Expect this change the next time you place a drive-up order at Target
Target’s New App Fix Will Make Your Next Pickup a Lot Less Chaotic
Published on Nov. 07, 2024
We all know the sinking feeling of hosting a party and realizing at the eleventh hour we forgot a major item. It’s usually the thing we need right now … if not yesterday. A quick trip to the store is in order, though everything from parking to shopping to waiting in the checkout line will cost us time. Luckily, if we shop at Target, we can order on the app, and our items will be ready for pickup when we arrive.
It’s a customer-favorite feature for a reason: Whether you’re grabbing a last-minute gift, a poster board your kid needs for a school project or the key ingredient in a casserole you’re bringing to the neighborhood potluck in a couple of hours, you can save time by ordering ahead and picking up your items at the curb.
Still, not everyone is a fan. Target employees have long bemoaned drive-up orders because of a customer behavior known as double-tapping. The company has listened, updating its app to avoid chaos for its workers. So how will this affect you? Don’t worry—you can still stock up on all of Target’s low-priced holiday items. Read on to learn how the app works, why Target has updated it and what it means for your next drive-up shopping experience.
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How does drive-up ordering work on Target’s app?
Though the Target app offers a range of shopping options, including same-day deliveries to your home and in-store pickup, one perk in particular is getting an update: drive-up ordering. To use the feature, simply shop on the app for your Target must-haves. Then select the “Pickup” option. If the drive-up feature is available at your store, you’ll see the option under “Pick it up.” Select it, add your item to the cart and check out.
Target fills pickup orders within two hours, and you’ll receive a notification when yours is ready. When you arrive at the store, park in one of the designated Drive Up spots at the front, then tap “I’m here” in the app to alert the store that you’ve arrived and specify how workers should load your car.
What’s the issue with double-tapping?
Drive-up ordering sounds simple enough, but two seemingly useful features in the app created chaos for fulfillment workers inside the stores. Before the recent fix, customers would pull up to the parking lot and tap the “I’m on my way” button followed immediately by the “I’m here” button.
This double-tapping was a source of major frustration for workers, and for good reason: It gave them less time to fulfill orders and even put their jobs at risk. That’s because tapping the “I’m here” button triggers a three-minute timer. As soon as the countdown starts, the pressure is on workers to gather and load orders into a customer’s car before the clock runs out. If employees don’t get everything together within the tight time frame, it could impact their performance metrics.
Meeting the strict time limit was even more complex when items were spread around the store, when some items were refrigerated groceries and when items were heavy and needed multiple people to move and load them into customers’ vehicles.
What will the updated app do?
The app has been fixed, so customers can’t immediately double-tap. Instead, they must wait a full minute between tapping the “I’m on my way” and “I’m here” buttons.
This update gives Target employees only four minutes to pull together your order (as opposed to three), but that extra minute might make all the difference. The change is brand new, and it’s too soon to say if the extra minute will suffice.
When will the changes roll out?
The change took effect last week—but only for customers with the latest version of the Target app. Customers and fulfillment workers won’t fully feel the impact of the changes until more people download the app’s latest version.
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