Target launches Restock, its anti-Amazon gambit

Target Corp. on Tuesday launched its promised next-day delivery service of household essentials that it hopes will help it retain customers who might otherwise be lured away to Amazon.com's Prime service.

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TechCrunch reports on the public debut of Target Restock, which the Minneapolis-based retailer has been testing on its own employees for the past few months. Target (NYSE: TGT) is taking the rollout slowly, for now making Restock only available in the Twin Cities and a few other Minnesota markets.





A Target store in downtown Minneapolis. The retailer will use its stores as shipment… more

RELATED: Target will step up Amazon Prime competition with household-essentials delivery

The service works much like Amazon's Prime Pantry, which lets shoppers fill a box with household items and have it shipped to them.

Target looks to be competing both on price — it charges a $4.99 fee for the service, $1 less than Amazon — and on speed, promising next-day service by using its own stores as shipment centers. Amazon Prime Pantry ships via ground service from its distribution centers, meaning orders can take a few days, though that may change with its purchase of Whole Foods, which gives Amazon its own retail stores to ship from.

The Star Tribune does a walk-through of Restock— currently available only to Target Redcard holders — and notes what's in (and out). Shoppers can buy beverages like La Croix, but not Diet Coke. Produce and fresh groceries also aren't included in the program.

Though Target's chief business remains getting customers into its stores (where it can entice them with impulse purchases) it has been testing various delivery options since 2013— first as a subscription service for baby products and then expanding it a year later to include more than 1,500 everyday-necessity items ranging from detergent to printer supplies.

To read more, please visit: http://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2017/06/28/target...