawberries, avocados, limes and butter.

Thus, Target plans to not only increase the kinds and quantities of items delivered through Shipt, but also the number of new markets that Shipt can work with. Essentially, if you can’t already get access to Shipt, 2019 might be your year.

It’s no real surprise that Target would want to expand Shipt access, especially given the number of places that already offer delivery service. For Target to fall behind on delivery means the perfect opportunity for Walmart to sweep in and take some business, not to mention the growing numbers of dedicated grocery stores like Kroger, Meijer and Whole Foods that have at least some delivery arm.

Mobile payments help get us the items we want, but that predicates on some kind of delivery system, whether someone brings it to us or we go get it. Services like Shipt help make things that much more convenient for us, the end user, and that keeps us coming back to the stores that offer convenience.