The American Retail Co. Target is coming up with its advanced loyalty program named ‘Target Circle 360’. The major reason behind the initiation of such an incentive is to boost sales as the past few quarters experienced slow growth due to inflation.
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Target Corporation, the American retail corporation that operates a chain of discount department stores and hypermarkets decided to launch its own paid membership program to attract new customers and convert its existing customer base into loyal customers. This program will be initiated from next month onwards to boost revenue and market share as consumers remain cautious about spending.
The new program has been named ‘Target Circle 360’ and is going to compete against popular sales strategies like Walmart Plus and Amazon Prime of renowned brands. Target Corporation added several upgrades to its existing Circle program and its Circle credit card.
The Target Circle 360 agenda aims to offer the following advantages to its subscribers:
- With Target 360, members will get free two-day shipping.
- the ability to deliver it to their door, or someone else’s.
- get same-day delivery from Target’s delivery service, Shipt, and its retail partners, for orders over $35.
- They will be delivered in as little as an hour with no delivery fees, according to the company.
From April 7 through May 18, new members can sign up for Target Circle 360 for $49 for the first year before it jumps up to $99 annually. Target Circle cardholders will get the service for $49 annually.
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Anything from “from groceries to household essentials to the newest must-have item with no additional fees, no markups, and support from a preferred shopper,” said Cara Sylvester, Target’s chief guest experience officer.
“The paid membership is one of the innovations the company is rolling out as part of its roadmap for growth aimed at meeting consumers where they are, reigniting sales, traffic, and market share gains, and positioning Target for profitable growth in 2024,” CEO Brian Cornell said in a press release.
Target Corporation also plans to enhance its free Circle rewards program alongside this. According to Sylvester, deals will now be added to a customer’s cart immediately at checkout, saving them from having to look for and add offers. “They’ll continue to receive partner perks with Ulta Beauty and Apple, and even more rewards through personalized bonuses based on their shopping behavior,” she stated.
Contents of the free Circle rewards program and Circle credit card include:
- Automatic deals at checkouts
- Receive partner perks from Ulta Beauty, and Apple.
- Target Circle credit card holders will get an extra 5% on each trip on top of the savings they receive as Target Circle members.
- They will also get free two-day shipping and an extra 30 days to return an item.
The prominent reason behind such modifications in the promotional strategies is that sales at its stores open for at least a year declined 4.4% in the fourth quarter as consumers fought persisting inflation. Compared to the previous quarter’s 6% reduction, online sales decreased by 0.7%. The company expects same-store sales to decline between 3% and 5% in the first quarter.
“The company is still “planning cautiously” heading into 2024, given the consumer spending patterns the company has seen over the past two years. More specifically, on the discretionary side of our business, even as we have seen improving trends over the last two quarters, overall demand remains soft,” stated Michael Fiddelke, Target’s CFO and COO.