Target makes pricing promise to Petco, Lowe's and CVS customers

Target has never had the billions Walmart and Amazon have been able to spend investing in faster delivery. It can't blanket the nation with warehouses, create its own shipping company, lease planes, and deploy a fleet of drones.

The retail chain, however, can leverage its warehouse footprint and make smart choices like its investment in Shipt, a same-day shipping service Target TGT bought in 2017.

At the time, the deal was the largest purchase Target ever made at $550 million. Now, just a few years later, that price seems like a steal when you look at the billions Walmart and Target have spent.

Then Target COO John Mulligan made it clear at the time that Target was focused on faster delivery.

“Same-day delivery is a service that our guests are asking for more and more often. By acquiring Shipt, we’ll be able to take advantage of our network of stores and Shipt’s technology platform and shopper community to quickly offer same-day delivery to millions of our guests,” he shared.

Target rolled that out very quickly and now plans to evolve its delivery business even further. Shipt will be a key part of that as the company continues to work smarter with lower budgets than its rivals.

Target has been very smart about managing its delivery investments.

Image source: Sundry Photography/Getty Images

Target makes customers a pricing promise

One of the dirty secrets of delivery is that many stores have different prices for delivery and in-person shopping. That's common in both the retail and restaurant delivery spaces, but many customers don't actually know that.

Target has come out to make it very clear that it's not going to take advantage of its customers who want delivery.

CEO Brian Cornell spoke about his chain's efforts during its first-quarter earnings call.

“Finally, as we focus on building engagement with new and existing Target Circle 360 members, we're implementing changes to make same-day delivery even more affordable through an industry-leading offering,” he added.

More Retail:

The CEO then shared a big promise.

“As you know, for items delivered same day from Target, we've never marked up prices. And now we're extending that policy for all other retailers on the platform,” he added.

Unlike Walmart or Amazon, Target's Shipt has relationships with other major retailers.

Target CEO shares more key pricing news

Cornell and Target want people to join Shipt and will sacrifice some sales to make that happen.

“Beginning this week, we've introduced no price markups on same-day delivery for the more than 100 retailers available on Shipt's marketplace,” he shared.

The CEO then mildly went on the offensive.

“Many membership programs provide access to only one retailer, and others offer deliveries from multiple retailers but charge additional fees. With Target Circle 360, members get unlimited same-day delivery with a personal shopper and access to Shipt's marketplace of more than 100 other retailers like Petco, CVS, Lowe's, popular grocers and more,” he shared.

Walmart does offer a similar pricing policy.

Walmart's price guarantee:

Walmart Delivery or Pickup: Items delivered from a Walmart store will have identical prices to what you'd see in-store.
Pickup Orders (Grocery): Similarly, prices are the same as in-store when you choose pickup.

Target COO Michael Fiddelke made it clear that delivery remains a growth area for Target.

“We see a lot of room to continue increasing the adoption of services like Drive Up and same-day delivery while we also expand next-day shipping to more and more guests over time. Among our same-day services, we're seeing the most rapid growth in same-day delivery powered by Target Circle 360, which increased by more than 35% this quarter,” he shared.

Target Same-Day Delivery (via Target or Shipt)

Uses local store pricing for items delivered the same day, matching what you'd pay if you shopped in-store at that location.
Promotions and Target Circle deals apply just the same as if you were shopping in-store, provided you’re signed in and have the right settings.
No extra markup on same-day delivery orders made by Target Circle 360 members from Target and many partner retailers (e.g., groceries, pet stores, CVS, etc.) as of early 2025.