Target buys delivery service Shipt

Same-day delivery of groceries, other essentials, electronics and other products will be available from about half of Target stores by early 2018, and this will be extended to all other major merchandise categories by the end of 2019. Same-day delivery will be available from a majority of Target’s stores, and in all major markets, before the 2018 holiday season.

"We laid out an ambitious strategic agenda in early 2017, which included a focus on giving our guests a number of convenient ways to shop with Target, whether it's ordering online and picking up in one of our stores, driving up to pick up an order, or taking advantage of services like our new Restock program,” said John Mulligan, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Target, in a prepared statement. “With Shipt's network of local shoppers and their current market penetration, we will move from days to hours, dramatically accelerating our ability to bring affordable same-day delivery to guests across the country."

Birmingham, Ala.–based Shipt is a membership-based grocery marketplace and same-day delivery platform. The service leverages an extensive network of over 20,000 personal shoppers to fulfill orders from various retailers and deliver within hours in more than 72 markets. Shipt focuses on customer service, and operates via an app, through which members are connected to local, reliable shoppers who deliver for them.

"Partnering with Target and the national scale they provide allows Shipt to further accelerate our growth, bringing our service to more people, in more markets across the country," said Bill Smith, Shipt's founder and CEO. "We'll continue growing our marketplace and membership base, working with a variety of retailers to drive scale and efficiencies."

Shipt will be a wholly owned Target subsidiary, and will continue to run its business independently. It also plans to expand partnerships with other retailers seeking same-day, last-mile capabilities.