I fail to see the big deal here. There’s a huge difference between free same day shipping (even with a minimum purchase threshold) and $9.99 same day shipping. Very few people who shop Target are going to take advantage of this program. In those instances where there is some item they absolutely need right away and can’t get to the store, they’ll go for it. Otherwise, they’ll accept the regular shipping options or choose BOPIS where same-day availability for in-store items is the industry standard.

So unless anything on target.com will be available same-day in-store, this seems like little more than a lesson learned from Amazon on how to spin relatively nothing into press hype.

Lost in the “Battle of Titans” between Amazon and Walmart, Target is making the right moves to bolster digital sales. Target’s purchase of Shipt in December 2017 gives them a logistics and delivery arm that provides great flexibility. Taking a page from Burger King, (with this move) Target allows shoppers to “Have it Your Way” with multiple delivery options. Offering flexibility for one-time, same-day delivery versus an annual commitment will generate new trial of the service and likely lead to even more subscriptions.

Music please… “Anything Target can do, Amazon can do better.”

There is no doubt that Target and Walmart are responding to every new delivery concept introduced by Amazon. However, this fast follower approach with individualized tweaks seem to add little in the way of differential advantage. If a shopper is someone who needs it now, the $99 annual subscription or $14 per month subscription (pays for itself in less than two Deliveries), would be the preferred subscription options. The delivery wars will continue, however, this latest move by Target is more a tactical versus strategic move.

When it comes to digital, Target is currently on a roll and its various services such as Drive Up are proving a hit with shoppers. I expect the new same-day service to help boost digital still further.

However, what must not be forgotten is that most of Target’s success is because it has products that people want to buy. A lot of effort has been expended to develop new brands and labels to engineer this. Ultimately, retailers can have all the delivery services in the world, but if they don’t have good ranges it won’t make a jot of difference.

Target’s new efforts feels to me like they’re chasing vs leading. I’m not so sure same day is a huge driver anyway. It’s a “nice to have,” but I’ll take AMZN’s “anything store” over Target’s limited opportunities any day.

A different topic for another day, but Target feels behind to me in general and is living off their cache as a brand more than anything. Whereas Walmart and AMZN are constantly coming up with a higher and higher bar to get over. Feels like Target is searching for a big win, but hasn’t quite figured out what that is or even how to get it if they did. They are trying though, so perhaps something soon, before all that real estate catches up with them.

Target has done very well with its digital sales from providing good information on its website about the product, reviews from purchasers and showing where the item is located in the store. The Target information is as good as Walmart and Amazon.

The real distinguishing Target feature is the ability to pay by the time, month or year for Shipt delivery. Customers can try Shipt once without a commitment and decide if they want to continue with a subscription service. Also, since Target owns Shipt, they have a lot of leverage in the shipping business. This is a competitive advantage for Target.

I’ve had a number of these conversations with a few clients who are leading market retailers over the last 6 months, and what I’m hearing is that same-day isn’t really being asked for by their customers … yet. It will take Target being out-front on this for a while before the rest of the market catches up, and I think the market will shift expectations based on what I assume is Target’s next move which is to offer free same-day shipping based on order threshold (just like DTC order).

I personally do no less than 4 drive-up/BOPIS orders *at Target* a month, and I’m not ready to pay $9.99 to get it shipped same day, so to the question, this isn’t going to move the needle quite yet for Target in converting to same-day.

I like that customers have a choice with Target’s shipping. It’s a good program. As for competing with Amazon, it is important to note that the Prime membership is more than a shipping program. That’s one of the things that Amazon CEO, Jeff B., commented on … that the membership had to offer so much value that shipping was a bonus. So, not sure this will have much impact on Amazon, if anything.

I think it’s a smart move, but seems like a tactic to stay relevant in the current e-commerce arms race. It would really be news if they were offering free shipping for same day delivery, even if just offered to REDCard holders in addition to the 5% discount. The shipping arms race will continue and I expect Amazon, Walmart, and Target to continue to set the pace for others.