Target is making an ambitious and unprecedented move to steal shoppers from Amazon (TGT)

Target

Target announced on Tuesday that it is removing the order minimum requirement for most items sold online during the holiday season.
That means most items, regardless of price, will be given free two-day shipping with no membership or minimum purchase required.
It's one of the most ambitious moves a traditional nationwide retailer has made to compete with Amazon to capture holiday sales.

Target is taking the gloves off to compete with Amazon this holiday.

Starting November 1, it's removing the order minimum requirement for most items sold online, the company announced in a blog post on Tuesday.

That means most items, regardless of price, will be given free two-day shipping with no membership or minimum purchase required. The perk will only extend through the holiday season, until December 22, and was previously only offered to holders of Target's store credit card, known as a REDcard.

"We want to make the busy holiday season easier for our guests so they can spend more time with their family and friends," Target CEO Brian Cornell said in a prepared statement.

In March, Target started free two-day shipping on all orders of at least $35 or more.

Last year, Target offered free standard-speed shipping on most items from November through December 23, meaning this year's offering is a marked upgrade.

The move is an ambitious one for a traditional nationwide retailer competing with Amazon this holiday season. Amazon only offers traditional-speed shipping for orders over $25 without a membership. There's no limit for customers who pay for Amazon Prime's $119-a-year or $12.99-a-month membership, who get unlimited free two-day shipping.

Walmart, on the other hand, requires a purchase of at least $35 for free two-day shipping.

Online shopping is predicted to capture more of holiday shopping again this year, and Amazon is again posed to capture more than half of that.

Analysts are already forecasting a strong holiday season for retailers, with most overall sales growth estimates in the high single digits or low double digits.

Most of this year's growth is likely to come from online sales, as Forrester Research is predicting 14% sales growth online but only 1.7% growth in stores. Analysts estimated that Amazon took nearly half of all online retail sales in 2017 and that it would take even more this year.

Forrester estimates that online holiday sales will account for more than 32% all online sales for the year. Targ

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