Target Expands Free Delivery to Seize $100 Billion Up for Grabs

(Bloomberg) -- Target Corp. is expanding perks like free two-day delivery to snag as much as possible of the $100 billion in sales the company sees up for grabs from retailers that have gone under.

Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said he’s built “playbooks” to capture market share sacrificed by Sears, Toys “R” Us and others, and has also accelerated planned remodels of Target locations near rivals’ stores that have shuttered.

To entice shoppers this holiday season, Target will also offer two-day free shipping on most online items starting Nov. 1 with no minimum purchase, and expand services like same-day delivery and curbside pickup to more stores for the holidays.

“We plan to continue to take market share, now and beyond,” Cornell said at a media briefing in New York Tuesday.

The Target CEO, now in his fifth year at the helm of the cheap-chic retailer, had seen between $40 billion and $60 billion of sales coming available from failed retailers just a year ago. Now he expects twice that much, and is chasing those sales with expanded toy sections in 500 stores, new apparel and home decor brands and $1 Christmas tree ornaments.

The company has also received more than 100,000 applications for the record 120,000 seasonal jobs it’s offering, amid a tight labor market and competition for hires from Amazon.com Inc., which recently moved its starting wage to $15 per hour.

Target said the free two-day shipping will cover hundreds of thousands of items, besting rivals like Walmart Inc., which requires a minimum $35 order size. Target is also expanding curbside pickup to 200 more stores and bringing same-day delivery to more than 200 markets in 46 states.

To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Boyle in New York at mboyle20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Crayton Harrison at tharrison5@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson, Anne Riley Moffat

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