Target Cuts Next-Day Delivery Fee as Amazon Rivalry Heats Up

(Bloomberg) -- Target Corp. has taken another step in the escalating home delivery wars, slashing its next-day delivery fee nearly in half as part of a strategy to lure customers away from Amazon.com Inc.

The retailer said Tuesday it had dropped the delivery price for household essentials to $2.99 from $4.99 and waived it altogether for customers paying with a Target card. The Target Restock service, available to about 75 percent of the U.S. population, lets shoppers get 35,000 everyday items like paper towels and baby food for a flat fee.

“Membership fee? Nope,” the company said in an emailed statement announcing the change. Amazon said last month it’s increasing the annual Prime membership price to $119 from $99 in the U.S.

Target also recently released a service with Google Home to let buyers restock with a voice command. USA Today reported on the price cut earlier.

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

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anne Riley Moffat at ariley17@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson

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