Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) announced that it will be acquiring tech startup Shipt.
Source: Shutterstock
Here are seven things to know about the deal:
- Target will be shelling out $550 million to acquire Shipt as the move will help it compete with other e-commerce giants.
- The move will give the company the freedom to offer same-day delivery at about half of its 1,800 stores by next summer, while most of its fleet will be able to do so by Christmas 2018.
- Shipt will continue conducting business with some of Target’s rivals even after the deal is complete.
- When customers place an order through Shipt’s marketplace, the service will send one of its 20,000 “shoppers” to the store to pick up the items and eliver them.
- The company was founded in 2014 in Alabama and it charges $99 a year for unlimited deliveries.
- This isn’t Target’s only recent move as the company bids to expand its shipping services. A few months ago, the company said it was acquiring Grand Junction, a startup based out of San Francisco that hooks up retailers with other distributors to a network that spans more than 700 carriers across North America.
- “We believe we will be able to leap several years ahead, significantly accelerating our nationwide delivery,” John Mulligan, Target’s operations chief, told reporters on a conference call.
TGT stock gained 2.1% Wednesday as the news of the acquisition hit the web..
