-
Headquarters
1000 Nicollet Mall, Minneapolis, 55403, Minnesota, United States -
Annual Global Sales
$109,120,000,000
Total U.S. Sales
$105.8 billion in fiscal 2023 (ended Feb. 3, 2024)
Total U.S. Stores
1,956 total locations including general merchandise stores, expanded food assortment stores, SuperTargets and small-format locations (as of Feb. 3, 2024)
U.S. Shopper Count
30 million weekly
Key Facts
- 75% of the U.S. population lives within 10 miles of a Target store
- Each year, Target shoppers complete 5 billion online product searches
- Owns Shipt, Roundel and Grand Junction
- Median age and income of a Target shopper is 40 and $64,000, respectively
- About 43% of shoppers have children at home and 57% have completed college
- Ranked highest among food retailers in Fortune's Best Workplaces for Women 2021, coming in at No. 13
- Ranked No. 11 in Dunnhumby's 2022 Retail Preference Index study
- Ranked No. 30 in Fortune magazine “Fortune 500” list in 2021
- Ranked No. 12 On Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" list
- Ranked second in superstores and warehouse club stores in Newsweek’s 2022 list of America’s Best Retailers
- Ranked No. 32 on the 2022 Axios Harris Poll 100 reputation ranking
Key Executives
- Board Chairman and Chief Executive Officer: Brian Cornell
- Chief Corporate Affairs Officer: Matt Zabel
- EVP and Chief Marketing Officer: Lisa Roath
- EVP and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer: Michael Fiddelke
- EVP and Chief Strategy and Growth Officer: Christina Hennington
- EVP and Chief Human Resources Officer: Melissa Kremer
- EVP and Chief Legal and Compliance Officer: Don H. Liu
- EVP and Chief Merchandising Officer of Apparel and Accessories, Home and Hardlines: Jill Sando
- EVP and Chief Stores Officer: Mark Schindele
- EVP and Chief Guest Experience Officer: Cara Sylvester
- EVP and Chief Information Officer: Brett Craig
- EVP and Chief Supply Chain and Logistics Officer: Gretchen McCarthy
- EVP and Chief Commercial Officer: Rick Gomez
- EVP and Chief Community Impact and Equity Officer: Kiera Fernandez
- EVP and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer: Matt Zabel
- Chief Executive Officer, Shipt: Kamau Witherspoon
- EVP and Chief Communications Officer: Katie Boylan
- EVP and Chief Digital and Product Officer: Prat Vemana
- SVP, Chief Information Security Officer and Infrastructure: Rich Agostino
- SVP, Store Operations: Joe Contrucci
- SVP, Hardlines: Nik Nayar
- SVP, Food and Beverage, Supply Chain: Frank Bruni
- SVP and President, Financial and Retail Services: Gemma Kubat
- SVP, Marketing: Michelle Mesenburg
- SVP, Marketing, Chief Creative Officer: Todd Waterbury
- SVP, President, Roundel: Sarah Travis
- SVP, Food and Beverage Merchandising: John Conlin
- SVP, President, Owned Brand Sourcing and Development: Bill Foudy
- Market Position and Strategy Overview
- Must-Know Terms
- Promotional Strategy
- Merchandising
- Collaborative Alliances
- Displays & Signage
- In-Store Media
- Store Formats/Growth
- Special Departments/Services
- Customer Segments
- Internet Marketing
- Retail Media
- Mobile Marketing
- Social Media
- E-Commerce
- Circulars
- Loyalty Programs
- Private Label
- Cause/Community Programs
- Advertising Strategy
- Solution Providers
- Sponsorships
- Marketing Expenditures
Market Position and Strategy Overview
Market Position and Strategy Overview
Target's brick-and-mortar stores are at the center of its omnichannel strategy, and the retailer says traffic grew 2.1% in 2022, marking six consecutive years of growth. The mass merchant's stores-as-hubs strategy positions Target stores as showrooms, service centers and digital fulfillment sites. This strategy and Target's investments in same-day pickup and delivery services directly helped the retailer's financial performance during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In turn, Target saw 12.7% comparable sales growth in fiscal 2021 on top of historical 19.3% gains in 2020. The retailer still experienced growth in 2022, but at a more muted 2.2% rate. Agility, adaptability and flexibility will continue to be key at the retailer, including further developing omnichannel and growing its private labels.
In a move to speed up checkout lanes, in 2024 the retailer is also changing its self-checkout policy, making it an express option by limiting purchases to 10 items or less. The retailer is also planning to open more traditional lanes.
Target also plans to continue to invest in its team, stores and fulfillment network as more shoppers have embraced alternative fulfillment services since the start of the pandemic. The retailer planned to invest up to $5 billion in its physical stores, digital experiences, guest-centric services, fulfillment capabilities and supply chain capacity in 2023 to keep driving its growth. Additionally, Target announced it was investing up to $300 million to set a new starting wage range from $15 to $24 an hour and provide broader and faster access to its healthcare benefits for hourly team members, making it a wage leading retailer.
During the last several years, Target has put its focus and funds on (and plans to continue with throughout 2024 and beyond):
- Launching, expanding and updating its private labels across categories (which accounts for $30 billion in annual sales;
- Opening more than 300 new stores over the next decade and remodeling the majority of its nearly 2,000 stores (including full remodels, adding Ulta Beauty store-within-stores, upgrading fixtures and more);
- Expanding the capabilities of its retailer media network, Roundel;
- Updating its supply chain operations by increasing efficiency, speed and capacity; and
- Using artificial intelligence to track inventory and forecast product needs and demands.
The retailer also has put a concerted effort into launching various exclusive and private label lines, including Brightroom and Hearth & Hand with Magnolia, and teaming with digital-native e-commerce brands like Function of Beauty and Pure Culture Beauty to give them an in-store presence. The retailer additionally has partnered with Ulta, Disney and Apple to create dedicated shops within several of the mass merchant's stores, creating one-stop shops for shoppers.
In 2023, Target was instituting an "affordable joy" strategy with several lower priced items falling in the $3 to $15 range. In 2024, it introduced more than 1,000 wellness-related products in a variety of price ranges, including relaunching its Up & Up private label. (See Merchandising Strategy, Internet Marketing and Private Labels.) It also lowered prices on 5,000 frequently shopped items in 2024, including everyday items such as milk, bread, meat, produce, coffee, diapers and more. The reductions are on both private label and national brands.
The nation’s second-largest mass merchant and a staple of urban and suburban markets, Target is known for offering a unique product assortment in discretionary categories and a curated selection of branded hard goods. The chain’s portfolio of owned, exclusive and designer brands is the hallmark of its differentiation strategy. While it trails rival Walmart in size and scope, the company has been a benchmark for the entire retail industry in building its brand, drawing on its department-store heritage of fashion and trend merchandising to position itself as the “upscale” discount chain.
Must-Know Terms
Must-Know Terms
- Cartwheel: A digital savings program originally launched with technological support from Facebook that offers registered users hundreds of in-store only discounts redeemable at checkout. Target has since integrated Cartwheel into loyalty program Target Circle.
- Target Circle: The retailer's loyalty program, which is relaunched in 2024, changing it from one free level to three tiers with staggered benefits: Target Circle, Target Circle Card and Target Circle 360, the latter of which is a paid membership. (See Loyalty Programs.)
- Bullseye's Playground: The upfront value department stocking gifts and seasonal merchandise.
- Target Clean: An icon depicted on in-store displays and product pages on Target.com that indicates products eschew undesirable chemicals, such as formaldehyde.
- Target Zero: An icon on in-store displays and product pages to identify products designed to be refillable, reuseable, compostable, made from recycled content, or made from materials that reduce the use of plastic.
- Only at Target: An icon used on in-store displays and Target.com that indicates a product is exclusive to the retailer. It can be a private label or national brand item.
- Target Forward: The retailer’s sustainability strategy that encompasses its environmental goals along with diversity, equity and inclusion goals.
- Priced Right Daily: An in-store retailer campaign aimed to highlight low prices on thousands of items ranging from cereal to paper towels and baby formula to razors. Target is scaling back on promotions and instead focusing on everyday low pricing.
- Bullseye's Top Toys: An annual list of the season's top toys, including popular picks and exclusive collaborations.
Thought Starters
- Offer innovative ways to help Target lead in style, beauty, baby, kids and wellness — the retailer's signature categories.
- Think about how to infuse convenience and same-day services into a shopper marketing program.
- Target wants to stock exciting and inspiring merchandise, so provide exclusive product lines, SKUs or packaging — or promotions dangling exclusive freebies with purchase.
- The retailer also wants environmentally friendly merchandise, increasingly spotlighting private label and national brand SKUs on Target.com and in stores that have sustainable packaging and meet the retailer's Target Clean and Target Zero (see above) standards.
- Come prepared with a thoughtful and strategic proposal, but respect Target’s brand stewardship by leaving plenty of room for collaborative brainstorming.
- Unique and personalized merchandising solutions are a current focus.
- Don’t be afraid to team with other vendors to deliver targeted solutions.
- The retailer is looking for brands that can help it create locally relevant shopping experiences.
- Deliver product on time — Target is doubling down on supply chain efficiency.
- Think about how to push forward Target’s Black-owned or -founded initiative to expand its offerings in this area.
Promotional Strategy
Promotional Strategy
Target operates within a value proposition supported by pricing (including a price-match policy) and promotions.
The retailer builds integrated campaigns around its private labels, exclusive merchandise and seasonal themes. The chain often leverages its design partners for promotional activity, including them in advertising creative and publicity events, such as pop-up shops and fashion shows. Elsewhere, the retailer frequently offers store gift cards or free items with purchase of specific SKUs, and occasionally will host an account-specific sweepstakes.
Other examples of promotional activity include:
- In the buildup to the release of the "Barbie" movie, the retailer held in-store branded events with Mattel.
- For summer 2024, Target is adding beach-themed displays and products, including food and beverage samples (with some Target exclusives), personalized beach towel embroidery, giveaways, and beauty carts with suncare samples. In-store music will feature beach-inspired tunes.
- For Mother's Day 2023, the retailer offered the "gift of time" with a discounted $49 one-year Shipt membership (compared to the regular $99).
Target layers promotions across its circular and Target Circle program to appeal to budget-conscious shoppers that love to find deals. In an effort to enhance its value perception, Target made an effort to scale back on promotions several years ago to instead highlight its everyday low pricing on a variety of products, ranging from cereal to paper towels. The retailer has since highlighted SKUs from private labels and national brands under a "priced right daily" message via endcap headers and other in-store signage.
In 2023, Target is expanding its private label offerings and focusing on luring more grocery shoppers. For the holidays it's offering a number of enticements to shoppers, including:
- Early Black Friday deals that began in late October on national brands such as Apple and Nintendo, but also its own brands.
- Adding several private label brands (including Figmint, a new line of kitchenware) and building on its current offerings.
- A budget-friendly and easy Thanksgiving meal option that serves four for less than $25 and several holiday gift options at lower price points.
- Transportation-themed stops throughout its stores, with a shoppable Grand Central Gifting Station, the return of Marks & Spencer displays and products, and a Top Toys train featuring popular national brands and several exclusives, including from Disney and FAO Schwarz.
