Target-owned Shipt will give workers bonuses for Thanksgiving weekend work

Grocery-delivery company Shipt will award bonuses to its shoppers as an extra incentive to work Thanksgiving weekend.

Shipt said Monday that all of its more than 200,000 contract workers will be eligible for cash bonuses that range from $50 to $300 dependent on market and the number of shops completed between Nov. 25 and 30.

"Shipt shoppers are working incredibly hard, and we want to make sure they know we appreciate them and all that they do," said Shipt CEO Kelly Caruso, in a statement. "This holiday shopping season will be a very busy one — and we're proud to reward the shoppers who are going above and beyond to serve their communities."

Shipt workers, who work as independent contractors, will be able to view the specific bonus available in their metro area as well as track their progress within the mobile app they use for orders.

Delivery workers have become even more important to retail operations since the corona­virus pandemic hit the United States. Online orders have at least doubled at most major retailers.

That trend is expected to continue through the busy holiday shopping season.

The recent Shipt bonuses come after the Target-owned company gave $100 to $200 bonuses to the workers in the spring.

Shipt said its workers typically make more than $21 per shop. Still, a small group of demonstrators protested last month in front of Target offices about Shipt's new payment system that they say pays shoppers less. Shipt has said the new payment algorithm rewards workers for the effort they put into shops.

Shipt said last month it wants to add 100,000 additional workers to help during the holidays, which would triple its number of workers since the beginning of the year.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @nicolenorfleet