Target Launches Same-Day Delivery — Here's Who Can Use It First

Last summer, when it was first announced that Amazon had acquired Whole Foods in a $13.7 billion deal, it became quite clear to consumers that the routine task of grocery shopping was about to change forever. In the aftermath of the deal, several industry giants began expanding delivery options. Now, one of those changes is officially happening for select Target shoppers. In December, the store first announced that it had acquired a same-day shipping platform called Shipt. Target explained that this acquisition means customers can place orders for variety of items, including groceries and home goods, and have them delivered to their doors the same day. Target recently revealed new details about the service, including where it will be rolled out first and when.

Starting February 1, if you live in Birmingham, AL or South Florida, you will no longer have to be tempted by rows and rows of products every time you need to pick up a few essentials from Target. In these areas, sticking to your list won't be as much of an issue because shopping at Target will no longer require stepping foot inside a store.

Consumers in Birmingham and South Florida can sign up for a Shipt membership now, and on Thursday, members can begin virtually browsing over 50,000 products, including fresh food. Customers can add items to their list, check out, then employees called "Shipt shoppers" will visit the stores IRL to to make the actual purchases. The items will be delivered within a few hours. After the initial launch of Target's same-day delivery in these two markets, the chain plans to offer Shipt’s services at around half of its stores by the end of its first quarter. The majority of stores are expected to have the service by 2018's holiday season.

Since the Amazon's big announcement that it would begin providing same-day delivery of Whole Foods products, other grocery chains have started testing similar services. In October, Costco rolled out it's new service known simply as CostcoGrocery. With it, customers can now order non-perishable items for delivery. The retailer also expanded its Instacart delivery to more cities. Through Instacart, same-day delivery and delivery of fresh food is available from 376 Costco locations. With all these changes coming to popular supermarket chains, we may soon never have to cross the threshold of a grocery store again.