- Virtual versions of its Grand Central Gifting Station and a 360-degree virtual holiday toy shop where customers can interact with the Top Toys list.
- Seasonal updates to the website and app, featuring touches of holiday cheer.
- Last-minute deals, extended store hours and more fulfillment options such as curbside and delivery.
- Traveling events in New York City, Dallas and Los Angeles that feature larger-than-life toy experiences with perennial favorites such as Mattel, LEGO and Nintendo. The events also will have QR codes that enable guests to scan and add items to digital Target carts.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the retailer scattered its holiday promotions across the fall and winter to avoid overcrowding in stores.
![Target Circle Week](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2023-03/circleweekmarch2023.png)
Ongoing/Periodic Programs
- Target Circle Week: The retailer lately holds Circle Week sales in mid July and early October, coinciding with Amazon's Prime Day events, as well as in early April. The weeks feature daily deals, exclusives, new partnerships, a deal of the day, and added savings for Target Circle members. Circle Weeks typically include exclusive offers such as from Shipt, Ulta Beauty at Target and Tripadvisor. Loyalty members get deals on thousands of SKUs in seasonal categories, available in-store, on Target.com and via the Target app. Since rolling out its paid Target Circle 360 subscription loyalty program, as part of Circle Week promotions, the retailer has been offering a discounted first-year enrollment, at $49 for the year instead of the normal $99.
- Target Deal Days: Three days of savings exclusively on Target.com and the Target app, that usually coincide with Amazon Prime Days, promotes deals across every category at Target, including food and beverage, electronics, beauty, home, apparel and toys.
- Top Toys: Every autumn, the retailer releases its Bullseye's Top Toys list, which features exclusives and collaborations. For 2023, Target's list included 58 toys from brands such as Star Wars, LEGO, Hot Wheels, Barbie and many others. The retailer is also offering an exclusive limited-time collection to mark Disney's 100th anniversary and is continuing its FAO Schwarz partnership with new exclusives. The toy list also includes several options under $25, to appeal to budget-conscious shoppers. Also new is an immersive, shoppable digital toy experience.
- Women's History Month: In 2022, to make it easier for shoppers to recognize and support women entrepreneurs, Target brought back its "women-owned" badge on Target.com, designated by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council. During March, the retailer spotlighted women-owned brands on a dedicated landing page in its "Finds" section.
- Back to School savings: For back-to-school season, Target typically dangles larger discounts for Circle Loyalty program members and savings for school and college students, and educators, as well as tax-free weekends in states where tax holidays are permitted. In 2023, the retailer expanded its Target Circle Teacher Appreciation and Target Circle College Student Appreciation events, offering a one-time 20% discount on any online or in-store purchase made during the six-week promotion.
- Book Club: Monthly picks in fiction, young adult, and children's genres. Sometimes the retailer has exclusives or signed editions.
Merchandising
Merchandising Strategy
Target sells a wide assortment of general merchandise and food in well-organized stores boasting bright lights and clean aisles. Major departments include home, furniture, electronics, entertainment, sports, toys, gifts, baby, apparel and grocery. Most stores have pharmacy and photo departments. A back-of-store seasonal department rotates merchandise and signage on a regular basis. Other areas of the store (beauty, apparel) have seasonal displays (sunscreens, skin-soothing gels leading into summer) that rotate.
Designed to be shopped easily, stores feature a racetrack layout and intuitive category adjacencies, such as decor next to home improvement and toys next to sporting goods. The "Bullseye's Playground" value department of gifts and seasonal merchandise has long been a staple near store entrances.
The retailer seeks to differentiate itself by stocking “exciting” merchandise, including curated leading national brands. The chain maintains a permanent roster of high-end talent and regularly teams with outside collaborators — from The Lego Group to interior stylist Hilton Carter — to launch exclusive, limited-edition product collections across multiple categories, most notably apparel, home and beauty.
Target also earns exclusives in the entertainment category, serving as sole distributor for some song releases and merchandising home videos, and video games with unique bonus content or bundled extras. Dedicated Ulta Beauty, Disney and Apple shops within the mass merchant also regularly carry exclusive SKUs, including to mark Disney's 100th anniversary (see Collaborative Alliances) and introduce Fenty Beauty (landing at Ulta Beauty at Target with top sellers as well as exclusive new mini sizes and sets called Fenty Snackz).
The retailer also has partnered with digital-native brands, such as Pure Culture Beauty, Function of Beauty and Winky Lux, to give them an in-store presence.
Additionally, Target builds localized elements into its new stores from the design, such as a unique mural painted on the inside of its Lihue Kauai store, to the assortment, like local sports team merchandise at its store within University of Michigan-Ann Arbor’s campus.
Target also provides a distribution channel for eco-friendly vendors. These vendors receive strong attention via endcaps and permanent displays, including in-line units for natural product brands in the skincare and home cleaning aisles. Products that eschew undesirable chemicals, such as formaldehyde, display the retailer's Target Clean icon on in-store displays and product pages on Target.com.
In 2022, the retailer debuted the Target Zero icon to highlight products and packaging designed to be refillable, reusable, compostable, made from recycled content, or made from materials that reduce the use of plastic. Hundreds of new and existing products across beauty, personal care and household essential categories, including SKUs from Burt’s Bees, Plus, Pacifica, Grove Co. and private label Everspring, were among the first in the Target Zero collection with plans to expand the assortment. Target Zero also marks one of the first initiatives engaging Target brand partners in Target Forward, Target’s sustainability initiative. (See Cause/Community Programs.)
In 2022, Target also brought back its "women-owned" badge on Target.com, designated by the Women's Business Enterprise National Council, to make it easier for shoppers to support women entrepreneurs.
![Target Beauty](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/target_beauty_1.jpg)
During the last several years, the chain has tested various updates to the in-store experience and several department upgrades:
- Target improved the beauty department shopping experience for men with an in-store men’s grooming experience. More than 600 products are included in this new men's destination from brands, including Harry’s and the flagships of BYRD Hairdo Products, Cremo Co. and Beardbrand. The section also includes men’s accessories, such as hats and wallets from Target’s apparel brand Goodfellow & Co, "to help guests pull together a cohesive look."
- The retailer has updated its beauty department with LED lighting and large backlit signage that highlights product attributes and ingredients. The revamp also included shelving that allows for brand customization and cleaner presentations for an even more upscale look. These upgrades add to previous updates to the department which united the cosmetics, hair and skincare categories in a section of curved, well-lit gondolas adorned with large beauty shots.
- The retailer is adding thousands of new products to its health and beauty assortments. Many are exclusive to Target, and include clean label, Black-, Asian American and Pacific Islander -(AAPI), and Latina-owned health and beauty brands. Self-care, self-expression, health and affordability are also key focal points, with many SKUs priced $10 or less. According to Piper Sandler’s Taking Stock with Teens survey, Target also ranks as the third most popular beauty destination for this age group.
- In late 2023, Target added more than 1,000 wellness-related SKUs, some starting at $1.99. The additions include a mix of private label items, new and celebrity-founded brands (such as actress-entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow's good.clean.goop), and exclusives encompassing supplements, hydration boosters, skincare, pampering, functional beverages, and fitness clothing and accessories. It also launched an online wellness destination on Target.com. (See Internet Marketing.)
- In 2024, Target plans to add more than 125 SKUs to its Good & Gather and Favorite Day brands, as it poises itself to make itself into a snack and food destination. It also plans to offer exclusive flavors from national brands such as Bubly Sparkling Water and Poppi.
- Target is also adding more than 1,000 beach-inspired finds in time for 2024, with many items starting at $1 and more than half priced at less than $15, replete with summery displays.
- Target has been adding more alcohol-free options both online and in its adult beverage aisle, including Sechey brands such as De Soi, Free AF and Mingle.
- In the pet department, the retailer has introduced fresh food and new fixtures and signs that create distinct sales environments for cats and dogs while also drawing a closer association with grocery.
- Target also has added mannequins to many apparel departments and lifestyle vignettes in home goods departments. Vignettes comprising 12-foot-tall house-like structures were erected at 500 Target stores to stock Hearth & Hand with Magnolia SKUs, an exclusive collection of home furnishings, apparel and accessories designed by Chip and Joanna Gaines.
- Since 2020, the retail has grown its Black-owned and -founded assortment by 65%, adding SKUs from brands, such as GlowRx, Thread, Kyutee, Pink Lipps, G.L.A.M., Frederick Benjamin, Sassy Hair and Undefined Beauty. Pledging to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025, Target boasts it’s leading the industry with more than 70 Black-owned or -founded brands sold in stores and online.
- Target elevated its denim department by launching Universal Thread and Goodfellow, both with extensive denim offerings, including a variety of styles and inclusive sizing, and deepened its partnership with Levi, which grew sales in this category by more than $150 million since 2019. The retailer also expanded its Levi offerings to more than 800 stores in 2022.
During the past five years, Target has remodeled nearly 1,000 stores. The Institute visited Target's flagship Nicollet Mall store in Minneapolis, which the retailer spent $10 million to renovate. Among the upgrades, the recent renovation doubled the size of the store's fresh food area within the food and beverage department.
Collaborative Alliances
Collaborative Alliances
Target has a reputation for forming long-lasting relationships with vendors. Target and Kroger were the retailers most often identified as best collaborative partners during the COVID-19 crisis in the Path to Purchase Institute's 2021 Trends Report. Target specifically received several kudos on its fulfillment options and its efforts to deliver benefits for itself, brand partners and shoppers alike.
While it does receive praise for its collaborativeness from brand partners, the retailer is also known for imposing exacting standards that extend even to product packaging. In fact, Target routinely asks for packaging designed specifically for its stores and has requested that vendors provide exclusive SKUs or even whole product lines. The chain also created the Target Sustainable Product Standard with the aim of encouraging sustainable packaging and product design. Additionally, the retailer narrowed its delivery grace period for suppliers several years ago. Target regularly leverages national brands to enhance its own identity, often incorporating specific products and logos into media advertising.
Among notable joint programs, Target teams with:
- FAO Schwarz to stock an assortment of toys available exclusively at Target stores, Target.com, and FAO stores annually during the holiday season.
- Disney, including 2023's Disney100 Retro Reimagined, an exclusive, limited-time collection of retro toys and reimagined offerings. More than 100 SKUs are landing in stores and online and include toys, apparel, accessories, home, entertainment and seasonal decor.
- Kendra Scott at Target, a partnership with the fashion-meets-philanthropy lifestyle brand that brings an exclusive collection and dedicated shopping experience. The October 2023 launch includes more than 200 new jewelry and accessories designs, most priced under $40, tapping into the retailer's "affordable joy" strategy. Select stores will have a dedicated space within the accessories and jewelry department, and Target.com will have a dedicated brand experience. The collection will be refreshed throughout the year.
- Johnson & Johnson to host an annual “First Aid Kit” endcap promotion. The manufacturer also supplies other exclusive incentives to support its personal-care portfolio.
- multiple digital native and DTC brands, such as Pure Culture, Function of Beauty, Proudly good.clean.goop and Tupperware Brands, regularly to give them an exclusive (at least at the start) in-store presence and lines.
- Houston White x Target, featuring accessories and apparel by North Minneapolis designer, entrepreneur and community-builder Houston White, for a multiyear exclusive partnership.
