Target Store by Mike Mozart / CC BY 2.0 via Flickr
Currently on the market for the rapid home delivery of essential goods is Amazon’s Prime Pantry and a Walmart’s test version that brings in employees and their own vehicles making house deliveries to customers. The latest delivery service attempt comes from Target in a pilot test they call Target Restock.
Target Restock is being tested with customers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area where the Target headquarters are conveniently located. With a focus on house essentials, dry goods, beauty products, and personal care, Target does not have to about the extra care and effort required in delivering short-lived groceries and frozen items like Amazon and Walmart do. In the beginning, Target Restock will only be available to Target REDcard holders - 5% discount included - and those with Target.com accounts, but they can choose to pay with any card at checkout.
Like Amazon’s Prime Pantry, Target Restock allows shoppers to fill a box up to 45 pounds and pay $4.99 for shipping. There are over 10,000 items to choose from at target.com/restock, and next-day delivery is available Monday through Thursday if customers place their orders by 2 PM and select Restock Express Shipping. Express shipping may actually mean express shipping because Target Restock will be filling orders from nearby Target stores, so the promise can be kept. Currently, Target Restock deliveries are made by UPS, but there are plans to test with other delivery companies to make shopping easier and more efficient.
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Target already plays a large role in the lives of everyday consumers. With Target Restock, if shoppers can receive the same goods with the same quality and customer service they can rely on from Target, it’s going to pose as a disadvantage for Target’s competitors. The familiarity of a brick-and-mortar store and the possibility of in-store returns may give Target the advantage in this delivery service.
However, Target is late to the game of delivery. Amazon Prime Pantry has established its name in the past several months, and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that Amazon has 80 million Prime members in the U.S. alone. Walmart has yet to launch any official next-day delivery program since they announced deliveries made by employees in early June, but the past month of testing and research will undoubtedly give them an advantage in learning about the success or failure of their efforts. Regardless, after Target’s rise in the free shipping minimum in May, Target Restock serves as a redemption method for Target. How success this pilot test will be, only time will tell, but we think that Target already has a fantastic customer base and Target Restock will increase their happiness even more.
