Target to buy Birmingham’s Shipt for $550 million in challenge to Amazon

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Target Shipt

Target on Wednesday announced it will purchase Birmingham-based grocery-delivery startup Shipt, a leading online same-day delivery platform, for $550 million in cash.

Target will leverage its network of stores and Shipt’s proprietary technology platform and community of shoppers to quickly and efficiently bring same-day delivery to guests across the country, immediately making it a contender to challenge Amazon’s e-commerce dominance.

“With Shipt’s network of local shoppers and their current market penetration, we will move from days to hours, dramatically accelerating our ability to bring affordable same-day delivery to guests across the country,” said Target’s chief operating officer John Mulligan in a statement.

Target will offer some same-day delivery service for online purchases

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.

Founded in 2014 and located in Birmingham, Alabama, Shipt is a rapidly growing membership-based grocery marketplace and same-day delivery platform. The service leverages an extensive network of over 20,000 personal shoppers to fulfill orders from various retailers and deliver within hours in more than 72 markets.

“We are very excited to partner with Target, one of the most loved retailers in the country with a reputation for supporting local communities. 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 Shipt’s founder and CEO Bill Smith. “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.”

Shipt will be a wholly owned Target subsidiary, and will continue to run its business independently. All current Shipt employees will continue to be employed by Shipt and will work from their current offices in Birmingham and San Francisco, and will continue to operate like a retail partner.

Shipt currently requires a $99-a-year membership for unlimited deliveries. The minimum for Shipt orders is $35, but Target may opt to remove that requirement for orders from its stores.