Target to Test Curbside Returns, Starbucks Orders

Target will begin giving customers the option of adding a Starbucks order or making a return while using the retailer’s contactless curbside service.

The company announced the project in a news release Wednesday (Feb. 23), saying it would be tested in select markets.

“These latest enhancements will build on Target’s strategy of using the company’s nearly 2,000 stores as fulfillment hubs, powering its suite of contactless same-day services,” the news release said. “As the company’s digital business has more than doubled during the last two years, Order Pickup, Drive Up and Same-Day Delivery with Shipt have accounted for more than half of those sales.”

And when Target surveyed its customers, the option to place a drive-up order from Starbucks was one of the most requested functions.

One this feature becomes available, customers will use the Target app to signal that they’re en route and get the option to place an order from the Starbucks menu. Once they arrive, a Target employee will deliver the order to their car. Customers will be able to do the same thing when making a return.

Target will also expand the “backup item” functionality of its app, letting customers pick from a wider assortment of categories — including household essential and beauty products — and designate something as a second choice if their first-choice item isn’t available.

Target says these new functionalities join other recent features such as Adult Beverage pickup, “Shopping Partner,” which lets customers send someone else to pick up their drive up or order pickup order, and “Forgot Something,” which lets shoppers add forgotten items after an order has been placed.

Read more: Target CEO: Inflation Will Take Bite out of Store, Restaurant Trips

The announcement comes weeks after Target’s CEO predicted consumers will make fewer shopping trips this year due to inflation.

“Some of the historical ways consumers react to inflation will play out again in 2022,” said Brian Cornell, speaking at a National Retail Federation event in January.

“You’ll drive fewer miles, you’ll consolidate the number of times and locations where you shop. You’ll probably spend a little more eating at home versus your favorite restaurant, and you might make some trade-offs between a national brand and an own brand.”