Shipt’s Move to Become More Important than Instacart

When we talk about eCommerce and delivery, most of the time the conversation is focused on Instacart; and the number two player, Shipt, owned by Target, is barely mentioned.

That’s about to change. Shipt has leapfrogged its major competitor and is going YouTube. Shipt announced on June 14th that it has formed a partnership with the home design duo Mr. Kate to issue content that is focused on the duo’s home improvement projects. Why home improvement instead of food? Why not partner with a famous chef? It really is a brilliant strategy that’s based on building relationships. “As parents with busy schedules and nonstop projects, the husband-and-wife design duo know how chaotic life can get once summer activities are in full swing,” said Shipt in the announcement. “That’s why they recommend Shipt and its network of trusted personal shoppers to help get all the essentials needed for daily life delivered in as soon as one hour, giving time back in the day to do what they enjoy — like backyard entertaining.” Bam! (Sorry Emeril!).

This is so smart.  Kate Albrecht of Mr. Kate, notes that there is much prep and shopping to do in do-it-yourself (DIY) projects — and she directly mentions Shipt as the show’s sponsor. She states that the service is “so different” that other on demand offerings, due to the fact that it uses personal shoppers who “really cares about the experience that you are getting.” She demonstrates communicating with personal shoppers while ordering sheets. Shipt has always stressed the personal relationships between consumer shoppers and their Shipt shoppers – this partnership reinforces it. The YouTube videos will drive new customers to Shipt, I have no doubt. PYMNTS.com first reported on the partnership and it ties directly into the PYMNTS' Pandenomics series, Consumers and the New Retail Landscape, that found that across  2,225 consumers that the digital habits forged during the pandemic will prove long-lasting. More than half of respondents have adopted the use of shopping aggregators to shop across multiple stores at once – reinforcing Shipt’s move to start including deliveries on pet products and even products directly from veterinarians. While Instacart maybe focused on their IPO, Shipt is focused on building shopper relationships. Smart.