Target would really, really like to increase its grocery sales, but the habits of its own customers are in the way. Target shoppers simply aren’t in the store often enough to make it their grocery provider. Maybe some new changes will help change that, as Target tries the wacky idea of assigning some employees to the grocery department to keep it stocked and functional. [More]
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Why Does My Amazon Order Have A Walmart Or Target Shipping Order Inside?
By 9.1.16
It doesn’t happen a lot, especially if you’re an Amazon Prime member, but occasionally if you order an item from an Amazon third-party seller you might end up with an item shipped in a Target box, or containing a shipping receipt from Walmart. It’s not illegal or a scam, but it probably means you paid more than you should have. [More]
When Do Identical Products Have Two Different Prices At The Same Store? When They’re Sold At Target, Obviously
By 8.24.16
Target’s pricing and labeling incompetence is so legendary that we now use the term “Target Math” to describe a situation where any retailer baffles customers by, for example, advertising a “sale” that is more expensive than the everyday price, or where percentages are irrelevant, or when the economy of buying in bulk is turned on its ear. The latest fuzzy math from Target involves charging two different prices for identical items, including infant ibuprofen and acetaminophen. [More]
Where Did The Target Prescription Bottles Everyone Loves So Much Come From, Anyway?
By 8.24.16
We didn’t realize how much affection consumers had for Target’s ClearRX prescription bottling system until the bottles went away after CVS purchased Target’s pharmacies. Maybe customers themselves didn’t realize how attached they were to those bottles until they were consigned to memory, but with the CVS takeover of Target’s pharmacy business, they’re now gone. Why are people so attached to a prescription bottle, though? [More]
Customers: CVS Takeover Erased Everything Good About Target Pharmacies
By 8.23.16
One of the reasons that Target gave for its poor performance during a recent earnings call was that stores may have lost some foot traffic because of “some disruptions” when the discount store sold its pharmacy business to CVS. We wondered what that meant, and asked if readers had experienced those “disruptions.” They had, but the bigger problem is something that Target’s executives may not have realized: people filled prescriptions there because they liked things that Target did differently. [More]
Half-Finished Hollywood Target Stuck In Legal Limbo For Years
By 8.22.16
For nearly two years, the corner of Sunset Blvd. and Western Ave. in Hollywood has been home to the shell of a partially finished, three-story Target store. Thanks to an ongoing legal back-and-forth between the city, neighborhood groups, and the retailer, it could be another three years before construction resumes.
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If You Bought Egyptian Cotton Sheets From Target, You Might Be Getting A Refund
By 8.19.16
Target is breaking up with one of the world’s biggest textile manufacturers, claiming that the company was sending it sheets labeled as “Egyptian cotton” that were actually made with cotton of the non-Egyptian sort. That means refunds for customers who bought the bedding in question. [More]
Target Will Have Private Bathrooms In All Stores By Next Year
By 8.17.16
One fact that was lost in the reaction to Target’s April 2016 announcement that customers could use bathrooms and fitting rooms of the genders they identify with is that many Target locations already have single-occupancy restrooms available for customers, meaning the gender and genetics of the person using the toilet doesn’t matter because they are the only person in the room. Today, the retailer said it will spend $20 million to make sure that this option is soon available in all 1,800 Target locations. [More]
Target Sales Are Down Because Customers Are Fixing Up Their Homes Instead
By 8.17.16
Target’s first comparable stores sales decrease in two years is partly due to the retailer’s problems with actually selling groceries, but the drop also reflects problems with the national retail landscape as a whole. Target expected sales to increase slightly, but instead, Americans are apparently paying for experiences rather than stuff, heading to buy clothes at off-price stores, and buying supplies to remodel our homes. [More]
Two Reasons Target Is Having Trouble Selling Groceries
By 8.15.16
Following the crash of the housing market nearly ten years ago, some big box stores that had previously only dabbled in groceries started to give over more floor space to fresh and frozen foods. Walmart shoppers took to the idea of buying their food in the same store they purchase their TV, cleaning supplies, underwear, sporting goods, and just about anything else. Across the parking lot at Target, things aren’t as rosy. [More]
Retailers Trying To Lure College Customers Now So They’ll Become Lifelong Shoppers
By 8.12.16
Often when a shopper is loyal to a brand, product, or company, it’s simply because they have a long history with it. That’s why retailers are trying to hook college-age students now — even before full-time jobs bring them a disposable income — in the hopes that they’ll become lifelong shoppers. [More]
Turmeric Sold At Target, Big Lots, Supermarkets Recalled For Possible Lead
By 8.9.16
Turmeric is a spice that’s essential in South Asian Cuisine, and sometimes also used to make foods look more yellow or orange. If you’ve bought a jar of turmeric recently, heads up: bulk turmeric from distributor Gel Spice, Inc. that was repackaged under multiple brand names, including bottles sold at national retailers like Big Lots and Target, has been recalled because it may be contaminated with lead. [More]
Target To Sell Amazon Devices Again
By 8.4.16
Once upon a time, you could go into a Target store and purchase an Amazon Kindle or a Fire tablet. Then a spat between the two companies led to Amazon products vanishing from Target shelves and its website. Looks like the two have kissed and made up, with Amazon items making their return after four years away. [More]
There’s Now A Card Version Of “The Oregon Trail”
By 7.29.16
Until just a few years ago — when The Internet Archive brought the game to most current browsers — the only way to relive your virtually Typhoid-filled childhood traversing The Oregon Trail was to hook up that ancient computer still stored in your parent’s basement. Now, you don’t even need a computer, or any electronic device, as there’s a tabletop game. [More]
Target Ends Sponsorship Of IndyCar Team, Keeps NASCAR Team Deal For Now
By 7.28.16
Discount chain Target has sponsored an IndyCar team for 27 years, one of the longest-running such sponsorships in all of sports. While it’s weird to see drivers with literal bullseyes on their backs, the partnership with Chip Ganassi Racing has led to lots of publicity and lots of wins. However, Target announced that it will end at the end of this season. [More]
Target, United Healthcare Tap Millennials To “Mentor” Veteran Workers
By 7.25.16
It’s not uncommon when starting a new job to be assigned a mentor to help you learn the ropes. But when it comes to reaching and selling to the highly-coveted millennial market, the roles are being reversed.
Target Makes Changes To Coupon Policy
By 7.11.16
Have you ever had trouble using a coupon at the Target checkout line, only to have the cashier work some keyboard magic to get you the discount? Expect to see less of this after the retailer’s latest update to its checkout system.
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Target And CVS Still Not Really Sure How Sales Work
By 7.7.16
When retail pricing defies common sense, that’s what we call Target Math. Sometimes it’s putting an item on sale for more than the original price, and sometimes it’s making items cost more per unit to buy in bulk than to buy just a few. They aren’t exclusive to Target, but for some reason these errors happen very often there. Here are some examples, which aren’t all from Target. Most of them are, though. [More]
