Target buys Shipt, aims to boost same-day delivery

Associated Press

NEW YORK

Target plans to boost its same-day delivery capability by paying $550 million for Shipt, its latest move to try to catch up with Amazon.

Shipt, which charges members $99 a year, sends people out to choose and deliver groceries from stores. Target said Wednesday that it will add more products to the service next year, such as home goods and electronics.

Target shoppers will have to make orders through Shipt’s app or website and pay the annual fee to get same-day delivery. There are plans to incorporate Shipt into Target’s app and website, but the companies did not say when that would happen.

Retailers have been looking for ways to speed up delivery as they try to match the fast service offered by Amazon.

Minneapolis-based Target expects half of its 1,800 stores to offer Shipt’s service by next summer. It’ll be available at most of its stores by the 2018 holiday shopping season, it said.

Shipt, founded in 2014, will operate independently from Target and remain in its headquarters in Birmingham, Ala.