Target’s holiday hiring numbers will be in line with the 130,000 associates onboarded in 2019, but this year’s emphasis on e-Commerce will shift how they are assigned. The retailer will double the number of store team members devoted to Drive Up and Order Pickup orders, and increase the number of seasonal and full-time warehouse hires.
The change in priorities was made in response to shopper behavior during the first half of the retailer’s fiscal 2020, when Target.com racked up visits from more than 10 million new customers and demand for same-day fulfillment quadrupled. Target expects this trend to continue during the holidays, and the retailer will train additional associates to serve as backups in order to accelerate in-store fulfillment during peak hours.
Target also will dedicate associates to greet shoppers and handle safety precautions, such as cleaning and disinfecting carts and baskets, metering access and providing masks to customers who need them. Workers have already completed more than 400,000 hours of safety training this year, and the retailer expects to add hundreds of thousands more hours during the holiday season.
“The success of our business strategy rests on the strength of our team and their ability to adjust quickly to the needs of our guests and their changing shopping patterns,” said Melissa Kremer, Chief Human Resources Officer at Target in a statement. “Throughout the year, the team has successfully balanced strong demand in our stores with surging digital volume. Knowing that the holiday season will be unlike any other, we’re building in even more flexibility to make sure Target remains a safe and convenient place to work and shop, while investing in our team’s industry-leading pay and benefits.”
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