Target Plus Plans 5X Marketplace Expansion: What Sellers Need to Know
An opportunity to scale on a curated platform with category-level momentum.
What’s happening:
Target is planning to scale its invite-only third-party marketplace, Target Plus, from over $1 billion to $5 billion in GMV (gross merchandise value) within the next five years.
Why it matters:
For marketplace sellers, this represents a curated yet high-growth alternative to Amazon and Walmart. Sellers already on the platform have a first-mover advantage. For others, now is the time to understand the opportunity—and what it takes to get in.
At a Glance
Target Plus is not open to the public. It's an invitation-only platform, focused on category curation and alignment with Target’s core brand.
Target is investing heavily in its marketplace infrastructure and brand partnerships, aiming for quality over scale.
Food, essentials, and home goods are key focus categories, with strong double- and triple-digit growth.
Integration with Goflow is enabling streamlined onboarding of digitally native brands.
The Deep Dive
A Controlled Marketplace With Big Ambitions
Unlike Amazon and Walmart, Target’s marketplace model isn’t open-door. Its invite-only approach means fewer sellers but a more controlled experience for both consumers and the brand.
According to Target executives cited in Modern Retail, the company is aiming to increase marketplace GMV from $1 billion to $5 billion by 2029. This still pales in comparison to Amazon’s estimated $156 billion in third-party services revenue (Amazon Q4 2023 Earnings), but Target is betting on curation, not sheer scale.
“We’re building something intentionally different,” one Target executive noted. “We want Target Plus to feel like a natural extension of the Target brand—not a free-for-all.”
Category Growth Breakdown
In the past year alone, several key Target Plus verticals have seen significant gains:
Food: +170% GMV growth
Essentials (household, personal care): +60%
Home goods: +40%
This growth is driven by the increasing consumer demand for large or bulky items that are better suited to online fulfillment than in-store pickup. Target is also using the marketplace to test and expand categories without taking on inventory risk.
Who They’re Looking For
To be considered for Target Plus, sellers must offer a compelling, differentiated assortment. The company is actively seeking:
Brands that do not directly compete with Target’s private label products
Companies with strong brand identity and clear product-market fit
Product lines in apparel, home, food, and lifestyle categories that meet quality and pricing expectations consistent with Target’s brand
Target is also leveraging its partnership with Goflow to identify promising DTC brands. Recent onboarded sellers include:
True Classic (men’s basics)
Caden Lane (nursery and children’s décor)
This partnership helps Target identify and integrate digitally native brands faster, using Goflow’s infrastructure for catalog and order syncing.
Seller Challenges Remain
While Target Plus offers a curated audience and less competition, it also comes with tradeoffs:
Limited seller data access: Performance dashboards and analytics tools are less robust than what Amazon or Walmart Marketplace provide.
Manual listing workflows: Product onboarding and merchandising often require coordination with Target reps, with limited automation for changes or promotions.
Shipping infrastructure still developing: Target doesn’t yet offer the same level of logistical support as FBA or Walmart Fulfillment Services, requiring sellers to bring their own fulfillment and stay within strict SLAs.
These operational gaps can be managed—but they make platform sophistication a prerequisite. Sellers with streamlined OMS, inventory, and fulfillment systems (such as those powered by Goflow) are better positioned to succeed.
If You’re Already On Target Plus
Now is the time to go deeper:
Expand your assortment in growth categories (especially food, home, and essentials)
Audit your listings for overlap with Target-owned brands
Differentiate your merchandising with branded content, video, and packaging
Use tools like Goflow to track SKU-level velocity, improve inventory forecasting, and flag fulfillment issues early
What to Watch Next
Whether Target opens limited applications to select sellers with proven channel success
Improvements in data transparency and backend tooling
Expansion into high-margin or niche categories through curated onboarding waves
Whether Target introduces in-house fulfillment options or preferred 3PL partnerships
Bottom Line
Target Plus is not trying to be Amazon. But with a focused strategy, clear category expansion, and curated onboarding, it’s quietly becoming one of the most brand-safe, high-potential marketplaces in the U.S.
For sellers who can meet the bar, it’s time to get serious about Target.