Target’s Restock next-day delivery service goes nationwide

With an eye on chipping away at Amazon's home delivery dominance, Target is expanding its next-day household essentials program across the country. The company says the Restock service is now available to 75 percent of the population, and it's slashing the delivery fee from $4.99 to $2.99. Holders of Target's credit or debit Redcard, meanwhile, don't need to pay for shipping at all -- something that Amazon's Pantry program doesn't currently offer.

Restock lets shoppers choose from more than 35,000 household items, including cleaning supplies, baby food and peanut butter. You can pack up to 45 pounds of products into your cart per delivery, which is the same weight limit as Amazon's similar program, Prime Pantry. However, Amazon's deliveries cost $5.99 and can take up to four business days to arrive.

Orders placed through Restock by 7 PM Monday to Friday should arrive the next day. To meet this schedule, Target will harness the footprint of its retail stores to get products into buyers' hands faster. The company also noted that customers can place orders using Google Assistant, which might prove handy when you're browsing the pantry or cleaning your cupboard to see what you're running low on -- you can just tell the Assistant what you need instead of searching for each item.

Meanwhile, Target says it is also expanding availability of its same-day Shipt delivery program, which it started in a few cities last month, though it hasn't given details of the rollout. At a time when delivery speeds are a key selling point for many consumers, Target's efforts in getting products in the hands of buyers faster is critical, particularly if does so more quickly than Amazon can.