Target Drops Minimum Order for Free Shipping by Half

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Target has slashed its threshold for free shipping on online orders from $50 to $25.

Target now has one of the lowest free shipping thresholds among retailers, beating Amazon ($35) and Walmart.com ($50).

“We’ve enhanced our year-round shipping offer to be one of the best in all of retail,” Jason Goldberger, president of Target.com, told The Wall Street Journal.

Target said the move was driven by a positive response to its free shipping offer during the 2014 holiday season, which gave consumers free shipping on all orders through Dec. 20.

“Clearly, the move gives Target a little leg up on the competition, and it could very well start a free shipping pricing war among retailers — a war that would obviously benefit shoppers,” Money said.

Target already offers its Target REDcard customers free standard shipping on all orders, as well as free in-store pickup for many items.

Although Target’s shipping policy tweak may attract some consumers to make purchases on Target.com, Money said it probably won’t “move the needle much in Target’s ongoing battle against Amazon, nor will it cure Target’s larger problems, including its failed expansion in Canada and the fading of its reputation among shoppers and the industry as retail’s cheap-chic darling.”

I do the bulk of my online shopping through Amazon Prime, but Target’s new free-shipping threshold may entice me to make some purchases on Target.com as well.

What do you think of Target’s new, reduced free-shipping minimum? Share your comments below or on our Facebook page.

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