Shipt’s deliveries rose 11% in 2022

Delivery orders rose 11% this year for Shipt, and fruits and vegetables were the most-delivered items, the Target-owned delivery platform said in an end-of-year report Monday.

As shoppers have becoming more comfortable returning to stores, though, Shipt’s growth has slowed significantly: In 2021, the company reported a 252% jump in orders over 2019.

Birmingham, Alabama-based Shipt now delivers from 200 retailers, up from 130 stores last year.

“This year, produce rose to the top of customer carts,” Shipt noted in its report. “These items greatly differ from years past, with top products including milk, meats and non-perishables.”

Bananas ranked as No. 1 among Shipt’s Top 10 delivered products, followed by strawberries, cucumbers, raspberries, Hass avocado, lemon, Honeycrisp apples, green bell peppers, red seedless grapes and Roma tomatoes.

Kamau Witherspoon took over as Shipt CEO in March, after having served as SVP of operations for Target.

“Last-mile delivery continues to be top-of-mind for our retail partners,” Witherspoon said in the report. “We’re continuing to work with partners, like Target, on efficient, cost-effective offerings that best meet consumers whenever, wherever they are.”

The company continues to grow its Shipt Driven last-mile delivery channel, which reported 150% growth from 2020 to 2021. This year, Shipt Driven brought on 17 new partners.

Shipt has recently added “preferred-item substitution,” he said, providing a work-around for its shoppers amid ongoing supply chain challenges.

Shipt has also implemented a “Dealivery Days” promotion during the holiday season on products that have been most impacted by inflation. More than 60% of Shipt orders include a product that is on sale, the company said.

The company is working to create a “one-stop-shop” digital destination that allows consumers to shop from multiple retailers at the same time.

“This is a huge component of meeting consumers wherever, whenever they are,” Witherspoon said.

Heading into 2023, Shipt said it is seeing B2B retailers such as food distributor-retailer SpartanNash work with Shipt to forge new B2B2C business channels.

“We anticipate this trend to further gain momentum in 2023,” he said.

Target purchased Shipt in 2017 for $550 million and the company now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Minneapolis-based retail giant.

The attorneys general of Minnesota and Washington, D.C. filed suit against Shipt in October, accusing the company of cheating workers by misclassifying them as independent contractors.