- Procter & Gamble regularly on exclusive lines and promotions.
![LEGO](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/legocollectionxtarget_groupshot_02.jpg)
Additionally, since the debut of its Michael Graves Design Collection in 1999, Target has rolled out more than 180 lines from limited-time collaborations with established brands such as Hunter Boots, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Diane von Furstenberg and Lego Group, and up-and-coming designers such as Christopher John Rogers, Alexis and Rixo. In recent years, the retailer also released limited-time collections from:
- Plant enthusiast and interior stylist Hilton Carter,
- Author, illustrator and animator Christian Robinson,
- Actress and social media personality Tabitha Brown,
- British retailer M&S, and
- Tennis and lifestyle brand Prince, on a pickleball collection of apparel, accessories and sporting goods.
Target moved away from its longtime strategy of one-off designer partnerships with the launch of apparel and accessories brand Future Collective in 2022. The retailer works with a rotating list of style and cultural influencers to helm the line starting with Kahlana Barfield Brown, former InStyle magazine editor and fashion and beauty expert. The Future Collective with Kahlana Barfield Brown collection comprises 120 items. That was followed by collaborations with designers Gabriella Karefa-Johnson and Alani Noelle.
Target's partnerships also extend to the metaverse: In 2022, the retailer teamed with Roblox to offer Target.com shoppers who buy select apparel from Roblox and the Target's private labels Art Class and Original Use a digital version of the clothing item for their avatar on the online gaming platform.
When it announced its soccer sponsorships in 2017, Target said it would push the sport by partnering with a number of its leading vendors, including Kimberly-Clark, GlaxoSmithKline, Hershey Co.'s flagship, Procter & Gamble's Tide and Venus, and Unilever's Dove and Degree. Since then, the retailer has activated its MLS sponsorship in stores via account-specific shelf strips plugging Tide as well as within circular features during the 2018 World Cup that spotlight products from brands including Unilever's Degree.
In apparel, the chain has stepped away from relying on exclusive collections from vendors, such as Carter’s Just One Year (baby apparel), in recent years to focus more on launching private label offerings such as All In Motion. In the entertainment category, it regularly offers exclusive in-pack/on-pack incentives with new home video, CD and video game releases. Elsewhere, Maison Battat's Our Generation and Lego Group’s flagship are among brands given dedicated aisles in the toy department. American Greetings and its Carlton Cards subsidiary manage the greeting card department without a branded presence.
Target maintains a help center for suppliers at https://corporate.target.com/about/products-services/suppliers where it shares its vendor code of conduct, eligibility requirements for drop shipping, sourcing standards and details on its efforts to work with diverse suppliers.
Displays & Signage
Displays & Signage
It’s hard to find a sign or secondary display in Target that is not imbued with the retailer’s own brand sensibility. When Target does break from its standard policy and accept vendor-supplied P-O-P, it is carefully integrated into the chain’s motif and, in nearly all cases, is custom-designed; more often than not, exclusive SKUs or account-specific incentives are involved.
The retailer accepts endcap displays, shelf trays, power wings, cooler clings and the occasional shelf sign and floorstand. A design team works with vendors on department coolers and styles for each season, so that each product category is color-coordinated and/or themed. Given the seasonal focus, it’s difficult to get the chain to accept long-term P-O-P programs. See the receptivity chart below for a rundown of Target’s tactical P-O-P preferences.
![Target Holiday](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/target_holiday-in-store_2021_09.jpg)
The chain generously uses ceiling mobiles to identify departments, direct shoppers to the seasonal department, plug exclusive collections and add aesthetic appeal. The chain's marketing campaigns also play out vividly through signage and displays in the seasonal department. Colorful lifestyle imagery pervades the store. Graphics in some departments, including toys, grocery and housewares, often include beauty shots of national-brand products. The graphics change on a seasonal basis and are often integrated with the creative used in concurrent media advertising. Given the dynamic nature of Target’s aesthetic, they are typically printed on easy-to-replace paper or corrugate and foam boards.
Electronics manufacturers have more easily infiltrated Target’s landscape by supplying semi-permanent endcaps and in-line displays, often complete with display models and/or video screens. Brands, such as Nintendo’s Nintendo Switch and Apple, often supply elaborate interactive displays. Samsung rolled out a virtual “host” display that describes the features of a mobile phone when shoppers pick up the model. Vendors in the sporting goods, home appliances and toy categories also earn more prominent placement via customized endcaps.
Headers, side panels, channel strips and other signage in such aisles as toys, sporting goods and audio accessories detail product attributes and offer selection guides.
The apparel department leans heavily on vignettes to catch a shopper's attention, while the revamped beauty department encompasses table displays and floorstands, as well as gondolas and graphics that create a strong presence for individual brands. Design partners receive prime exposure on racks, vignettes and in-line displays that detail their background and design philosophy.
In 2017, Target introduced a unique merchandising unit resembling a giant version of its red shopping basket. (The units have since been replaced with custom rolling racks.) The same year, for the first time ever, shopping carts were decorated to take on the appearance of Mario "karts" to tie in to Nintendo of America's launch of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. The retailer has also, very rarely, dabbled with using its bollards outside entrances and even conveyor belts at checkout as an advertising medium.
Target Best Bets | |
Although hard to secure, collaboratively designed endcap signage kits are most effective at drawing shopper attention. | |
Merchandisers | |
Endcap Displays | Often Used |
Shelf Trays/PDQs | Often Used |
Pallets | Sometimes Used |
Floorstands/Shippers | Often Used |
Dump Bins | Sometimes Used |
Power Wings/Sidekicks | Often Used |
Category Management Systems | Often Used |
Spectaculars/Lobby Displays | Sometimes Used |
Rack | Often Used |
Secondary Refrigerated Displays | Often Used |
Signage/Media | |
A-Boards | Sometimes Used |
Balloons | Rarely Used |
Base Wraps | Rarely Used |
Ceiling Signs | Often Used |
Checkout Ads | Rarely Used |
Checkout Dividers | Rarely Used |
Circular Rack Ads | Rarely Used |
Cooler Clings | Sometimes Used |
Counter Cards | Rarely Used |
Demonstration/Sampling Kits | Often Used |
Digital Signage Ads | Often Used |
Endcap Signage Kits | Often Used |
Floor Clings | Sometimes Used |
Header Cards | Sometimes Used |
At-shelf Product Demo/Sample | Often Used |
In-line/Category Headers | Often Used |
In-Store Radio | Rarely Used |
Inflatables | Rarely Used |
Outdoor Signage | Rarely Used |
Neckhangers | Sometimes Used |
New Item Showcases | Often Used |
Pole Toppers | Rarely Used |
Printed Handouts | Sometimes Used |
Placeholders, On-shelf | Rarely Used |
Price-label Messaging | Often Used |
Security Pedestal Ads | Rarely Used |
Shelf Blockers | Often Used |
Shelf Strips | Often Used |
Shelf Talkers | Sometimes Used |
Shelf Danglers/Wobblers | Rarely Used |
Shopping Cart Ads | Rarely Used |
Side Panels | Often Used |
Standees | Sometimes Used |
Take-one Dispensers | Rarely Used |
Tearpads | Sometimes Used |
Stanchion Signs | Sometimes Used |
Wall Banners | Often Used |
Window/Door Signs | Sometimes Used |
Violators | Rarely Used |
In-Store Media
In-Store Media
Target has made changes to its in-store marketing, with a goal to ensure its signage better reflects the community around it “so our guests feel represented and welcomed whenever — and however — they shop with us.”
Target’s in-store digital network primarily serves the electronic and entertainment departments through the TV wall and other dedicated screens, including a large vertically mounted touchscreen in the video game section. The channel plays a program mix of Target brand messages, vendor advertising, entertainment and educational content. The messages can be targeted by unique areas of a store as well as geographic location, time of day or day of the week.
Target seeks programming that informs, entertains or adds value to the shopping experience and welcomes co-marketing among vendors to create content that can deliver on all three requirements. The chain also aims to provide content that is integrated not only with activity in the store, but with circulars, media advertising, online and other marketing initiatives.
The chain is one of the few retailers to eschew in-store radio as a source of shopper entertainment and advertising. However, in 2017, the retailer began playing background music in select stores after testing it in a handful of locations. It is unclear if ads were interspersed.
Brands can also get the spotlight in stores via ads on screens for Target "Help Center" kiosks, which allow shoppers to scan SKUs to reveal their price, locate specific products and request assistance from an employee.
Store Formats/Growth
Store Formats/Growth
Target is betting on its more than 1,900 stores, and has remodeled more than 1,000 since beginning this effort in 2017. The remodels include modern design elements like wood, brighter lighting and elevated merchandise displays, while also equipping the store with enhanced hold space and pickup areas for online fulfillment.
Many store remodels include a significantly increased footprint for grocery and a dedicated entrance for Drive Up (see E-commerce Strategy), along with shop-in-shop Ulta Beauty, Apple and Disney Store additions. (See below.) When warranted, remodels include the addition of walk-in coolers and freezers near the front of the store aiding in-store Order Pickup and curbside Drive Up services.
Target also is building new stores (with 300-plus planned in the next decade) or renovating the majority of its existing locations as well as adding store-in-stores, canopies, more prominent signage and Drive Up spaces in its parking lots.
In 2023, the retailer:
- Opened 21 new stores in 10 states
- Remodeled or enhanced 170 stores
- Opened four new supply chain facilities, including its first last-mile delivery extension at an existing location
- Refreshed or added more shop-in-shops, including
- 155 Ulta Beauty locations
- 100 Starbucks Cafes
- 50 Apple Shops
- 20 Disney Clubhouses
While in past years new store openings included tens of small-format stores, for 2023 the retailer revealed a larger store format for more than half of its planned full-store remodels. The 12 it built in 2023 included elements of the large, modern design. Locations average 135,000 square feet, and include a larger backroom fulfillment space, a wider range of merchandise, and a more open layout.
![Target store front](https://assets1.p2pi.com/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/2017-10-27-target-skokie-il035_2.jpg)
Small Format Stores
Target's growth strategy for the past several years focused on its small-format stores, which have more than two times the sales productivity of a general merchandise store. The retailer currently operates more than 150 small-format stores in dense urban and suburban neighborhoods and about 35 near college campuses.
New York was a priority market for the small format stores, and the company's plans in 2022 called for more than 10 new small-format stores to open in the area, including in Times Square, Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Harlem, Bronx and Chelsea. Target opened nine more in 2023, but shuttered a few small-format stores in underperforming areas.
Small-format stores range from 12,000 to 124,000 square feet in size, but on average are generally about one-third the size of a full Target (roughly 40,000 square feet). The larger of the small formats offers the same limited food assortment as general merchandise stores, while the smallest of the small format stocks a curated assortment in frequency categories, such as food, health care, beauty and other household essentials, as well as discretionary categories including home, electronics and seasonal. The locations also often offer grab-and-go food options and fulfillment options like Order Pickup. Generally the small-format stores are tailored to a specific area's needs, like a 10,000-square-foot store stocked with a variety of groceries located in a part of downtown Pittsburgh considered to be a food desert.
(Target previously used TargetExpress and CityTarget names to distinguish its small formats but rebranded them all under the main Target banner in 2015.)
