Popular Minnesota Retailer Is Going To Be Adding New Fee For Pick-Up Orders

TARGET FIGHTING POLLUTION ISSUES

Back on December 26th of 2019,  The West Central Tribune did a story on a group of Target customers presenting Target stores with a petition, signed by more than 450,000 people, all asking for Target to stop using plastic bags in their stores, because of the terrible impact that one time use plastic bags have on our environment.

According to the article, plastic never goes away. It breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces called microplastics which end up everywhere.

SUSTAINABLE GOALS

Target made a statement at that time saying that they had in place, "Sustainable packaging goals, plastic bags that are now made with 40 percent recycled content, a 25-year commitment to recycling plastic garment hangers, and recycling kiosks at the front of our stores, including one for plastic bags."

The customer petition followed recent votes in Minneapolis and Duluth to require retailers to charge customers for disposable bags, and that fees seem to be more effective than incentives when it comes to getting shoppers to change their behaviors.

FEES FOR BAGS

Fast forward to 2023. Target stores will now include a bag fee for drive-up and pick-up orders and can include a bag fee based on local and state mandates. Target's website says:

"Drive Up and Order Pickup orders will include a bag fee based on local and state mandates. This aligns with fees that were already in place for purchases made in Target stores at checkout. If you are purchasing from a store that charges bag fees, they will be applied to your order."

TARGET SHOPPER OPTIONS

Shoppers will have the option to decline the bags at the time of pickup and the store team member will be able to refund the cost of the bags back to your form of payment. Although you won't have the option to choose 'no bags' when you are placing your order, you can check your final bag charge by viewing your order invoice in your Target.com account, but it is NOT available for viewing on the Target App.

I did not see an exact charge listed from Target, but a few articles indicated that it would be $1 per bag, and you would have a standard charge for 10 bags when you place your order, and if you didn't need all the bags, they would be deducted to what you actually used by the end of your order.

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FEES?

I know people are going to be upset about this, but when you think about the pollution that it causes, I'm NOT against using recyclable, reusable bags! I love them! They don't break when you're bringing groceries into the house. The biggest headache is remembering to put them back in the vehicle for your next grocery shopping trip.

By the way, Target isn't the only store doing this. Other grocery chains across the US have already implemented this for their customers, and Walmart is also on the bandwagon.