Archived red card conversion rates

[Rock Lobster]

Today the guest I was asking about a RC started telling me about the bogus charges on her card when we got hacked & the guest behind her joined in and started talking about how her card was hacked. Two in a row? Come on! While I was ringing up the woman behind those two (yep, she heard every word) crickets.

Sometimes guests try and tell me that, and I always say "Well you are the first reported incident of a Target Debit Card getting hacked, because there has not been one yet."

 

[neversaynever]

I'm sooooo looking forward to going back to work tomorrow after vacation.....

Not.

 

[BullseyeBabe]

I'm tired of the jokes too.

 

[Rock Lobster]

Conversion is going up to 3.5 in August, so I wouldn't be surprised to see them shove that further...it'll be a great way to cut raises at all levels when stores and districts can't meet it. Ahh, if only I cared right now...

I know our penetration rate is running just above 25% right now.

I think it is harder the lower your penetration rate is... Our store only got comfortable pushing conversion about 3 years ago, and went from a 15% Penetration to about a 40% as of most recent. It took a few years to get it there, but it makes conversion less lofty.

 

[ChangeRequest]

My store has barely been trending above 1% - 1.5% with a store goal of 3.0% and a district goal of 2.5%.

If they want us to reach 3.5% or even 5% for conversion they better be adding new benefits and cutting the high interest rates. We are lucky to even get 15 REDCards during the week; our prompts are in the 800s. *sigh* I'm over this, hell I'm pretty sure I'll be coached tomorrow for not "inspiring my team" to get REDCards.

 

[redandkhaki]

you have to keep pushing. Our store was terrible 2 years ago and we have totally turned it around. It takes a lot of effort, hard work, frustration, but keep trying and you will get it there! Like Rock Lobster said, our penetration is higher than most of the other stores you guys are talking about and it seems as though our prompts are much lower which helps our conversion. Keep pushing and you will get it there!

 

[Target Muppet]

I'm order to stay green you need at least 6 red cards per 100 prompts on average we get 400 prompts per day ands means we need at least 24 per day. We need at least 168 red card per week and this is the first time we have hit green since I've been there( I have been there for 2 years). It seemed impossible but I just reset expectations and it seems to be going well.

 

[sigma7]

One of the biggest obstacles is cashiers not asking everyone. The next is the individual pitch. You might be surprised at how many cashiers/backup aren't asking about REDcards. And then when they do it's something like, "Want to open a card and save 5%?"

 

[copycopy]

I think it works out to 1 per every 15 promps will give you 3.5%. Today I heard we are getting upped to 6%. Honestly, if we cannot offer real incentives or coach off weekly conversion results, I'm not quite sure how this is going to happen.

 

[Rock Lobster]

I'm order to stay green you need at least 6 red cards per 100 prompts on average we get 400 prompts per day ands means we need at least 24 per day. We need at least 168 red card per week and this is the first time we have hit green since I've been there( I have been there for 2 years). It seemed impossible but I just reset expectations and it seems to be going well.

You must be a high volume store with nobody using REDcards, because 400 in a day consistently is outrageous. Like I said we are about at 40% for penetration and average about a prompt for every thousand dollars. So to be above the goal, we just need to average about 1 REDcard every 14,000-15,000 dollars made.

 

[pellinore]

I'm pretty good about asking guests about RCs. I just ask them if they are interested in getting one and saving 5% everytime they shop. OK, so it's not the most impressive way to ask about a RC....but I do ask. If guests have checks I'll push the debit card. I also try to let people know about the free shipping. But, I can't help it if people won't get a card.
I really hate it when GSTLs or LODs hear you asking people and then they give you a hard time because you aren't getting card hat's when I can say "I'm asking....." What I want to do is ask "What more do you want me to do.....force them to get a card??"
It is also annoying when a TL or LOD comes and says "You didn't ask the last guest about a RC." That's when I can say, "I didn't ask because they ALREADY were paying with a RC!"


Our DTL has had a challenge for our store.......20 card Tuesday. Well, once they got the 20 cards, but the other three times they didn't. Maybe the chaallenge ought to be "Two card Tuesday......Two cards per cashier per shift." That challenge just might work.

Now is a great time to push RCs because of all the back-to-school stuff.....but even now people say no.

 

[Target Muppet]

@Rock Lobster We are a really high volume store and have a lot of foot traffic in California so there is a tendency to use cash with some or Hispanic guest. Although I can't say what store I work at we have many attractions that cause tourism both national and international. I really don't want to use that as excuse on why we can't get REDcards it just serves as an expiation as to why we have so many prompts. We on average have 28 team members in the front end per day I want them to each get one per shift and we are green so far it has been working.

 

[Target Muppet]

@copycopy my district wants us to be at a 3.0 conversion and I'm sure it's going to go up to at 3.5 with our next visit however if you look at the cashier service report a 2.5 conversion still is green. The DTL will set these unrealistic expectations but on paper the corporate still consider a 2.5 green.

 

[pellinore]

Our store was either #1 or #2 with RCs in our group of 79 stores.....and the response we got from the upper-level managers wasn't just "oh, you're doing a great job!" But, mostly, we still need more cards!

I think I really lost my enthusiasm at that time. I mean, we were at the top.....and it still wasn't enough.

 

[neversaynever]

I heard nothing new yesterday after 2 weeks off, but I did mange to get the first RC of the day at 5:50 on my way out.