Target General Merchandise Stores
Averaging 130,000 square feet, traditional stores stock a limited food assortment, including perishables, dry grocery, dairy and frozen items.
Super Target
Averaging 174,00 square feet, Super Target locations boast a full grocery store. They offer a Target Cafe dining area, a dedicated gondola for certified organic produce and service counters for bakery, deli, prepared foods, meat and seafood.
![Target Ulta](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/ultabeautyattarget_6_0.jpg)
Shop in Shops
Target is turning its largest stores into mall-like destinations by hosting scaled-down shops from partners such as:
- Walt Disney Co. - Target tripled its Disney stores-within-a-store to more than 160 in 2021 from the initial 25 announced in 2019. In 2023, the retailer opened 20 Disney Clubhouses.
- Ulta Beauty - Stocking SKUs from more than 50 brands, Ulta Beauty at Target shops debuted at 100 Target stores in 2021, and will roll out to a total of 800 Target locations in the future. Target says stores that have added an Ulta Beauty at Target — the retailer opened or refreshed 155 in 2023 — have seen incremental growth with a mid-teens lift across total beauty and in other complementary categories as well.
- Apple - Target initially opened 17 Apple stores-within-a-store in 2021, more than doubling the number to 36 ahead of the holiday season. That number exceeded 150 shops in late 2022. Target opened 50 shops in 2023. The in-store shops build on Target's 15-year-long partnership with the tech giant. They incorporate new lighting fixtures, displays for Apple's products and Apple-trained Target tech consultants.
Special Departments/Services
Special Departments/Services
Target’s in-store services have long been a destination because of the differentiated experience it offers. Target handed control of its more than 1,600 in-store pharmacies and 80 clinics to CVS Health. (In January 2024, CVS said it would be closing dozens of its Target locations in the first few months of the year.) A vast majority of Target stores also have a Starbucks cafe and some 1,300 locations sell wine, beer and spirits. Some stores also offer other food service offerings.
Leased or licensed departments in some stores also include Target Optical, which appear at more than 500 stores. Shoppers also can send and receive packages via FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Postal Service through Target’s guest services.
The retailer offers scheduled in-home setup of TV wall mount or smart home device with Target Easy Install by HelloTech. Shoppers can add Target Easy Install to their cart along with any necessary accessories, and HelloTech will email to schedule an installation. Target also offers furniture assembly through Handy and Home Maintenance Powered by Handy that allows shopper to order services, such as faucet installation, outdoor light hanging, yard cleanup and general handyman, for a flat fee.
Facial services are available at select stores in Texas and offer customized, express facial, wax or treatment with a licensed Face Haus esthetician. In 2022, Target piloted a 10-minute manicure service at six of its stores nationwide, allowing shoppers to have their nails painted by a robot.
In 2021, Target began testing ear piercing by a licensed nurse with ear piercing company Rowan at its Minneapolis-based stores and rolled the service out to 200 stores with plans for more stores in 2022.
In 2022, Target in select New Jersey stores tested a reusable bag rental system through Goatote, which lets shoppers check out bags at designated in-store kiosks and return them for fresh ones during their next trip.
![Target EV Charging](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/t0312_sacramento_ca_sizedabv.jpg)
Electric Vehicle Charging
The retailer currently operates electric vehicle charging stations at more than 150 stores and continues to add more.
Customer Segments
Customer Segments
In the past, Target had described its typical shopper as a suburban soccer mom.
Now it recognizes that its frequent shoppers encompass a wide variety of demographics including Hispanics, Millennials, urbanites, families with two dads and families with more kids. Target shoppers are digital natives with incredibly high expectations, seeking a frictionless and inspiring shopping experience delivered on demand. They love newness and tend to shop more premium SKUs in categories such as beauty.
The retailer’s customers skew younger (with a median age of 40) and wealthier (with a median household income of $64,000) than other mass merchants. Among other customer attributes:
- 57% have completed college
- 43% have children at home (consistently more than any other discount store)
Young adults and college students favor Target's trendy yet affordable apparel and decor. In fact, the chain’s yearly back-to-school campaign pays equal attention to both typical school supplies and dorm staples, such as bedding and electronics.
Merchandise, department configurations and marketing activity address the needs of shoppers in all life stages: teens and tweens, newly independent young adults, new moms, families and empty nesters.
Located in both urban and suburban areas, Target attracts affluent, bargain-conscious consumers and has been increasingly focused on luring mainstream budget shoppers with lower prices and its affordable private-label lines.
Internet Marketing
Internet Marketing Strategy
Target is among the top 10 U.S. retail e-commerce companies for 2021, according to a report by eMarketer. The retailer's online sales represented 18.9% of the retailer’s $104.6 billion in total sales in fiscal 2021. Target aims to use digital to drive sales and traffic to all channels.
Opportunities for a brand presence within target.com include:
- interspersed updates from Instagram influencers.
- a display ad across the bottom of the retailer's home page that generally spotlights a specific brand or SKU.
- banner and display ads on the homepage and e-commerce pages.
- a promotional leaderboard ad to head a dedicated e-commerce shop.
Elsewhere, the retailer runs a blog, A Bullseye View (abullseyeview.com), where it makes new product and partnership announcements, provides supplementary and behind-the-scenes information on many of its initiatives, and offers seasonal tips and DIY instructions to engage consumers.
The mass merchant sends out a steady stream of emails that generally tout its own category-wide sales in support of the weekly circular. Emails also remind shoppers of items left in their online cart, plug promotions on relevant products based on shopper search history and spotlight exclusive SKUs.
![target wellness page](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/public/2024-01/targetwelllnesspage.png)
In December 2023, Target launched an online wellness destination on Target.com. The promotional page features:
- Several health- and well-being categories, including
- exercise & fitness,
- activewear,
- smart health technology,
- vitamins & supplements,
- nutrition & weight management,
- self-care,
- performance shoes,
- kids' health & wellbeing,
- Apple wellness, and
- dietary lifestyles and women's sleepwear;
- Circle loyalty program savings, gift-card incentives for meeting a certain spend on specific products, and the option for Circle members to try Apple Fitness+ for free;
- Target's private labels as well as celebrity-owned/created brands (actress-entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow's good.clean.goop and celebrity-entrepreneur Kourtney Kardashian Barker's Lemme), and national brands such as Unilever's Olly supplements and Procter & Gamble's Tide Free & Gentle; and
- Wellness tips and meal inspiration by lifestyle (keto-friendly, gluten-free and plant-based).
Target also creates virtual shops, usually geared toward occasions or seasons.
Because the retailer holds the No. 1 market share on women's swim, for 2024 it launched a Swim & Sand Shop. Accessible online and via the app, visitors can shop warm weather fashions and explore a "3-ways-to-wear" feature that shows how fashion influencers are styling swimwear and accessories.
Retail Media
Retail Media
Target launched its media company formerly known as Target Media Network in 2016, initially as a program for its vendor partners before opening it up to any and all national advertisers — even those whose products are not sold at Target stores. Target renamed its media company Roundel in 2019, signaling plans to be a more aggressive player in the sector. Later that same year, Target partnered with a digital ad exchange, Index Exchange, to mark Roundel’s first major foray into programmatic advertising.
Roundel taps in to purchase data from Target's 30 million weekly in-store shoppers — plus even more shoppers online. (The retailer's Target Circle loyalty program has also amassed more than 100 million members.) Through its media network, Target also boasts it can place a brand's ad in "positive, relevant environments" from its inventory of publishers to avoid association with "negative and inappropriate content." In other words, the ads run only where Target is willing to run its own advertising. These 150+ brand-safe platforms include Pinterest, NBC Universal, and Popsugar.
Among Roundel's capabilities and offerings:
- Programmatic media: Taps proprietary, first-party data back by purchases and shopper behaviors across Target. Brands can purchase media via their own demand-side platform (DSP) and ads run in aforementioned "brand-positive" environments. Target is in the process of adding more publisher partners.
- Target product ads: Native, cost-per-click (CPC) ads on target.com and the Target mobile application that aim to drive purchase-ready shoppers to brands' product detail pages via search. Ads are placed where shoppers are actively searching and browsing for products, such as product detail pages, landing pages, search pages and category/browse pages on target.com. (In 2020, 40% of target.com visitors used the search functionality. The mass merchant's shoppers are also twice as likely to convert when they interact with search, according to Target.)
- Search ads: Aims to capture high-intent shoppers as they actively search for relevant products on Google and drive them to convert on target.com, the Target app, or in Target stores. (Target reported it saw 2.5-times more visits to product detail pages for customers arriving at target.com via search efforts in 2020, and a 20% YOY increase in relevant retail product queries on Google search.)
- Display ads: Aims to help brands get in front of shoppers with standard and premium ad placements on and off target.com.
- Social media: Allows brands to reach Target’s first-party audiences at scale via any device with static, animated or video ad placements.
- TV analytics: With Partner iSpot, Target is able to provide data on the effectiveness of brands sold at Target. iSpot and Target can connect which TV ads a shopper viewed and what the shopper bought.
- Connected TV by Roundel: Target is growing its CTV offerings by adding shoppable QR codes that appear during commercials on streaming services.
Target has also built Roundel Media Studio, which will be a self-service shop where brands, advertisers and agencies can plan, start and measure their retail media campaigns. The retailer will launch Roundel Media Studio in early 2024.
Partners for Target product ads
Target encourages brands to activate, automate and analyze their Target product ad campaigns by working with the mass merchant's preferred partners. Among its partners:
- Criteo: Criteo is integrated directly with Target, and provides real-time and granular reporting, flexible attribution windows, and flexible campaign structures. It also provides automated keyword discovery and bid optimization models to help you perform at scale. Advertisers can choose to leverage Criteo’s enterprise grade self-service platform or to leverage a Criteo API partner, such as Kenshoo, Flywheel, Pacvue, Perpetua, and Tinuiti.
- CitrusAd: CitrusAd's retail media platform is integrated directly with Target, offering advertisers real-time, clear reporting dashboards, and the flexibility to set-up and launch self-managed campaigns or engage with CitrusAd's managed services team to drive and optimize Target Product Ad campaigns.
- Flywheel: Provides end-to-end e-commerce managed services that aims to help clients accelerate their business. It boasts its proprietary retailer-specific software, tools, and expertise drives sales and brand performance for clients by directly actioning solutions and providing custom data, dashboards and consultancy.
- Pacvue: Enterprise platform for brands and agencies to manage their Target product ads by combining holistic performance data with recommended actions. Marketers can leverage Pacvue’s insights, flexible reporting, and intelligent automation to help lower costs, grow share of voice and increase sales.
Trends Report
For the past five years, brand marketers asked to rate Target's Roundel – as well as various other retail media platforms – for the Path to Purchase Institute’s annual Trends Report have generally given the platform good scores. In the magazine's 2024 survey, Roundel scored strongest for its traffic-driving capabilities, but more than half ranked ROI and data sharing as “fair/poor.” (See chart below.)
