Shipt is an American delivery service owned by

Target Corporation Target Corporation ( doing business as Target and stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American big box department store chain headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is the seventh largest retailer in the United States, and a com ...

. It is headquartered in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. In December 2017, it was announced that

was acquiring Shipt for $550 million and that it would operate as an independent subsidiary following the acquisition. As of 2018, Shipt delivers groceries, home products, and select electronics.

History

Shipt was founded and initially funded by Bill Smith. Before launching Shipt, Smith had built other businesses including a cellphone business, a small loan business, and a prepaid Visa card business. The company soft-launched in November 2014 in

with 1,000 pre-enrollment customers and officially launched in Birmingham in May 2015. By 2016, the service was available to 27 metro areas in 9 states. The company initially targeted regions that had no grocery delivery services before expanding into other regions. In July 2016, Shipt received a $20 million

Series A A series A round (also known as series A financing or series A investment) is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture capital financing. The name refers to the class of preferred stock sold to investors in exc ...

investment led by Greycroft Partners, e.ventures and Harbert Growth Partners. The company said it planned to use the funding to develop partnerships and scale. Shipt raised an additional $40 million in Series B funding in June 2017. The round was led by Greycroft Partners with participation from previous investors. At the time of the investment the company operated in 47 markets across the U.S. On December 13, 2017,

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, f ...

announced it would acquire Shipt for $550 million to improve its same-day shipping capabilities. After the acquisition, Shipt continued to form delivery partnerships with retailers other than Target. Following the acquisition, Target said it planned to use Shipt and its infrastructure to facilitate same-day delivery from a majority of its stores and that the service would be available for more than 55,000 products initially and that, by the end of the year, every major category of product would be included. In March 2018, the company announced it was launching same-day delivery from Target stores in the

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, Anchorage, Fairbanks,

Juneau The City and Borough of Juneau, more commonly known simply as Juneau ( ; tli, Dzánti K'ihéeni ), is the capital city of the state of Alaska. Located in the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle, it is a unified municipality and the s ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, and the

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

region the following month with plans to deliver products in 170 markets by year-end. In March 2019, Shipt named Target veteran Kelly Caruso as its new CEO, succeeding founder Bill Smith, who continued with the company in an advisory role. In February 2022, Shipt announced that Kamau Witherspoon will join the company as its new CEO, effective March 1, 2022. Witherspoon has held leadership roles with various companies including

UnitedHealthcare UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It offers health care products and insurance services. UnitedHealth Group is the world's seventh largest c ...

Yum! Brands Yum! Brands, Inc. (or Yum!), formerly Tricon Global Restaurants, Inc., is an American fast food corporation listed on the Fortune 1000. Yum! operates the brands KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill, except in China, where the ...

, and

, where he most recently was senior vice president of operations. In that role, he was responsible for the company’s operational planning and prioritization, partner operations, M&A integration, and process improvement initiatives across supply chain, stores and properties. Previously, he was senior vice president, operational performance and readiness at UnitedHealthcare, leading new business integration, M&A integration, operational strategy, and field operations. And he also held the position of chief restaurant excellence officer for the KFC US division of Yum! Brands leading the overall transformation of operations.

Service

Shipt facilitates same-day delivery from various retailers to its members through either a

smartphone A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...

app, available on

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...

and Android platforms, or via their website. Having a Shipt membership enables customers to place orders for products from local retailers such as

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is a privately held American alcohol retailer founded by Jack Holloway in 1936. ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is a Florida-based independent retailer of wine and spirits. The company's headquarters are in Orlando, Florida ...

Costco Costco Wholesale Corporation (Trade name, doing business as Costco Wholesale and also known simply as Costco) is an American multinational corporation which operates a chain of membership-only Big-box store, big-box retail stores (warehouse c ...

, CVS,

Harris Teeter Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Inc., also known as Harris Teeter Neighborhood Food & Pharmacy, is an American supermarket chain based in Matthews, North Carolina, a suburb of Charlotte. , the chain operates 261 stores in seven South Atlantic states ...

H-E-B H-E-B Grocery Company, LP, is an American privately held supermarket chain based in San Antonio, Texas, with more than 340 stores throughout the U.S. state of Texas, as well as in northeast Mexico. The company also operates Central Market, an ...

, Jewel Osco,

Kroger The Kroger Company, or simply Kroger, is an American retail company that operates (either directly or through its subsidiaries) supermarkets and multi-department stores throughout the United States. Founded by Bernard Kroger in 1883 in Cinci ...

Lucky's Market LM Acquisition Co. LLC , doing business as Lucky's Market, is a group of two separate supermarket chains in Colorado and Ohio that started in Boulder and briefly became a national chain before it shrank back to its home state. Founded in 20 ...

Meijer Meijer Inc. (, ; stylized as meijer) is an American supercenter chain that primarily operates throughout the Midwest. Its corporate headquarters are in Walker, Michigan, which is a part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area. Founded in 1934 ...

, Office Depot,

OfficeMax OfficeMax is an American office supplies retailer founded in 1988. It is now a subsidiary of The ODP Corporation, which is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. As of December 2012, OfficeMax operated 941 stores in 47 states, Puerto Rico, the U ...

Publix Publix Super Markets, Inc., commonly known as Publix, is an employee-owned American supermarket chain headquartered in Lakeland, Florida. Founded in 1930 by George W. Jenkins, Publix is a private corporation that is wholly owned by present and ...

, Safeway,

Shaw's and Star Market Shaw's and Star Market are two American supermarket chains under united management based in West Bridgewater, Massachusetts, employing about 30,000 associates in 150 total stores; 129 stores are operated under the Shaw's banner in Maine, Massach ...

, Roche Bros., ShopRite and Winn-Dixie. Customer orders are shopped and delivered by a fleet of more than 300,000 ''Shipt Shoppers'' across the country. These shoppers are not employees but self-employed contractors who deliver on behalf of the company. The membership costs $99 per year.https://www.ridester.com/shipt-cost/

References

{{Online food ordering Target Corporation American companies established in 2014 Retail companies established in 2014 Transport companies established in 2014 Internet properties established in 2014 2017 mergers and acquisitions Online grocers Companies based in Birmingham, Alabama 2014 establishments in Alabama

History

Service

See also

References