Target Begins Drive Up With Starbucks

(RTTNews) - Target Corp. has teamed with Starbucks Corp. for the rollout of Drive Up service, offering guests across the United States free carside delivery of their favorite menu item from the coffee chain.

According to the Minneapolis-based retailer, guests can now enjoy handcrafted beverages or food from Starbucks Cafés along with their Drive Up order being delivered to their car at select stores.

Target said it is the first retailer to offer this service at this scale. The free, contactless curbside service through the Target app is beginning its chainwide rollout this summer. It is slated to be available at all the 1,700-plus stores with Starbucks Cafés and Drive Up service by October.

The launch of Drive Up with Starbucks across the nation follows a successful pilot that applied Target's test-and-learn approach to enhance guest and team member experiences.

In the pilot program, Target worked with Starbucks in the development of the experience. The companies piloted the Drive Up with Starbucks service in 2022 and 2023 with the help of team members at select stores.

Mark Schindele, chief stores officer, Target, said, "Our guests have long told us Drive Up is a game-changer, adding convenience to their daily life, especially when they're short on time. We've continued listening to our guests, who've told us overwhelmingly that Drive Up with Starbucks would bring even more ease and joy to every Target run. This one-of-a-kind service — available only at Target ..."

For adding a Starbucks purchase to be delivered with a Drive Up order, the customers, after placing a Drive Up order at a participating Target store and receiving notification that it's ready to pick up, need to indicate in the Target app that they are on the way.

The guest will then receive a prompt in the app to place a beverage or food order from the Starbucks menu, following which they can make their Starbucks selection and pay for the order.

Once they tap "I'm here" in the Target app after reaching the Drive Up parking area, a Target team member delivers the freshly prepared Starbucks order, along with the guest's Drive Up purchase, to their car for free.

The Drive Up with Starbucks service follows Target's recent enhancement to the Drive Up service: returning product free of charge. Returns with Drive Up launched at Target stores across the U.S. this summer.