Acquiring Shipt Will Bring Target Shoppers Same-Day Delivery

Target recently acquired Shipt to leverage the same-day delivery company’s proprietary technology platform and community of shoppers, and quickly and efficiently bring same-day delivery to customers across the country. What does this $550-million deal mean for Target and other retailers?

"We are now at a point where same-day delivery service is becoming the rule for top retailers, rather than the exception," says Tushar Patel, chief marketing officer of Kibo, an omnichannel commerce provider. "With the acquisition of Shipt, Target has unequivocally positioned itself in Amazon’s swimming lane of fast and seamless delivery services.

"This announcement comes on the heels of UPS admitting that many Black Friday and Cyber Monday package deliveries were delayed because of an unexpected flood of orders from online shoppers," he adds. "Bottom line: These types of delays are simply not acceptable to shoppers anymore.

"The question that remains unanswered is if consumers will pay for same-day delivery," Patel says. "With the Shipt acquisition, Target is betting on it and is marching in double time to make sure it gets general merchandise, and fresh and frozen groceries into customers’ hands. The Shipt acquisition will force more retailers to expand their delivery service capabilities, which are—and will continue to be—critical to have ready during high traffic shopping days."