The US retail giant Target has bought the same-day delivery company Shipt for $550 million.
In a statement, Target said: “The acquisition significantly accelerates Target’s digital fulfillment efforts, bringing same-day delivery services to guests at approximately half of Target stores by early 2018. The service will be offered from the majority of Target stores, and in all major markets, before the 2018 holiday season.
“At launch, Target will offer same-day delivery of groceries, essentials, home, electronics and other products, while expanding the products offered over time. By the end of 2019, same-day delivery will include all major product categories at Target.”
Shipt is a membership based grocery marketplace and also runs a same-day delivery platform. The company uses a network of more than 20,000 personal shoppers who fulfil orders from a number of retailers and can deliver within hours to more than 72 different towns and cities in the US.
According to Target, Shipt is to be a wholly owned Target subsidiary, though it will continue to run independently as a business. Shipt has expansion plans too, with the plan to expand partnerships with a number of other retailers.
Bill Smith, Shipt’s founder and CEO, commented: “Partnering with Target and the national scale they provide allows Shipt to further accelerate our growth, bringing our service to more people, in more markets across the country,” said
“We’ll continue growing our marketplace and membership base, working with a variety of retailers to drive scale and efficiencies. We look forward to introducing Target guests to the convenience of our same-day delivery services, with the level of personal attention only Shipt can provide.”
Subscribe to Newsletter