Target is engaging in a full court press to make “click and mortar” a reality for the 2015 holiday season. Initiatives include:
• Free shipping and returns through Dec. 25;
• New this season: International shopping and shipping to more than 200 countries and territories;
• Expansion of its Curbside pickup service to 121 stores (up from 21), which allows customers to complete their shopping without leaving their cars, at Target stores in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York-New Jersey and Chicago;
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• Expansion of the Instacart on-demand grocery delivery service to an additional territory in San Francisco. The service was piloted and initially offered in Minneapolis.
The retailer also is leveraging new tools to personalize product recommendations and enhance shopper engagement. When using the Target mobile site, customers now can select a “heart” next to any item in order to bookmark the item for later. Target also will use these “heart likes” to gather information on customers’ preferences, in order to recommend other items that are likely to appeal to that shopper.
Target also has overhauled its Awesome Shop, which had originally curated items trending on Pinterest and top-rated items by guests on Target.com. Now, Awesome Shop also includes user-generated, crowdsourced images of Target products from Instagram. Three exploration options — by products, looks and places — allow customers to quickly find out what’s trending now, click an image to learn more, and purchase the items on the site.
“The work we’ve done throughout the past year puts us in a position to deliver the convenient services and differentiated product our guests count on from Target, especially during the holidays,” said Target CEO Brian Cornell in a statement. “I’m confident that guests will find an easy, inspiring, and most importantly, seamless experience at Target no matter how they choose to shop.”
