Target tries out Drive Up service

Target is testing a service called Drive Up in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. This allows customers, who can shop nearly 200,000 items, including home furnishings, toys, electronics, household essentials, non-perishable food and baby-care items, to have their orders brought out to their cars by a store team member. 

The customer places an order via the retailer’s iPhone app and selects ‘Drive Up’, and then Target notifies them when the order is ready to be picked up. Customers hit the ‘I’m on My Way button when they are en route to their store. They pull into designated parking spots and a Target team member comes out to greet them with their order. 

“Stopping for diapers and toilet paper may not be glamourous, but it’s still on a lot of our to-do lists,” says Dawn Block, Target Senior Vice President of Digital. “Drive Up is our latest effort to make it easier and faster for busy guests to conveniently get what they need, and simply get back to their day.”

The service has been built in house by Target. “Drive Up is a test-and-learn programme, so we’ll continue to fine-tune and enhance the experience, and will look to expand to more guests in the future,” the retailer says.