Target Testing Grocery Delivery
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis-area residents can now buy groceries online from Target—and receive their orders at home in as little as an hour, the mass retailer has announced. The new system, which went live September 15, is part of a new partnership with on-demand grocery delivery service Instacart.
The companies are exploring plans to expand into additional areas and markets.
“Our goal is to make grocery shopping easier and more convenient,” said Jason Goldberger, president of Target.com and Mobile. “Our team is constantly listening to guests’ needs and looking for new ways to help them shop Target wherever, whenever and however they want. Instacart is a leading player in this space and we look forward to seeing how guests in the Minneapolis area respond to the service.”
In addition to groceries, the collaboration will allow customers to purchase select Target household, health and beauty, pet and baby products such as diapers and formula.
Customers in the delivery area—which initially include select Minneapolis neighborhoods and some western suburbs—can now use Instacart.com or the Instacart app to shop Target.
The companies are exploring plans to expand into additional areas and markets.
The partnership is another example of Minneapolis-based Target’s increasing efforts to quickly deliver goods to guests. It comes on the heels of Target offering store pickup for online orders and expanding the “ship-from-store” program where stores fulfill and ship online orders, typically in two to three days.
Guests can visit Instacart.com and enter their zip code to see if they’re eligible for the service. Delivery is free for the first Instacart order. After the first Instacart order, delivery costs start at $3.99 for a two-hour scheduled delivery with a purchase of $35 or more. There is a $10 order minimum on all orders.
Instacart delivers from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. On holidays, Instacart’s delivery hours are subject to Target store holiday hours.
The move comes as Amazon, Wal-Mart and Overstock.com have also recently rolled out online grocery shopping and home delivery. And 7-Eleven recently partnered with DoorDash to provide on-demand delivery from more than 200 participating 7-Eleven convenience stores in five major metropolitan markets across the United States. It is also in a separate test with Postmates to deliver groceries, fresh foods and other convenience-store items in San Francisco and Oakland.
