Target announced earlier this month that it plans to acquire Shipt, an Instacart competitor that currently serves 72 US markets and delivers products to customers from supermarket chains including H-E-B, Harris Teeter and Meijer, among others. Target has agreed to pay $550 million for the company and expects to roll out same-day delivery services to half of its stores by early 2018.
Shipt customers currently pay $99 annually for unlimited deliveries. Instacart’s fee is $149.
Target said that Shipt would conitnue to run its business independently. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year.