Pilot not pulling its weight for the retailer.
Target is ending its curbside pickup option pilot as of June 15, the retailer confirmed to Consumerist. The pilot, with partner startup Curbside, was launched in October 2014 in 121 stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles.
Now, Target leadership has decided to focus “retail fundamentals” and other tech initiatives that are experiencing greater success, like its Cartwheel mobile application and other buy-online, pickup-in-store omnichannel services, according to Consumerist.
The decision comes just as Walmart revealed plans to pilot a same-day delivery service of many items. And it is a bit surprising, in the wake of last month’s interview with Re/Code, in which Jason Goldberger, chief digital officer of Target, touched on all digital initiatives at Target, including mobile payments, startup partnerships, in-store tech services, and more. He said that Target is going to leverage tech services to augment in-store experiences, and referenced the curbside pickup pilot as one way the retailer is trying to entice shoppers.
However, Goldberg warned against expecting a dramatic increase in these kinds of startup partnerships. He explained, “Quite a lot of people want to work with us. Most companies can’t handle the scale. The few we do – the list is short – are doing something we aren’t focused on doing or that we want to test.”
The future of curbside delivery seems bleak: earlier this year, Walgreens also abandoned in-store pickup of online orders and their Chicago-only curbside pickup program, according to the Chicago Tribune. Retail analysts say that the curbside pickup provides challenges that retailers are not readily able to resolve.
While Target and Walgreens did not release figures for how many customers used curbside pickup, Target spokesman Eddie Baeb said in-store pickup comprises just 15 percent of all online Target orders.
