Dive Brief:
- Target will test a same-day delivery service starting next month in three U.S. cities.
- Shelf-stable grocery items will be available for delivery, but fresh items will not.
- The system requires customers to place an order online prior to 1:30 pm local time and pay a $10 delivery fee.
Dive Insight:
The delivery game is changing so rapidly that it's getting increasingly hard to keep up.
Target's test appears aimed at competing directly with Amazon's Pantry service, which is aimed at competing against shopping clubs like Sam's and Costco. This is not to be confused with Amazon Fresh, which competes against companies like Fresh Direct and Peapod.
Or perhaps Target wants to compete against Google Express, which is being tested in San Francisco, where it competes against local favorite Instacart, which has expanded to Seattle, home of Amazon.
We have no idea how all this will shake out. But we're willing to bet that Target -- which has also moved heavily into organics and is eyeing smaller-footprint locations, will be a major player in food and food delivery.