Review: Target Drive-Up in 2022

Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has wrecked horror on the U.S. since it began in early 2020, there have been some good things to come out of it, such as curbside pickup services like Target Drive-Up. 

For starters, what I do like about this program is even though it says you can use it on both the Target app and website, it really is easier to use it through the Target app, which I have had on my iPhone for years. The app is better now that it has an iPad app again too, especially if you consider the idea that more and more consumers are buying products like the iPad, iPad Air and iPad Pro, as for some people, those products have become laptop and desktop computer replacements.

It’s great that the app chooses your Target store that you already have set up in the app, but if necessary, it is easy to switch to the store you would like your order to be serviced through. 

But the best aspects of the app are these two features; Apple Pay support and its easy navigation. Through the app I could go and add items like Tide Pods, food, snacks, cleaning supplies and pretty much any product I wanted that the store had. Since I live in Des Moines, Iowa, this is not much of an issue despite the supply chain issues nationwide. 

Once you are done shopping, you go to your shopping cart to checkout and pay with your preferred payment method, which I stated earlier for me was Apple Pay. From there, you have paid and you wait. Target says that a lot of its orders can be filled in less than two hours, so that’s what I did with my order.

I placed the order at around 6:45 p.m. Thursday night last week and received it a little after 9 p.m.

Now, this does mean the store did not keep up its “less than two-hour” time limit. However, since I know this store pretty well and spoke with an employee before I received my order, the employee did say the store was slammed with orders at the time. For me, this made me feel as though I was grateful just to get my order without having to go into the store. The employee being honest was another positive factor of this experience.

After picking up my order and driving home, I saw that there was nothing wrong with my order. I was not missing any items and this was a successfully filled order. This is highly critical if you think about the service since the main purpose of it is to not have to go into a store to get the items you want or need. 

One part of the service that needs to be adjusted is that there needs to be more transparency with your order. This means I should be able to see more in terms of when my order is currently being shopped. The Target app says the order is being “processed,” but when I read that, I think of it like it is processing my payment, not my order being filled. 

The other part about the Drive-Up service is I want to be able to see who filled my order. I’m not saying I want a video chat of the person filling my order, but at least on the digital receipt, I want to see the first name of the worker that filled the order just in case there are any mess-ups or questions regarding it. 

Overall, Target Drive-Up in 2022 gets 3/4 stars from me. It is a good service that came at a great time during the COVID-19 pandemic and is still a service I know that many people use all across the country. The fact that it accepts Apple Pay through the Target app and website is just another way that makes this better. I have yet to see other competing services like Hy-Vee Aisles Online or Fareway’s online ordering system accept Apple Pay online, so the fact that Target is one of the few in my area that does for this type of service is a fantastic feature. 

The service does lose a star due to previously mentioned issues with transparency regarding the order while it is being serviced and afterward too. 

Rating: 3/4 stars