![target 2024 retail media score](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/public/2024-01/target.png)
Key Facts
The chart below has information compiled by The Mars Agency. It is published as part of THE AGENCY'S quarterly Retail Media Report Card, with input provided by the retail media networks
![Target Roundel Mars Agency](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2023-03/targetroundelrmnmars.png)
Mobile Marketing
Mobile Marketing Strategy
Target's mobile application for iOS and Android phones features:
- shopping by product category,
- the weekly circular and catalogs,
- Target Circle offers (See below.),
- a store locator,
- Delivery and alternative fulfillment options,
- the ability to check if an item is in your local store's inventory,
- store maps and aisle numbers for products on your list,
- shopping lists,
- a barcode scanner to check prices and product reviews, and
- display ads that link to e-commerce pages for spotlighted products or categories.
For 2023's holidays, the app and website are decked out in seasonal colors and animated snowflakes to add sprinklings of cheer to the shopping experience.
Target has LED lighting in stores with built-in digital technology that interacts with the Target app, helping customers who opt-in map their way through the store on a mobile phone.
Target Circle
Target's loyalty program, Target Circle, is integrated into the mobile app. Members scan a personalized barcode at checkout to redeem digital coupons, earn 1% back on purchases or save 5% off their shopping trip as a birthday gift. Scanning product barcodes will reveal any Target Circle offers while receipt barcodes will provide shoppers with program benefits. App users can also browse Circle offers by product category, deals based on previous purchases, newest offers and ones that are expiring soon. The app also tracks how much you have saved from the program over the past 30 days and shows purchases made both online and in stores.
A wallet function within the app allows shoppers to see all earnings that can be redeemed along with saved offers. A credit card can be added to enable mobile payments.
Drive Up
The mass merchant's "Drive Up" service lets shoppers who place an order through Target's mobile application opt to pick it up for free in a designated area outside their local store. Customers also can use the app to receive order notifications, indicate when they are on their way to pick an order, and present a unique code for a Target employee. (See E-Commerce Strategy.)
The app also allows users to switch from in-store pick up to Drive Up (and vice versa) after placing an order, as well as place an order for same-day delivery via Shipt.
Social Media
Social Media Strategy
Facebook: 23.7M likes (as of June 2023)
The retailer typically posts to its Facebook page on a nearly daily basis, sharing links to seasonal promotional pages curating SKUs tying into occasions, such as Valentine's Day; e-commerce pages for private label and national brand SKUs; and brand showcases. Exclusive SKUs and collections from national brands, as well as private label items, often get the spotlight.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the retailer posts updates emphasizing at-home activities, such as cooking and also spotlighting alternative fulfillment options, such as Drive Up curbside pickup. Target has also prioritized video-centered content about shopping at Target, Black voices and seasonal promotions.
Instagram: 5.4M followers (as of June 2023)
Instagram functions as an photo-driven extension of the retailer’s Facebook page. Many updates serve to spotlight exclusive products and collections, private labels, seasonal collections and spotlight items tying in to a holiday or occasion, such as Black History Month.
Twitter: 2.1M followers (as of June 2023)
Target used to tweet nearly daily, but hasn't posted since October 2022. The account does not prioritize linking to target.com, but if they do, it is to mirror the content that they post on Facebook highlighting exclusive products and collections. The mass merchant additionally runs separate News (58.1K followers) and Careers (22.3K followers) accounts. Target News occasionally tweets, but Target Careers has not posted anything since April 2021.
Pinterest: 4.4M followers (as of June 2023)
Every image (or "Pin") associated with Target's Pinterest account directs shoppers to e-commerce or promotional pages on Target.com. Target leverages Pinterest in multiple ways:
- The retailer's “Shop” Pinterest homepage curates product under categories, such as toys, dining, holiday dresses and holiday decor, at the top of the page while the bottom focuses on most popular items. The page also allows shoppers to shop by category.
- Pins in Target's "Created" board depict products in an environment, individuals using the items or items corralled with similar SKUs for a purpose or theme (such as under-eye patches from Pacifica and fitness equipment grouped under a "healthy habit ideas" pin).
- Sponsored ads on Pinterest are part of the capabilities offered by Target's retailer media network Roundel.
YouTube: 638K subscribers (as of June 2023)
Target uses its YouTube channel to store and organize the promotional videos that they diffuse on Twitter and Facebook. The retailer has separated videos into playlists spotlighting different promotional efforts, such as “Welcome to Holiday Celebrations,” “Only at Target” exclusive brands, "Target Takes On," “Target App & Target Circle Hacks.”
TikTok: 2.6M followers (as of June 2023)
Target's TikTok account was created in January 2021, and multiple videos have been posted since to highlight a private label or tie in to a viral trend. The retailer does not use the platform to link to e-commerce pages, but does highlight specific products.
Target also uses Snapchat filters on occasion to promote initiatives and product.
E-Commerce
E-Commerce Strategy
Several years ago, Target shifted from outsourcing 70% of its IT to having 93% insourced today. Building a stronger foundation of in-house talent, the retailer now uses tools, such as artificial intelligence, to recommend products based on searches to aid demand forecasting and ordering all along the supply chain along with assortment planning, pricing and promotion of products.
In turn, Target's online sales represented 18.3% of the retailer’s $105.8 billion in total sales in fiscal 2023. Increasing substantially since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, online sales represented 8.8%, 17.9%, 18.9% and 18.6% in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively.
Since 2019, Target’s same-day services have grown nearly 400%, accounting for more than half of the company’s $13 billion digital growth. Same-day services are the fastest-growing part of its business, and the retailer saw 45% growth in same-day services in 2021 on top of 235% growth in 2020.
In 2023, the retailer fulfilled more than 60% of its digital sales through same-day fulfillment options, including Order Pickup, Drive Up, and Shipt delivery. In 2022, more than 50% of its digital sales were attributed to same-day.
Target Department Performance Report
Data platform Analytic Index compiles Department Performance Reports on Target and other retailers. providing a holistic overview of major departments and information about sales, sponsored search, and organic search for each. To view a specific month's report, click on the link below:
- May 2023
- June 2023
- July 2023
- August 2023
- October 2023
- November 2023
- December 2023
- January 2024
- February 2024
- March 2024
- April 2024
Category Insights: Back to School. July-August 2023
Category Insights: Halloween Candy, October 2023
All stores now offer in-store online pickup (Order Pickup), curbside pickup (Drive Up) and same-day delivery via Shipt. Target continues to invest in its alternative fulfillment options to better serve shoppers. In 2023, the retailer is expanding its Drive Up Returns service, which allows shoppers initiate a return through the Target app and follow the Drive Up process to bring back most new, unopened items within 90 days. The retailer plans to implement Drive Up returns on a nationwide scale by the end of summer 2023. For the holiday season it plans to have 27,000 additional Drive Up stalls nationwide.
New stores also offer more space built into the front of the building dedicated to Order Pickup, and many store remodels include a dedicated entrance for Drive Up.
Target continues to invest in sortation centers. In early 2023, the retailer revealed plans to spend $100 million to add a minimum of six sorting facilities to its existing nine by the end of 2026.
These regional centers help to manage its online growth, enabling next-day shipping capability in dense markets and allowing the company to further scale its stores-as-hubs strategy, with stores fulfilling more than 95% of online orders. The retailer also opened one new distribution facility and six sortation centers in 2022 to support increased inventory flow to its stores.
Target is growing its next-day delivery capability via a new supply chain facility, the Target Last Mile Delivery (TLMD) extension. The first TLMD facility is in Smyrna, Georgia, where team members stage local, pre-sorted packages from the regional sortation center, readying them for pickup and next-day Shipt delivery. The Georgia extension expands the delivery capacity by nearly 500,000 customers, reaching more than 3 million in the Atlanta market.
In turn, the mass merchant is constantly growing the assortment of general merchandise it sells online. In addition to most of the items found in stores, the offering includes a complementary lineup with such options as extended sizes and colors.
![Target Drive Up](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/target_holiday-in-store_2021_13.jpg)
Order Pickup and Drive Up
More than 200,000 SKUs, ranging from home furnishings to perishable foods, are eligible for order pickup. In-store Pickup and Drive Up cost nearly 90% less on average than fulfilling from a warehouse, Target says, and the retailer’s Drive Up service saw sales grow more than 70% in 2021 on top of more than 600% gains in 2020.
Drive Up lets shoppers place an order within Target's mobile application, pull up to their local store the same day and have an employee bring out their order to their car. The service works in tandem with the retailer's mobile app to let shoppers receive order notifications, indicate when they are on their way to pick an order, share what Drive Up space they are in and present a unique code. Order Pickup lets shoppers place an order on Target.com or the retailer's app for in-store pickup. Both Drive Up and Order Pickup orders can be fulfilled within two hours and shoppers can switch between the fulfillment options in the mobile app.
Given Drive Up and Order Pickup’s rapid growth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the retailer has made several enhancements to the services:
- Backup Items: Shoppers can add backup grocery items to their order in case any products they choose are out of stock. The retailer continues to expand its backup item functionality in more categories with the recent addition of beauty and household essentials backup items. In the months since the option rolled out for food and beverage orders, Target teams have successfully substituted backup items 98% of the time.
- Alcohol Beverages: In 2021, Target added wine, beer and liquor via Order Pickup and Drive Up at more than 1,200 U.S. stores.
- Shopping Partner: A feature within Target.com and the mobile app that allows shoppers to send an alternate shopper to pick up their Drive Up or Order Pickup.
- Forgot Something: Shoppers can add more items after a Drive Up or Order Pickup order has been placed.
- Starbucks: In 2023, the retailer began giving shoppers the option to add a Starbucks order.
- Returns: The retailer is testing allowing shoppers to make a return via Drive Up using the Target app.
Delivery
The retailer adds free two-day shipping on hundreds of thousands of items with a $35 purchase or when paying with a REDcard.
Shipt
Same-Day Delivery is free with a Shipt membership or $9.99 delivery fee. Consumers can now also pick what store their Shipt Shopper shops at for a personalized experience. In 2021, Target also began offering wine, beer and liquor via same-day delivery with Shipt at more than 600 stores. In 2022, in order to attract lower-income shoppers, Target began letting shoppers use Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments to pay for online orders through Shipt as well as Drive Up and Order Pickup.
In 2022, Shipt also teamed with Walgreens and 7-Eleven, increasing the number of store locations available on its national marketplace by more than 40%. Shipt shoppers can now order thousands of over-the-counter medications, beauty, personal care, household, and convenience items from Walgreens, in addition to a range of snacks, drinks and household essentials from 7-Eleven. With these partnerships, Shipt now has more than 140 retail partnerships.
In 2023, Shipt launched LadderUp, an e-commerce accelerator program designed to train and mentor small grocers and retailers in five cities. The program set out to devote at least 50% of its efforts on businesses owned by LGBTQ+ people and people of color. Selected participants receive an eight-week training course and a $5,000 Shopify credit.
DoorDash
In 2022, Target’s grocery assortment became available on DoorDash in various major markets, including Cleveland; Atlanta; Louisville, Kentucky; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Seattle, while the two companies do not have an official partnership.
Instacart
Instacart has had no official partnership with Target since 2017 when the retailer acquired Shipt. Still, in select markets Intacart’s website offers Target grocery delivery.
Target +
In 2019, Target rolled out Target + (Target Plus), an invite-only, curated assortment of products from third-party sellers on Target.com. The initiative is designed to complement Target’s current assortment with SKU additions in popular areas like home, toys, electronics and sporting goods. In 2021, Target + grew its third party sellers 75%.
