Target on Thursday joined the race to get goods to consumers’ doorsteps faster by offering same-day delivery on thousands of items for $9.99 per order.
The deliveries in Maine will be made to South Portland, downtown Portland, Topsham and Biddeford Crossing.
Target has Maine stores in Augusta, Bangor, Biddeford Crossing, South Portland and Topsham.
Same-day delivery is not yet available for the Augusta and Bangor locations.
The deliveries of Target.com items will be made via Shipt, a startup the retail chain bought nearly two years ago.
To date, Target shoppers looking for same-day delivery through Shipt had to go to the startup’s website and pay $99 for an annual membership or $14 for a monthly membership.
This week, Target incorporated the Shipt feature on its website. Shipt also has same-day delivery on items from Petco, CVS and Shaw’s to the four Maine locations to which it will deliver Target goods.
Target will go up against Amazon.com, which in May expanded its two-hour Prime Now home delivery service to Portland and 12 other markets.
Whole Foods Market, the organic grocer that Amazon bought for $13.7 billion in 2017, will deliver the food to Amazon Prime members with purchases worth more than $35. Those members pay a $119 per year membership fee.
Walmart also offers same-day grocery delivery in several states, but not in Maine.