But groceries don't need to be highly profitable! They get people in the store to buy the other crap Target sells. Target can turn food into a large profit source if they would just invest the money. Our stores need more team members in general, but in food especially! Quality is a huge issue. Dates to by very quick on our products. If you know a PA or food TL, they're probably ran ragged. Target isn't profiting from food as they should because a lack of man hours, not interest. I hope this improves, but I'm unsure if Cornell will commit to such a thing. Also, the waste issue really needs to be addressed. Target is willingly and needlessly throwing out money through the the food departments.
Our customer base for our store knows we don't have large selections like Whole Foods or Kroger. They know many products aren't competitively prkces(refer to sodas and beer.) They come to Target knowing they can get what they need(groceries) and can find stuff they want for their home or cheap clothing.
I think food delivery will be a big business if costs are low enough for end consumers. Right now with oil prices, it may not be. There's a shift in how people see vehicles driven by Lyft and Uber, though. Self driving cars are around the corner. We are after convenience, and nothing about grocery shopping is convenient. It costs you time and you often buy products you don't intend to(Target's business model.) It's going to be a slow start, but I would be surprised if this model wasn't successful for Target or another competitor.
If Target half asses it like they've done other roll outs, it will likely fail. They will have to address the awful accumulator in place to ensure order accuracy. They will have to address the issue of quality as well. Saying we have 20 bags of rice to buy only to find out the bags of rice are two days from the best by date after an order is placed would be disastrous. A better method for SDA needs to be applied.