During its financial community meeting March 4, Target Corp. outlined how ongoing investments aim to accelerate its strategic plan and drive billions of dollars of sales growth across its multi-channel business by 2030.
The plans include:
- Bringing consumers an on-trend and affordable assortment;
- Reinforcing Target as the “destination for discovery” by blending its physical, digital and social commerce shopping experiences; and
- Increasing ease, reliability and speed by investing in supply chain and fulfillment capabilities and rewarding guests for choosing Target through Target Circle benefits.
“Shoppers continue to seek differentiated options and distinctive shopping experiences without sacrificing value, and Target has the scale, strategy and capabilities to support all the ways consumers shop and engage with brands,” said Brian Cornell, Target chair and CEO.
“With gains in consumer traffic, continuing improvements in speed and reliability, and accelerating growth across digital capabilities, we are doubling down on initiatives that scale these capabilities and drive meaningful top-line and bottom-line growth.”
On-trend newness and value
Target will offer more newness, quality and relevance across its product assortment. Investments will aim to build momentum in the retailer’s core discretionary categories and accelerate growth in frequency categories.
Target’s strategic plans include:
- Reimagining key categories – Beginning in 2025, a multi-year initiative will build momentum in product categories with growth potential. For example, a reinvention in gaming, sports and toys will offer expanded assortments and an enhanced in-store experience that will strengthen Target’s position as a gaming destination. The retailer is also refreshing its home assortment by adding more to brands such as Hearth & Hand with Magnolia and Threshold designed with Studio McGee.
- Owned brand innovation – To spur further growth in frequency categories, Target will launch a new series of Good & Gather Collabs with celebrity chefs, kicking off March 9 with James Beard Award-winner Chef Ann Kim. More owned-brand “newness” — including up&up and other essentials-brand expansions, 600 new food and beverage items across Good & Gather and Favorite Day and a refresh in Boots & Barkley pet supplies — will bring consumers a wider range of affordable options.
- New partnerships – Target will offer more of its brand partnerships across the assortment, including recently announced collections with Champion and Disney, as well as shop-in-shops with Warby Parker.
- Newness in beauty – Target’s evolution in the beauty category continued in February with the introduction of more than 45 new beauty brands and 2,000 new items, with 90 percent priced under $20, with more to come in the year ahead.
Designing for discovery
Target continues to invest to enhance the digital experience and redefine omnichannel shopping by blending its social, digital and in-store experiences. Plans for 2025 and beyond include:
- Elevating shopping with technology – The retailer will innovate with search, social and data-driven personalization. That includes enhancing solutions powered by artificial intelligence (AI) that offer more relevant product recommendations, optimize search results and integrate with social media trends.
- Inspiring discovery across digital platforms – In service of growing its interconnected digital ecosystem, Target plans to expand the size of its Target Plus marketplace. It aims to grow those third-party digital sales from about $1 billion in 2024 to more than $5 billion in 2030. It also plans to double the size of its in-house media company Roundel by 2030, which drove more than $2 billion in value last year. To continue its profitable growth, the retailer plans to create even more personalized connections, grow its base of vendor partners with hundreds more each year, and further integrate within Target Plus and the Target Circle loyalty program.
Delivering reliability and rewards
The retailer will also invest across its stores and supply chain network to reach more consumers and get products to them faster — whenever, wherever and however they choose to shop — while rewarding guests for choosing Target.
Target’s strategic plans include:
- New stores and remodels – Through its ongoing effort to add more than 300 stores over 10 years, Target plans to open around 20 new stores, the majority large formats and invest to remodel many more across the country in 2025. Physical stores offer the space and flexibility to incorporate the best of Target’s shopping experience while powering more efficient fulfillment operations and fueling digital growth as part of the company’s stores-as-hubs model.
- Supply chain evolution – Updates and expansions across the company’s supply chain network will move inventory with enhanced speed, accuracy and efficiency. That includes modernizing the company’s core inventory management system with AI-powered technology solutions that will improve reliability and reduce out-of-stocks. The company is also implementing several new package delivery solutions, leveraging existing stores and supply chain assets and its Shipt capability, to further improve delivery speed to consumers.
- New Target Circle benefits – More than 13 million members joined the Target Circle loyalty program in 2024. Following its relaunch in April, Target aims to triple its Target Circle 360 membership base over the next three years through new perks, benefits and other enhancements. This includes plans for a partnership with Marriott Bonvoy to make traveling even easier and more rewarding for Target Circle 360 members.
- Enhancing same-day services – Target’s same-day services were its fastest-growing mode of shopping in 2024, driven by growth from same-day delivery powered by Target Circle 360. The retailer aims to accelerate these services’ growth in 2025 and beyond by improving awareness and ease of same-day delivery throughout the shopping journey and adding new enhancements to make the Drive Up and Returns experiences even more convenient.
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