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Target sets online delivery promise

Written by Tom Ryan

Source: target.com

[avatar user="tryan@retailwire.com" size="100" /] This fall, Target will be testing a new program, "Available To Promise," providing customers more clarity on delivery timing for items ordered online. Specifically, customers will be offered a specific delivery commitment—typically two or three business days—if they order on a specific date. Currently, guests are offered a delivery window of four to nine days with most deliveries arriving within five to seven days. "We believe this capability will drive further increases in digital conversion rates, which are already improving rapidly, as guests respond to a faster and firmer delivery commitment," Target CEO Brian Cornell said last week on Target's second-quarter conference call. Added Mr. Cornell, "We want to give them the confidence that when they order they know it's 'available to promise' and we're going to have it there for them when they need it." The program is expected to draw attention to Target's improved shipping times, aided in part by its enhanced ship-from-store capabilities. Target is currently shipping digital orders from approximately 140 of its 1,800 doors and by the end of this year will be shipping from more than 450 locations. Said Cornell, "Ship-from-store capabilities allow us to balance inventory across the network, leverage the capital and labor already in our stores and reach guests more quickly." Both "Available To Promise" and ship-from-store support Target's goal of becoming the leader in digital. Said Mr. Cornell, "This is critically important because guest research shows that digital relevance drives traffic and engagement across all selling channels." Target delivered a strong 30 percent rise in digital sales in the second quarter, although it was below Mr. Cornell's stated goal of expanding digital at a 40-percent clip. Other priorities to expand digital include building awareness and encouraging digital engagement, improving website and mobile functionality such as finding product and easing checkout, and maximizing in-store pickup. In February, Target reduced the threshold of what consumers had to spend to qualify for free shipping to $25 from $50. According to a survey of 800 adults conducted in the U.K. by Ipsos Research on behalf of Honeywell:
  • Almost all consumers (99 percent) expected a delivery to arrive within one week of ordering;
  • The majority of respondents (53 percent) now expect the estimated time of delivery to be precise within three hours or less;
  • Four in ten consumers (40 percent) said they would be willing to pay extra for the "perfect delivery," in which they designate exactly where and when their parcel will be delivered.
 

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