In 2024, Target teamed with Shopify to offer products on Target Plus. Companies that work with the global commerce platform can apply to join Target Plus via Shopify's Marketplace Connect app. Target will also offer select Shopify products in its physical stores.
Target Subscriptions
Target ended its online auto-replenishment service in late 2020 as more shoppers turned to same-day fulfillment services during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ThredUp
In 2022, Target again began a pilot selling on ThredUp, a second-hand apparel marketplace. The retailer launched a page on ThredUp.com that includes about 400,000 women’s and kids’ items from Target’s private labels as well as national and premium brands curated from ThredUp’s own assortment. For Target, the pilot is a way to explore how to better serve customers, including what products to carry and how to offer value, along with furthering its sustainability goals. Target launched — and then shut down — an approximate six-month test with ThredUp in 2015. The initial pilot allowed shoppers to get Target credit for gently used items that ThredUp was willing to resell.
SNAP
In 2022, shoppers became able to purchase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)-eligible grocery items on Target.com, and choose Drive Up and Order Pickup. The retailer plans to add a mobile payment option for orders on the Target app as well.
Circulars
![Target Black Friday Circular](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/target-weekly-ad-black-friday-2019.jpg)
Circulars and Publications
Target distributes a weekly, digital-only (since 2021) circular with Sunday-Saturday sales dates. The tabs often carry a seasonal or other overarching theme and highlight a mix of sales on single items as well as entire product categories. They almost never feature national brand promotions, but do regularly communicate account-specific incentives, such as offers for store gift cards with purchases.
Flipp, Toronto, powers the Target's digital circular.
The retailer frequently partners with packaged goods manufacturers for co-equity overlays to national co-op FSI programs. It also periodically runs circular wraps plugging retailer initiatives and account-specific incentives.
Target periodically delivers direct-mail coupon booklets, usually tied to a season such as back-to-school. During the holidays, the retailer also delivers coupons as part of a toy catalog.
The retailer has partnered with Time Inc.’s Sports Illustrated in support of the magazine’s annual swimsuit issue as the exclusive mass retailer advertiser and official marketing partner, but activity has waned.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty Programs
The Target Circle loyalty program launched in 2019 following an 18-month test in six cities.
The retailer revamped the membership program in early 2024, personalizing it and making it tiered:
Target Circle
Target Circle remains free to join. Members still get:
Target Circle Rewards and personalized deals,
exclusive partner perks such as free trials and access to reward programs, and
the opportunity to help influence which nonprofit receives donations from the mass merchant.
One notable change is that, in response to customer feedback, deals are automatically applied at checkout rather than a customer having to search for or clip digital coupons.
Target Circle Card
Formerly the Target RedCard, customers can apply for a Target Circle Card (available as a Target debit card, Target credit card, Target Mastercard or a reloadable Target Circle Card Account). Cardholders can use the card to get:
- 5% off virtually all purchases in-store and online,
- free two-day shipping on Target.com,
- access to exclusives such as gifts, offers and items, and
- an additional 30 days for most returns and exchanges.
Target Circle 360
Target Circle 360 is a paid membership with:
unlimited free same-day delivery on orders over $35, or free two-day shipping when using a Target Circle Card, and
access to preferred shoppers and the Shipt Marketplace, which offers same-day delivery from more than 100 retailers across the U.S.
An annual Target Circle 360 membership normally costs $99, but as part of the retailer's Circle Week promotions, for a limited time, Target is offering a one-year 360 membership for $49.
The retailer says it plans to build on the Target Circle membership via exclusive partnerships, experiences and products.
Also in 2024, Target let customers link their Target Circle and Ulta Beauty Rewards accounts, so Ulta Beauty at Target shoppers can earn points on their Ulta Beauty Rewards accounts, which count toward Ulta's tiered rewards status.
In 2021, Target Circle surpassed 100 million members. The retailer says the loyalty program has helped shoppers save nearly $2 billion through everyday discounts and directed $7 million to more than 2,500 local and nonprofit organizations.
In 2023, all Target Circle members were automatically enrolled in a holiday sweepstakes making them eligible to win a $500 shopping spree at Target stores and Target.com. Winners also received a free one-year Shipt membership. To kick off the contest, the retailer enlisted actress and singer Hilary Duff to surprise shoppers at a Los Angeles Target with $500 gift cards.
Private Label
Private Label
Target boasts nearly 50 private brands, spanning multiple categories including wine, food and beverage, apparel, home storage and furnishings, household essentials, baby and pet. The brands promise the elevated quality of a specialty store at a significantly lower price. The retailer has a globally aligned in-house sourcing operation and product design and development team that gives them leverage in terms of cost, speed, scale and QC.
The mass merchant has especially found success with its Cat & Jack, Up & Up, Threshold and Good & Gather private labels. Target’s own brands account for $30 billion in sales, according to February 2024 news release from the retailer, and its Up & Up generates nearly $3 billion annually. Cat & Jack's children's brand, which also gets about $3 billion in sales, is also being sold at Hudson's Bay Co. and TheBay.com. After a successful launch at the Canadian department store chain, Target plans to introduce new products there in 2025.
Launching new private labels has just become common practice at the retailer, rolling out more than 30 store brands in recent years — with approximately 10 brand launches or expansions in 2023 and more rollouts planned in 2024 — to try to differentiate itself from competitors and boost profitability. Among them:
![Brightroom](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/brightroombanner.jpg)
- Brightroom: A storage and home organization brand encompassing more than 450 products across bath, closet, decorative, kitchen and laundry.
- Dealworthy: Launched in early 2024, the brand includes nearly 400 SKUs, which are being introduced in stores and online throughout 2024 and early 2025. Dealworthy encompasses apparel & accessories, essentials & beauty, electronics and home items. Several items are priced at less than $1; most are priced under $10.
- Gigglescape: A toy line introduced in early 2024, with plush toys and spring-themed board books, with most of the line priced at $10 or less, and more toys, puzzles and games to follow.
- Kindfull: A line of more than 50 wet and dry foods, treats and meal toppers for cats and dogs that launched in 2021.
- All in Motion: An activewear line for women, men and kids.
- Good & Gather: Food and beverage line of clean label products that also includes premium line extensions Good & Gather Signature and Good & Gather Plant Based. Target most recently added Good & Gather Baby and Good & Gather Toddler to the line. It's the retailer's largest owned brand, with more than $3 billion in annual sales. Target plans to add more than 125 new items to the Good & Gather and Favorite Day brands in 2024.
- Favorite Day: A line of indulgence and celebration food and beverage items, such as bakery, snacks, candy, premium ice cream, cake decorating supplies, beverage mixers and mocktails.
- Mondo Llama: Arts and crafts items and kits for projects, such as painting a ceramic ladybug or turtle flower pot.
- Smartly: A 70-SKU line of home essentials and personal care catering to the budget-conscious and space-constrained shopper.
- Everspring: A line of 70 household SKUs, including laundry detergent, candles, hand soap, paper towels, dish soap, and essential oils, that are biobased or made with recycled materials or natural fibers.
- Pillowfort: A kids furniture collection comprising 1,200 stuffed animals, bedding sets, pillows, chairs, lamps and teepees.
- Cat & Jack: Kids' apparel.
- Heyday: The retailer's first private label electronics brand comprising more than 150 “super chic,” affordable electronics and tech accessories.
- Made By Design: Home and kitchen accessories encompassing more than 750 SKUs, such as towels, cooking utensils, glassware, plates and pots.
- A New Day: Women's apparel, shoes and accessories line.
- Art Class: A trend-focused apparel and accessories line designed for kids ages 4 to 12.
- More Than Magic: The retailer’s first beauty brand dedicated to tweens, includes items, such as face masks, manicure sets and bath bombs.
- Auden: A collection of bras and panities for women at any age.
- Original Use: A size-inclusive apparel and accessories line for young men.
- Opalhouse: An eclectic line of bold, colorful home furnishings.
![Open Story](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/open-story-2020_look-1.jpg)
- Open Story: A line of premium luggage, backpacks and accessories.
- Casaluna: A collection of more than 700 bedding and bath items made from natural and sustainable materials.
- Cloud Island: A collection of nursery decor, bedding, bath and layette.
- Colsie: Intimates, lounge and sleepwear apparel for women.
- Future Collective: Apparel and accessories from a rotating roster of style and cultural influencers.
- Universal Thread: A women's apparel and accessories brand that's centered on denim and size-inclusive (00-26W).
- Stars Above: A line of women’s sleepwear.
- Sun Squad: A seasonal brand comprising summer minded products, including bubbles, pool floats and sprinklers.
- Goodfellow & Co: A modern line of men’s apparel and accessories.
- Hearth & Hand with Magnolia: Exclusive home furnishings, apparel and lifestyle brand with a farmhouse aesthetic designed with Chip and Joanna Gaines, stars of the hit HGTV show Fixer Upper. Hyde & EEK! Boutique: Seasonal Halloween line includes decor, costumes and candy.
- Wild Fable: An apparel and accessories brand designed for young women.
- JoyLab: Street style-inspired women’s apparel brand.
- Kona Sol: Size-inclusive women’s swimwear and cover ups.
![target up and up 2024](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/public/2024-02/newupandup.png)
Other owned brands include:
- Market Pantry: A food and beverage line that boasts its products are 10% to 30% less expensive than its national counterparts.
- Up & Up: The line encompasses a wide range of assortment including office supplies, over-the-counter medications, household essentials and sunscreen. In 2024, Target expanded the brand, revamping the packaging to make products easier to identify and more sustainable. It also added hundreds of new SKUs, including pet items and food storage and reformulated 40% of existing products to meet new quality standards. New scents, for example, have been created for baby, household cleaning, bath and body, soap and other products. Target plans to keep adding Up & Up products throughout 2024 and into 2025.
- Ava & Viv: Women’s apparel that offers extended sizes (X-4X).
- Boots & Barkley: Apparel and accessory line for pets that includes pet beds, bowls, collars, leashes and toys.
- Project 62: Modern home decor and furniture.
- Room Essentials: A wide assortment of home storage, bedding, kitchen utensils, bathroom items and bedding. The line gets the spotlight during back-to-college season.
- Figmint: Target's first kitchen owned brand, featuring more than 250 items ranging from enameled cookware to kitchen gadgets. Designed to appeal to budget-conscious shoppers, prices begin at $3 and more than half of the SKUs are under $10.
- Shade & Shore: Women’s swimwear brand.
- Embark: A line of premium camping gear, includes shelters, sleeping bags, backpacks and camping chairs.
- Smith & Hawken: A line of outdoor furniture.
- Sonia Kashuk: A premium brand of cosmetic cases and makeup application tools.
- Spritz: Party supplies line, including gift bags, plates and decorations.
- Threshold: A homegoods line that refreshes multiple times throughout the year. Target recently has given the brand a major facelift.
- Wondershop: Seasonal, winter holiday items, such as tree trimming items, festive treats and pajamas.
- Xhilaration: Women’s swimwear and basics, including socks, hosiery and leggings.
Exclusive alcohol brands comprise:
- California Roots: A collection of $5 wines in six varietals.
- Casa Cantina: A line of pre-mixed cocktails.
