The news: Target is using its same-day shipping service, Shipt, to offer faster delivery options to more customers, the retailer told Supply Chain Dive.

How it works: Target will tap Shipt drivers to deliver orders directly from stores to customers’ doors. The service, which the company is calling “Target Last Mile Delivery Direct,” will be offered at more than 100 stores in 50 markets by the end of 2026, Shipt CEO Kamau Witherspoon said.

By fulfilling more orders from stores and using its own drivers, Target aims to “eliminate some … traditional logistical bottlenecks” while lowering costs, per Witherspoon. The savings could be substantial: Relying on Shipt lowers Target’s cost to serve by roughly $2.50 per package compared with national parcel carriers. The program also enables the retailer to add faster delivery capabilities in markets where it doesn’t have a sortation center and to expand capacity where demand is high.

The implications: Expanding next-day coverage is imperative for Target to counter Amazon’s and Walmart’s pushes into faster delivery, but the move also reveals just how far behind the retailer is relative to its mass merchant rivals. Over 60% of the US population will be eligible for next-day deliveries from Target by the end of spring, up from 50% today; by comparison, Walmart’s same-day delivery capabilities cover 93% of US households, according to its Q4 earnings report.

Target’s delivery speed disadvantage underscores how difficult it is to catch up as Amazon and Walmart are zooming ahead. At this point, it’s unclear whether Target has the means—or even the vision—to close the gaps with its competitors. Much of the company’s turnaround strategy is rooted in returning to its prepandemic model, rather than reinventing the business for an age in which customer loyalty is more fragile and more spending is shifting online.