Minneapolis — Target Corporation has unveiled plans to continue enhancing its same-day pickup services in fall 2022. The company will begin testing the option for guests in select markets to add a Starbucks order or make a return within Target’s free, contactless curbside service through the Target app. Target will also expand its “backup item” functionality in even more categories to allow guests to pick up everything on their lists.
These latest enhancements will build on Target’s strategy of using the company’s nearly 2,000 stores as fulfillment hubs, powering its suite of contactless same-day services. As the company’s digital business has more than doubled during the last 2 years, Order Pickup, Drive Up and Same-Day Delivery with Shipt have accounted for more than half of those sales.
“Our guests continue to tell us they love the ease and convenience of Drive Up, and they have been asking us to add even more of the Target experience to the service. Adding a Starbucks order and easy returns, while expanding our backup item options, will give guests even more of what they love about shopping at Target, quickly and easily,” says Mark Schindele, Target’s chief stores officer. “Ongoing investments in our same-day services have built trust and relevance with our guests, while meeting their needs — no matter how they choose to shop.”
When Target surveyed guests, placing a Drive Up order for Starbucks was a top request. When the new feature becomes available, guests will indicate they’re “on their way” to the store via the Target app and will have the option to place an order from the Starbucks menu. Upon arrival, a Target Drive Up team member will deliver their full order to the guests’ car. Similarly, for the return process, guests will be able to initiate a return via the Target app and complete it at the Drive Up lane.
With expanded “backup item” functionality, guests will be able to select from a wider assortment of categories — including beauty and household essentials — to designate secondary backup items for their Drive Up and Order Pickup orders, in the event their first-choice items are unavailable. In the months since the option rolled out for food and beverage orders, Target teams have successfully substituted backup items 98% of the time, helping guests pick up even more of what they need — including high-demand items.
Additional innovations and functionalities include Adult Beverage pickup; “Shopping Partner” — a feature that allows guests to send someone else to pick up their Drive Up or Order Pickup order; “Forgot Something” — which allows guests to easily order forgotten items after a Drive Up or Order Pickup order has been placed; plus more Shipt shopping personalization.
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation has more than 1,900 stores.
SOURCE: Target Corporation