- The Collection: California wines priced at $9.99 per bottle.
- Jingle & Mingle: Wines and sparkling wines.
- Open Skies: California wines prices at $7.99.
- Photograph: U.S. wines priced at $12.99.
- SunPop: Fruit-flavored wine line.
- Wine Cube: Boxed wine in 12 varietals. of wine packaged in boxes.
![Hearth & Hand with Magnolia](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/2017-11-05-target-champaign-il005_2.jpg)
In 2021, the retailer rolled out Target Forward (see Cause/Community Programs), a broad sustainability pledge that includes a call to have 100% of its store brand products be designed for a circular future within the next two decades — eliminating waste, leveraging regenerative and recycled materials, sourcing responsibly, and creating products that are durable that can be easily repaired or recycled. As a result, the retailer has launched several private labels, such as Everspring, Universal Thread and All in Motion, that use sustainably sourced or recycled materials.
Private labels and exclusive brands get heavy marketing support, including print and TV advertising, circular features, dedicated endcaps and signage. They are often presented alongside national-brand counterparts to underscore their price advantage. In stores, the retailer has also proved willing to experiment and take risks with its brands, driving innovation in design, packaging and promotional support and granting design partners significant creative freedom. (Hearth & Hand with Magnolia SKUs, for example, are stocked in vignettes at select stores comprising 12-foot-tall house-like structures. See image at right.)
In 2022, Target further partnered with actress and author Tabitha Brown to launch four exclusive, limited-time-only collections in-store and online called “Tabitha Brown for Target” that span apparel, swim and accessories items, home and office, food and kitchenware, and entertaining. Brown has been an influencer partner at Target for the past two years, and is known for her social media presence.
Cause/Community Programs
Cause/Community Programs
Since 1946, Target has given 5% of its profit to communities, donating millions of dollars a week. Among the wide variety of charitable causes and nonprofits the retailer supports:
- Feeding America: The retailer has supported the nonprofit since 2001, donating millions of pounds of food each year.
- Military & Veterans: Target has been a member of the Veteran Jobs Mission since 2014, hiring thousands of veterans and their spouses and offering benefits for activated reservists. The retailer has also donated more than $2 million to support active service members, veterans and their families through organizations, including the United Service Organizations and Operation Gratitude, and dangled 10% military appreciation discounts leading up to Veterans Day and July Fourth.
- St. Jude Children's Research Hospital: Target has raised millions of dollars to fund the hospital's research into childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases and operates Target House, a space where families can stay for free while their child undergoes treatment.
- Soccer: Target has partnered with the U.S. Soccer Foundation to create 100 new soccer fields in an effort to provide families a safe place to play. Each store and distribution center also provides a $1,000 grant each year to youth soccer programs to pay for equipment, training and coach development.
- Target Foundation: The organization has historically focused on helping underserved communities in the Twin Cities, but expanded its reach in 2019 to address widening socioeconomic gaps around the U.S. and world.
![Target Net Zero Store](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/net-zero-store_abv-header.png)
Target Forward
The retailer’s new sustainability strategy, Target Forward, aims to co-create an equitable and regenerative future with its shoppers, partners and communities. Through the initiative, Target says it will work to design and elevate sustainable brands, innovate to eliminate waste, and accelerate opportunity and equity. For example, in 2022 the retailer debuted its first net-zero energy store, operating with 1,620 solar rooftop panels and 1,820 solar carport panels along with an electric HVAC system and CO2 refrigeration. The Vista, California-store generates more renewable energy than needed each year to power operations, and is Target’s most sustainable store yet.
Target’s signature goals include:
- By 2025, Target plans for 100% of its owned brands, in addition to its owned brand limited-edition and brand partnerships, to adhere to Target’s already established sustainability standards, which include having a circular future by 2040. (See Private Label.)
- By 2025, the retailer plans for 100% of suppliers to have policies and programs to advance gender equity.
- By 2025, Target intends to reduce annual total virgin plastic in its owned brand packaging by 20%.
- By 2025, Target intends to have 100% of its owned brand plastic packaging be recyclable, compostable or reusable.
- By 2030, the retailer plans to be the market leader for creating and curating inclusive, sustainable brands and experiences.
- By 2030, Target plans to achieve zero waste to landfill in U.S. operations. With Target’s current recycling and composting programs, it already diverts more than 80% of its operational waste from landfill.
- By 2030, Target aims to build a team that equitably reflects the communities it serves, beginning with its commitment to increase Black employee representation across the company by 20% by 2023. (See Equity Action and Change committee below.)
- By 2040, Target commits to net zero greenhouse gas emissions across its enterprise (scopes 1, 2 and 3).
- By 2040, Target plans to be a net zero enterprise, which means no waste to landfill in its U.S. operations and net zero emissions across operations and supply chain.
- By 2040, the retailer plans to have CO2 refrigeration chain-wide.
In 2021, Target secured three new solar and wind energy contracts that, together with its existing partnerships, will let the company purchase nearly 50% of its electricity from renewable sources. The retailer also ranked No. 8 on Clean Energy Buyer Association’s 2021 Deal Tracker Top 10, recognizing Target’s progress toward its 2030 goal to source 100% of its electricity for its operations from renewable sources. The retailer also currently has 542 solar rooftop installations in operation at stores.
Reusable and Returnable Bags Pilot
In 2023, the retailer joined a Bring Your Own Bag pilot through the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag initiative, managed by Closed Loop Partners. Signage, marketing and customer prompts about reusable bags are being used in Denver and Tucson, Arizona-area stores.
Target also is taking part in a Returnable Bag Pilot at select New Jersey locations. Customers will have the opportunity to purchase a bag a checkout, which they can later return at participating stores to get their $1 deposit back.
Equity Action and Change
Following the murder of George Floyd by police in Target’s home city of Minneapolis in 2020, Target formed a Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) committee to further its diversity, equity and inclusion strategy for its Black employees and shoppers. The retailer’s strides in social justice include:
- Committing to spend more than $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025. In 2021, Target increased investments by more than 50% compared to 2020. The retailer has partnered with Bridgeforth Farms, one of the 1.5% of U.S. farms that are Black-owned, as part of this commitment to have its sustainably grown cotton go into the production of a selection of exclusive Black History Month shirts at the retailer;
- Adding products from more than 500 Black-owned brands. Currently, the retailer offers more than 100 black-owned brands;
- Launching Forward Founders accelerator program and completing two classes, supporting more than 30 Black entrepreneurs with additional classes planned;
- Launching Target Scholars program for 1,000 students attending historically Black colleges and universities;
- Spending 5% of its annual media budget with Black-owned publishers. Currently it has invested four times more with Black-owned media partners and doubled the amount of Black-owned partners since 2020;
- Joining the OneTen coalition to train, hire and advance 1 million Black Americans in the Twin Cities. Additionally, the retailer and the Target Foundation committed $10 million in 2020 to support rapid relief and rebuilding, to address inequality in Minneapolis and to affect long-term change through national social justice initiatives;
- Investing $100 million through 2025 to help fuel economic prosperity in Black communities across the country; and
- Launching the new Roundel Media Fund in 2022 to provide more than $25 million to diverse-owned companies, and has already offered grants to more than 50 recipients.
Sensory-Friendly Shopping
At various times during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday seasons, some Target locations offer sensory-friendly shopping times to make the experience more inclusive for its neuro-divergent customers.
Advertising Strategy
Advertising Strategy
Tagline: Expect More. Pay Less.
Target blends aspiration with practicality, using its longstanding tagline to underscore the "cheap chic" personality it has established.
The retailer devotes the majority of its advertising budget to TV spots and print ads. Through its merchandise mix and marketing messages, Target aims to connect with consumers on an emotional level. The retailer is renowned for its slick, energetic ads and takes an integrated approach to media, with campaigns often reaching across TV and print to in-store and digital.
Target's “Target Run, and Done” campaign — a spinoff of the “Target Run” campaign that had reigned for nearly a decade — launched a few years ago to both value and convenience while continuing to spotlight fill-in trips for essentials from both national brands and private labels. TV ads in 2021 and 2022 continued to spotlight national brands and private labels, but ended with communicating a "what we value most, shouldn't cost more" message. Target says the tagline is a sentiment that aligns with the chain's "Expect more. Pay Less." promise.
It continues to drive home that message of being a special place, including a May 2024 campaign where one experiences "That Target Feeling" as they shop. The spot is set to a reimagined version of Michelle Branch's 2001 song, "Everywhere," and features customers happily shopping for a mix of national and private label brands. The campaign is running on digital, audio, social, streaming and other channels.
Given Target’s affinity for innovation, the retailer has often used non-traditional advertising to plug proprietary brands and exclusive collections, such as promoting apparel collections in annual fashion shows and playing with retail concepts such as pop-up shops to showcase its private labels and design partnerships. Target staged a pop-up shop for the roll out of its exclusive collection from Vineyard Vines in 2019. The retailer paused events like these during the COVID-19 pandemic.
For the 2023 holidays, Target launched a "However You Holiday, Do It For Less" campaign, which included in-store activations, a traveling winter wonderland pop-up, and virtual 360-degree shoppable experiences on Target.com. As a proverbial cherry on top, the retailer went experiential at the Sphere in Las Vegas, with an outdoor "snowglobe" depicting an 11-story Target and a six-and-a-half story Bullseye dog mascot.
Leading into its April 2024 Circle Week and to help promote its revamped loyalty program, Target launched a campaign featuring actress Kristen Wiig as her "Saturday Night Live" character, the Target Lady. The campaign includes 12 spots that are running on TV, digital, video, social and Target.com.
In the past, Target has experimented with integrating itself naturally into TV shows, including TBS comedy "Cougar Town" and NBC's "Superstore."
Solution Providers
Solution Providers
- Target runs its own in-house creative agency, dubbed Roundel.
- Advertising: BBDO North America, New York
- Creative: Mother, New York, and Partners & Spade, New York, Los Angeles
- Creative, Grocery & Food: Mono, Minneapolis
- Store Design/Visual Merchandising: Fame, Minneapolis
- Spanish Advertising: Third Ear, Austin, Texas
- Designer Collaborations: Culture & Commerce, New York, serves as a liaison
- Loyalty Data Analytics: IRI, Chicago
- LED Lighting: Acuity Brands, Atlanta
- Product sampling: The Sunflower Group, Lenexa, Kansas
- Media planning and buying: GroupM, an agency in Team Arrow Partners, Minneapolis (part of WPP's GroupM)
- Digital circular: Flipp, Toronto
- Affiliate marketing: Impact Radius, Santa Barbara, California
- Omnichannel retail service agency: Bluebird Group, Minneapolis
- Demand Side Platforms (DSP) for Roundel: Index Exchange
- Supply-side tech for Roundel: Criteo, Paris, France
- Demand-side tech for Roundel: Criteo, Paris, France, and CitrusAds, Melbourne, Australia
- Coverings for conveyor belts: Handstand Innovations LLC, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Sponsorships
Sponsorships
Target has long embraced sponsorship as a marketing medium. The retailer sponsors a range of organizations, events and athletes:
- Major League and U.S. Youth Soccer: The retailer's newest sponsorship agreements are with Major League Soccer (MLS), U.S. Youth Soccer and one of MLS’ newest clubs, the Minnesota United FC. The three-year partnership with MLS includes broadcast advertising on Univision, Fox Sports and ESPN as well as in-stadium signage. At the store level, sales of soccer-connected merchandise climbed 15% in 2016, the fastest-growing sub-category within Target’s sporting goods business.
