Dive Brief:

• Shipt announced the launch of its first-ever Hosting Hub, a feature that allows its customers access to pre-curated shopping lists for various occasions, according to a Thursday announcement. 
• The hub’s offerings will be updated seasonally to accommodate holidays and sporting events. Currently, the Shipt feature has lists for birthdays, baby showers, wedding showers and dinner parties available. 
• This is Shipt’s latest endeavor to streamline the shopping experience for its customer base as e-commerce companies continue to expand their offerings and roll out new experiences to make online shopping easier and more convenient. 

Dive Insight:

Shipt is rolling out its curated party planning shopping feature ahead of the Fourth of July weekend. 

Customers can access the Hosting Hub through the Shipt app or web browser and receive their party supplies that day with same-day shipping, according to the press release. The feature’s various lists offer trending products, including plates, cups, decor, food and more, from Shipt partners like Target and Meijer.

The Hub, which is accessible on Shipt’s homepage as “Your Hosting Headquarters,” also enables shoppers to narrow down their search by dishware, barware, disposable ware and cleaning supplies in addition to occasion-specific lists.  

While the feature offers products from across Shipt’s retail partners, Target-owned Shipt has a curated list of festive essentials exclusively from its store brand party line, Spritz, which offers wrapping paper, gift bags, signs, table clothes, party favors and more. 

More e-commerce platforms are working to expand and improve their offerings and shopping experiences for customers as online shopping becomes less of a necessity for pandemic-prompted shopping behaviors.

In November, during the start of the holiday shopping season, Shipt rolled out new product features and app updates, including new gig shopper tools, a remodeled customer experience and updated features for retailers using the e-commerce company’s platform.

Competitors are also beefing up their offerings. This year, Instacart has launched numerous new features, including a business-to-business service in February that enables businesses to place online orders of supplies and food from retailers. At the end of May, Instacart introduced Ask Instacart, an artificial intelligence-powered search tool that leverages ChatGPT to help customers find products, food prep tips and more using “natural language” rather than keyword-based searching.