Minnesota Shoppers, Get Ready: Target Plans to Introduce Paid Membership

Minnesota based Target is considering launching a new paid membership to compete with Amazon and Walmart.

Amazon offers their Prime membership for $14.99 per month, or $139 per year and Walmart offers their Walmart Plus membership for 12.95 per month, or a yearly plan for $98, both memberships offer free shipping and delivery plus other benefits like streaming video, so what could a Target membership program look like?

How Much Would a Target Membership Cost?

According to multiple media reports, Target is working on a program that they are calling "Project Trident" and speculation is that the program could offer similar benefits like free shipping, and exclusive deals and sales for members only, the rumored price is $10 - $15 per month.

What Could Target Offer Members?

Some are speculating that Target could incorporate Shipt, a platform Target bought in 2017 that offers same-day personal shopping and delivery. Shipt offers their own membership program for $99 per year or $10.99 per month, and includes unlimited free deliveries for orders of $35 or more.

Target currently offers RedCard holders free 2-day shipping, and their loyalty program called Target Circle offers 1% off every purchase that can be redeemed on later purchases, as well as personalized discount offers, a Birthday gift of 5% off a single purchase, and more through their app.

When Could New Target Membership Launch?

The new Target membership could launch as soon as this year, and could include some of the benefits already offered in Target Circle or for RedCard holders, if that's the case, could those benefits be altered or removed from the already existing programs? This could be tricky for Target, this is something that Walmart and Amazon didn't have to deal with when launching their membership programs.