- Minnesota Timberwolves: Target has had sole naming rights for the Target Center since the building opened more than 30 years ago.
- Minnesota Twins: Target has a 25-year naming rights contract for Target Field lasting through 2033.
- The Billboard Latin Music Awards: Target signed on as official sponsor for the awards property over a decade ago.
- Essence Festival of Culture: In 2022, Target entered a multiyear partnership with Essence, a media, tech and commerce-company known for empowering Black women, and started it with the sponsorship of Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans. The partnership with Essence also furthers Target’s Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) commitments. (See Cause/Community Programs.)
- Target USA Cup: Billed as the “largest youth soccer tournament in North America,” the program hosts more than 1,200 teams from around the world, who travel to Minnesota to compete and socialize.
Target has also been involved with the Oscars, Grammys and Emmys, as well as various theater and art venues.
When it announced its soccer sponsorships in 2017, Target said it would push the sport by partnering with a number of its leading vendors, including Kimberly-Clark, GlaxoSmithKline, Hershey Co.'s flagship, Procter & Gamble's Tide and Venus, and Unilever's Dove and Degree. (See "Collaborative Alliances.")
Marketing Expenditures
Marketing Expenditures
Advertising costs primarily consist of digital advertisements and media broadcast. The company’s net advertising costs have remained steady during the past five years, and were $1.4 billion in 2023; $1.5 billion in fiscal 2022, 2021 and 2020; $1.6 billion in fiscal 2019; and $1.5 billion in fiscal 2018.
![Target](https://assets1.p2pi.com/s3fs-public/styles/hero/s3/2022-07/target_logo.png)
Target Promotional Calendar
A roundup of seasonal promotions.
January
- New Year: Digital, in-store and circular activity spotlights fitness equipment, apparel, accessories, and good-for-you packaged food. Also, SKUs to help with storage and organization.
- Super Bowl: Circular and digital/social activity leading up to the game highlights deals on party necessities, from TVs to snacks. In stores, “Big Game” in-line displays stock snacks and beverages from various brands, and manufacturers activating their NFL sponsorships sometimes receive secondary merchandising space.
- Black History Month: Digital activity and in-store displays spotlight a cross-category collection of SKUs from Black creators or founders. In 2024, store displays highlighted creators of today and tomorrow. featuring apparel, music, journals, books and more.
- Valentine's Day: A takeover of the seasonal department includes rolling racks and endcap displays stocking confectionery from private label Favorite Day as well as seasonal items and exclusives from national brands. Elsewhere in stores, endcap and table displays spotlight themed housewares, greeting cards, and sparkling beverages. Social media updates present supplies for "date ideas,” while weekly circulars plug deals on themed items including apparel.
- Book Club: Monthly picks in fiction, young adult fiction, and children's books. Sometimes the retailer has exclusive editions.
February
- St. Patrick’s Day: An in-store spotlight on greeting cards and other themed merchandise.
- Spring Sale: For 2024, four days of deals on clothing, shoes, bedding, bath and more.
- Super Bowl: Deals on snacks, drinks and other party staples with suggestions for themed spreads. In 2024, Olympian Shawn Johnson shared tips for entertaining; social media activity supported.
- Spring Break: Sales on clothing, accessories, luggage and other travel essentials.
- Easter: Stores, newsletters highlight Easter essentials (depending on when holiday falls on the calendar).
- Black History Month
- Valentine’s Day
- Book Club
March
- Easter: Rolling racks and endcap displays stock exclusive products in the seasonal department. Displays elsewhere in stores plug related items such as greeting cards. Circular features support. In 2024, Target advertised a six-course Easter meal that serves four and costs less than $25. It also highlighted Easter basket goodies, crafts and clothing.
- March Madness: Themed CPG promotions in stores and online, typically from NCAA sponsors.
- Lawn & Garden: Merchandising program in the seasonal department spotlights patio furniture in addition to typical lawn care items.
- Spring Cleaning: Household brands tapped for circular and display activity, often involving exclusive promotions.
- Spring: Target Live streaming events focus on a variety of household SKUs for a “home refresh” while social media posts highlight seasonal footwear and accessories. In 2024, the retailer held a sale with discounts on warm weather clothing and swimwear, home & patio and children's toys & games.
- Women's History Month: Spotlight on female creators and women-owned brands and limited-time assortment online and in stores.
- Dr. Seuss Celebration: Merchandising program celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday month and promoting his books.
- Mario Day: Celebrated March 10 (because "Mar 10" resembles Mario), deals on Nintendo games, consoles, toys and more SKUs from the Mario universe.
- 21 Days of Beauty: Three weeks of deals via Ulta, with select higher-end cosmetic and skincare items marked down 50% for one day only.
- Festival Finds: Clothing, accessories, skincare and cosmetics for music festival season.
- St. Patrick's Day
- Spring Break
- Book Club
April
- Circle Week: Thousands of deals on clothing, accessories, beauty, haircare, skincare, bedding and bath, toys and more, for loyalty program members.
- Allergies: Dedicated endcaps in the pharmacy department spotlight relevant OTC products; digital and circular activity supports.
- Earth Month: In-store dump bins facilitate a car-seat recycling program while social media posts spotlight the Target Zero curated collection of sustainable products. Circulars and in-store activity occasionally spotlight green SKUs.
- National Pet Day: Social media posts link to pet treats from various brands.
- Spring: Social media posts incorporate deals on outdoor furniture and other patio items while continuing to highlight spring fashion. Weekly circulars support.
- May the 4th: Lead-in to May 4's Star Wars Day, with product (like Lego building sets) to support.
- Car Seat Trade-in: In 2023, the retailer offered a discount on select baby items to Circle members who recycled their old children's car seat.
- Easter
- March Madness
- Spring Cleaning
- Festival Finds
- Book Club
May
- National Pet Month: Spotlight on pet treats, toys and accessories on Target.com.
- Mother’s Day: Spotlight on gift ideas via seasonal signage, social media, circulars and a Target.com hub.
- Summer: Season-long merchandising program focuses on seasonal private label line Sun Squad as well as relevant products storewide. Social media “kick off” posts and circular features spotlight deals on apparel, games, confectionery and other summer “must-haves."
- Asian-American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month: Highlights Asian founders and creators along with their respective products and businesses online.
- Pride: Begins lead-in to Pride Month with a seasonal Target.com showcase and limited-time collections, and displays in select stores spotlight rainbow-adorned apparel and accessories under a "Take Pride" message.
- Graduation: Emails, circulars and stores begin giving space to graduation gift ideas and party favors.
- May the 4th
- Book Club
June
- Father’s Day: Focus on gift ideas from national brands via on-platform ads, circular features and seasonal signage. Circular features plug deals on everything from father-themed books to outdoor cooking equipment.
- Pride Month: A seasonal Target.com showcase and displays in select stores spotlight rainbow-adorned apparel and accessories under a "Take Pride" message.
- Summer: A takeover in the seasonal department, plenty of on-platform ads and Target Live streaming events tout toys, skin care SKUs and patio furnishings from private label and national brands. In 2022, Unilever ran a beach-themed digital program highlighting multiple personal care brands.
- Back to College: Dorm room inspiration with suggestions from partners at Pinterest.
- Book Club
- Graduation
July
- Summer: Seasonal social media posts continue, often highlighting private label items.
- Back to College: A broad program with a focus on electronics and dorm-room furnishings employs a strong digital component.
- Back to School: A corresponding program puts a greater emphasis on a bulked-up inventory of apparel, accessories and stationery.
- Circle Week: Seven days of savings on Target-exclusive as well as national brands, available to Target Circle members, with a focus on summer and back-to-school essentials. In 2024, during Circle Week, people can sign up for the new paid subscription program, Target Circle 360, for $49 instead of the regular $99.
- Deal Days: Three days of savings on hundreds of thousands of items exclusively on Target.com and the Target mobile app. Several posts on social media starting in late June plug the event, which began as a way to indirectly compete with Amazon's Prime Day sale.
- Book Club
August
- Football: Football-themed displays from manufacturers, including NFL sponsor PepsiCo, earn secondary merchandising space.
- Back to School: Seasonal department is transformed into a Back to School shop. Displays throughout the store tie in to the season with BTS styles in apparel and relevant books highlighted elsewhere, for example. Circular features plug deals on school supplies, T-shirts and other clothing. Social media updates plug back-to-school clothing deals, school supplies and lunch accessories; home storage and organizational systems; and teacher supplies and classroom decorations available online and in-store.
- Fall: In-store rolling racks tout treats such as cookies and candy corn and other products in seasonal flavors, and fall decor gets the spotlight in the home furnishings department. Social media posts tout “new season, new blankets” from private label Threshold and seasonal items such as pumpkin spice-flavored coffee from private label Good & Gather.
- Book Club
- Back to College
September
- Football/Tailgating: Continues with a typical emphasis on TVs and electronics.
- Halloween/Day of the Dead: A Halloween takeover in the seasonal department boasts plenty of product exclusives and recently expanded to include items to celebrate Day of the Dead/Dia de Muertos. Activity also includes endcaps stocking themed pet supplies from Bark, as well as social media posts highlighting recipes (usually brand-agnostic but sometimes specifying private label products) and deals on costumes for children and pets.
- Latino Heritage Month: Highlighting Latino businesses and products.
- Fall: Heralds a seasonal collection of apparel and accessories from select designer partners. Social media posts and circular features spotlight apparel and typical autumnal items.
- Baby Month: A month of deals on toys, diapers, wipes, monitors and more. Shoppers can earn a Target gift card for reaching a minimum spend on qualifying products.
- Back to College
- Back to School
- Book Club
October
- Cold & Flu: Co-equity FSIs spotlight OTC products. A push for in-store flu vaccinations is typically supported with signage and a $5 store gift card incentive.
- Deal Days: What was first staged in the summer as an online-only sales event to compete with Amazon's Prime Day spun off to also serve as Target's unofficial kickoff to the holiday season.
- Funko Fridays: Each week, the retailer releases clues and reveals Target-exclusive Funko toys pre-orders.
- Halloween/Day of the Dead
- Latino Heritage Month
- Book Club
November
- Thanksgiving: In-store and print spotlight on fresh and frozen food, and packaged goods.
- Holiday: A steady onslaught of sales events with toys, electronics and exclusive packaged goods receiving the main focus. Email blasts, on-platform ads, social media activity and circular features support, often highlighting the retailer's “Holiday Price Match Guarantee.”
- Cyber Week: Week-long savings on target.com.
- Hanukkah: A spotlight on themed items in stores and online.
- Funko Fridays
- Book Club
December
- Green Monday: Observed on the second Monday in December with savings on target.com.
- Holiday: In addition to gift ideas and sales, Target begins promoting holiday storage items, typically right after Christmas, plus games, movies, snacks and adult beverages for New Year's Eve. The Target Clearance Run begins December 26, with savings in-store, online and via the app on clothing, shoes, toys, beauty and more.
- Book Club