Target Kicks Off Instacart Pilot

Target’s on-demand grocery delivery service has officially launched in Minneapolis as part of its partnership with Instacart.

The pilot program will allow residents in that area to buy groceries on Target.com and receive the orders that same day — and in some cases within an hour. Besides groceries, the partnership allows Target shoppers to buy other goods such as Target household, health and beauty, pet, and baby products. Delivery costs start at $3.99 for a two-hour scheduled delivery with a purchase of $35 or more. There is a $10 order minimum on all orders. Instacart delivers from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. daily. On holidays, Instacart’s delivery hours are subject to Target store holiday hours.

“Our goal is to make grocery shopping easier and more convenient,” said Jason Goldberger, President of Target.com and Mobile. “Our team is constantly listening to guests’ needs and looking for new ways to help them shop Target wherever, whenever and however they want. Instacart is a leading player in this space and we look forward to seeing how guests in the Minneapolis area respond to the service.”

Shoppers in the delivery zones — select Minneapolis neighborhoods and some western suburbs — can shop via Instacart.com or its app to purchase items for delivery from targets. While Minneapolis is the first test market for this service, there are plans to expand in more markets.

Target’s move into grocery delivery comes at the same time Amazon Prime is expanding its Prime Now delivery offerings, along with its Prime fresh grocery delivery options. While Amazon has made a jump into the market, where Target may have an edge is with its physical store presence that allows customers to know exactly where their goods are being delivered from. That also allows for consumers to return unwanted goods to stores instead of returning online.

[vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row full_width=”” parallax=”” parallax_image=””][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center” style=”” border_width=”” el_width=””][vc_single_image image=”148412″ alignment=”center” style=”vc_box_shadow_3d” border_color=”grey” img_link_large=”” img_link_target=”_blank” css_animation=”left-to-right” img_size=”full” link=”http://www.pymnts.com/whats-hot-today/”][vc_column_text css_animation=””]

To check out what else is HOT in the world of payments, click here.

[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”grey” align=”align_center” style=”” border_width=”” el_width=””][/vc_column][/vc_row]