Target Plans To Walk Items To Your Car In Florida

PALMETTO BAY, FL – South Florida shoppers may not have to bother getting out of their cars to make purchases at their favorite Target stores for much longer. Depending on which store you shop at, Target employees may bring your purchases to you in the parking lot. It's the retail equivalent of buying a burger and fries in a fast food drive-thru.

Target Corp. has announced plans to offer the new Drive Up service at nearly 270 stores throughout the Southeast, including the Sunshine State.

The next best thing to having items delivered to your front door, the new Target Drive Up service will be offered at certain urban stores in Texas, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

But don't try placing your order just yet. Target isn't saying which stores will offer the new Drive Up service.

Under the service, customers will be able to shop via their Target mobile app and indicate that they want their orders delivered right to their cars.

Target says the service works like this:

• Select Drive Up as the fulfillment option when placing an order through the Target app.
• Target will notify you when your order is ready — usually within one to two hours.
• Hit the "I'm on the Way" button when you're ready to head to the store.
• Park in a designated Drive Up spot.
• Within two minutes a Target employee will bring the order out to your car.

Target's Drive Up service has already had a successful pilot launch in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and the retail giant plans to roll out the service to nearly 1,000 stores across the nation by the end of 2018.

The Drive Up service won't replace Target's new same-day grocery delivery service. In February, Target began using the online grocery delivery service, Shipt, to bring orders to homes near urban Target stores, including select stores.

The Shipt service requires an annual membership of $99. But Shipt also delivers for Publix, Petco, CVS Pharmacy, Total Wine and More, Costco Wholesale and ABC Fine Wine & Spirits under the same annual fee.

Unlike Walmart's parking lot service, which only offers groceries, Target customers will be able to order any item with the new Target Drive Up service. Most items will be bagged in special "Drive Up" plastic bags, which are slightly larger and sturdier than Target's regular plastic bags.

Larger items, of course, won't fit in the bags.

But if you have a sudden urge to own a 55-inch Samsung Ultra HD Smart LED TV, Target's new service save you a walk into the store. You're on your own to get it into your home from the car.

Image via Target