These are the 8 Markets the Target Restock Program is Headed to Next
Shoppers doing their best to avoid trekking to the store for household items and groceries have a new method to try.
Target Restock is expanding this fall to offer next-day delivery to customers in 11 major markets.
After launching the service in the Dallas, Denver and Minneapolis areas, Target has introduced Restock to Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Washington, D.C./Baltimore areas. The San Francisco area will also get Restock, but it doesn’t officially launch there until mid-October.
The program doesn’t offer a one-day shipping free-for-all for Target’s entire inventory; instead, it focuses on “more than 15,000 popular essentials,” like cleaning supplies and baby products, a release explained.
Shoppers can choose up to 45 pounds of Restock merchandise — there’s a tracker to see how full your cart is getting — and get it all delivered the next day for $4.99 shipping. Orders must be placed by 2 p.m. Monday through Friday in order to get next-day delivery.
Which Home Essentials Delivery Service Will Rule?
Target says its expanded Restock service will reach 70 million people, “about one-fifth of the U.S. population,” a corporate blog post noted. During its initial launch, macaroni and cheese was one of the most popular Restock items.
Target is trying to lure shoppers and boost its grocery game by lowering prices on household essentials. But convenience, not low prices, may be what wins customers over.
Amazon Prime Pantry offers $5.99 shipping on essentials orders of up to 45 pounds. It’s available across the contiguous United States, but since Pantry orders are delivered via ground shipping, orders can take up to four days to arrive. The service promises regular-sized products, instead of only shipping items available in bulk sizes.
It’s a dig at Jet, which offers free two-day shipping for orders over $35, but initially only had large sizes of the household essentials it carried. Jet’s product availability has expanded greatly, perhaps to the credit of its acquisition by Walmart — although Walmart offers its own free two-day shipping option.
But adding quick-delivery services like Restock and Pantry highlight the stiff competition grocery chains face in cultivating brand loyalty. As e-commerce goes toe-to-toe with in-store sales, retailers we once made weekly trips to are fighting for our attention.
Lisa Rowan is a writer and producer at The Penny Hoarder.