I only had 2 prompts that I recall, maybe 3. I was thinking it was odd, and even none on 2 check transactions - 1 of which was big.

So prompts are lowered when more people use their RC? I would say that number seemed high yesterday to me, so maybe that was why prompts were low.

Oh and the store in the town I was hanging out on vacation? I had to tell the cashier how to use my temp RC. Seriously???

 

[Retail Girl]

I think on checks that it might not prompt if the guest has gotten a prompt before. Our more regular check writers seem not to get us as many prompts.

 

[AllThingsTarget101]

@Rock Lobster We are a really high volume store and have a lot of foot traffic in California so there is a tendency to use cash with some or Hispanic guest. Although I can't say what store I work at we have many attractions that cause tourism both national and international. I really don't want to use that as excuse on why we can't get REDcards it just serves as an expiation as to why we have so many prompts. We on average have 28 team members in the front end per day I want them to each get one per shift and we are green so far it has been working.

I am in Southern California and there is only one place that made me think of.

On a side note, a GSTL at the store in Florida next to Disney world told one of our old GSTL's (while he was visiting disney world he asked) that they have maybe been green once in the whole entire time she had worked there which was about 6 years. Location sometimes plays a huge part in RedCards and it plays a huge part in my current stores success.

 

[thetargetman]

does anyone else get those "busy bodies" who always tell the other guests not to get a RC? it is so tempting to tell the person to mind their own business.

 

[Jill of All Trades]

I've had the opposite- I've had guests chime in when I make my red card pitch and tell the other guest how great the red card is.

 

[ZombiePanties31]

I've had the opposite- I've had guests chime in when I make my red card pitch and tell the other guest how great the red card is.

I've had this happen too! Usually, if one guest is reacting negatively to the RC, it's when there are two guests in a party and the one paying looks to her friend, who shakes her head "no."

 

[masterofalltrades]

I've had quite a few guests lately pay by combo of debit/credit and cash. Of course they always hand me the cash first. I've taken to figuring out the remaining amount in my head and punching that in and hitting the credit button and making them run the card before I put in the cash, so I can keep out a couple of prompts. It annoys a lot of the guests when I insist on doing it this way, but I have to do what I can to keep these prompts down!

heres a trick that i use. when you have a large transaction scan a few items then suspend it. the guest is probably still loading up the belt, so they wont notice. then just scan the slip and finish the transaction. that will eliminate prompts and red speedscores. try not to overdue it becausecap does investigate suspend slips. ive been doing it for over a year and no one has said anything to me.

 

[PinkZinnia]

Then there's the awkward moment of asking them if they have a REDcard, they pull it out to use it, and it gets declined, for which you are supposed to know why and fix it. Those don't get counted in the penetration rate either, I'm sure.

The majority of these folk will tell me that they 'haven't used their red card in forever'. At that point, I'd tell them that the acct has likely been closed due to lack of use & ask if they'd like to reapply to get back to saving their 5%. If I were on the checklanes, it usually worked but not at FA/SB tho.

Yep, I try that, too....telling them that there card has probably been closed....so open a new card!!

Someone told me to use the words - reactivate when the redcard is declined because of lack of use.. It has helped very much because in the guest's mind a reactivation doesn't need credit approval. When they ask me why they need to put in all their info again I tell them it is for their protection. They seem to be satisfied with that info. If they squawk about putting in a phone number I suggest they put in the last digit incorrectly and it can be corrected when they get the actual card.

 

[neversaynever]

Someone told me to use the words - reactivate when the redcard is declined because of lack of use.. It has helped very much because in the guest's mind a reactivation doesn't need credit approval. When they ask me why they need to put in all their info again I tell them it is for their protection. They seem to be satisfied with that info. If they squawk about putting in a phone number I suggest they put in the last digit incorrectly and it can be corrected when they get the actual card.

But to someone watching their credit, and seeing that check hit - they could cause major issues for target.

 

[Retail Girl]

Yeah, if you have to lie, then that's up to you and your conscience.

I've had guests react badly to it asking for a phone number. All I tell them is that they need to put in the correct information, and sign for it being correct. If they put one number in incorrectly, I have no way of knowing that, and we never had this conversation. What they do after that is on them...I don't question it but still get credit for the conversion, so that's all that matters.

 

[PinkZinnia]

I do also tell guests if they don't want to give out their phone number to people that there are lots of apps where you can get a disguised number.. Not that they will be able to set it up quickly for that transaction, but they can have a "giveaway" number for future use. That's what I use for a small business I run and use it whenever I have to give my number out.

Lie? HA HA HA. Our ETL's would have you lie, beg, borrow, steal, and throw your mother under the bus if it means you are going to get a redcard.

If someone is watching their credit, then they should be a bit more astute on what or what not they should open. No one is punching their information in but them.
When your card gets cancelled for non use (not just at target, but anywhere), it could drop your score more then it does to open a card depending on past use and other credit cards you have.. go figure. I believe when you open a card it only lowers your score by 2 points. People think opening a credit card sends red flags on your credit report. It doesn't unless you have questionable credit. If you have good credit and pay your bills on time, then opening up a target card isn't going to affect your credit. The problem is, many people do not have good credit, abuse their cards and that is what stores, including Target rely on. Stores hate me. I use my card to get discounts then pay it off in full within the month.