Archived So what are the chances that Target starts staffing their stores again?

[oath2order]

Do it on your phone -_-

 

[Bosch]

Our Sunglass vendor was just expanded to zone some of the cosmetic lines. Just a few brands but I will take any of the help I can get, our people can't zone if it has more than one peg. She at least understands there can be two pegs.

Surveys are bullshit, if a guest gives an honest rating it is counted as bad. So it's either 9-10 or nothing. And trust when I say even the pissed off guests fill them out. In great detail.

 

[Nauzhror]

Our Sunglass vendor was just expanded to zone some of the cosmetic lines. Just a few brands but I will take any of the help I can get, our people can't zone if it has more than one peg. She at least understands there can be two pegs.

Surveys are bullshit, if a guest gives an honest rating it is counted as bad. So it's either 9-10 or nothing. And trust when I say even the pissed off guests fill them out. In great detail.

I wasn't saying no pissed off guests fill them out, I just meant they aren't the majority of the people filling them out as our store (and I'd assume most other stores) have mostly green survey results.

 

[RunForACallBox]

Target has lost the roots it was once known for.

Cheap Chic???? Not so much Chic, but plenty of cheap. Clothing is not fashionable anymore, it's the same junk you find at Wal-mart. Also, our designer clothing lines lately have not generated anything near the buzz like we had with some designers(i.e. Missoni).

There is nothing special about our Domestic and Houseware items, everything is basic and generic looking. Few if any "Target Exclusive" items ever make it to these departments anymore(Think Global Bazaar).

Electronics? We rarely get "Target Red" exclusive items anymore(other than bonus tracks on CD's, but who buys CD's anymore???), and 99.9% of what we sell in electronics is available cheaper online or at other local retailers.

Our front end seems to be the one bright spot as far as keeping things at or very near 1+1 by pulling from other areas of the store. But this is decimating the levels of service we are providing to our guests on the floor, and I personally know of TM's that are filling out surveys with "10's" because they are tired of hearing about poor survey scores because everyone is on a register all day.

Toys? If it's a popular toy you can bet we will be out of stock for weeks on end. Our buyers simply have lost track of what consumers want.

Stationery? Sure we can sell a pallet of 8 ct crayons during back to school! It was only appx 10,000 individual pcs, and we are a city of 140,000. I am sure 1 in 14 citizens is a 1st or 2nd grader and none of them shop any other retailers! Get realistic on the stock levels on this stuff!

Grocery items? Good idea to drive people in for basics, but enough is enough. We are not a grocery store, so quit trying to make us one. We also are not a liquor store, so let's reduce that wine aisle to something more managable!

Automotive? Where? That is all.

Sporting goods? Yeah, we sell some stuff for various sports, but with people focused on fitness why don't we get rid of some tents and airbeds and get in some fitness machines?

Target once prided itself on keeping things in the same areas to allow our guests to easily find things. Now it seems like we are hiding things from our guests by moving them around to new spots(i.e. moving Q-tips from HBA into Cosmetics, the constant shuffling of showerheads and scales between Domestics and Home Improvement). Many guests, upon not finding the item they are looking for in the location it used to be just assume we quit carrying the item - and remember they can't find anyone to ask as everyone is on the front end.

Target was known for treating it's teams very well. Now we are treating our teams as if they are children, scolding them for every little infraction we can so we have a reason to give puny raises that are more like a slap in the face. Not saying we should have out $1.00 raises like water, but when someone is rated excellent or outstanding, they deserve it.

Target's guest service back in the 90's was stellar. The teams actually took pride in approaching every guest and "schmoozing"(anyone remember that program?). Now the sales floor team only helps a guest if it keeps them from having to respond to backups. Between pushing what is left of the truck, trying to set POGs and endcaps, trying to push carts of reshop, taking care of the PCV and Flexible Fulfillment alerts, helping to pull and push hourly CAF batches, helping pricing finish their workload, running to call boxes in 60 seconds, and going to the front end for constant backups, it is a wonder ANY guest actually gets service from the teams. But wait! To help the stores, they are now having a 3rd party contractor zone Shoes and Ready to Wear for 20 hours each week until Christmas instead of giving that payroll to the stores. Notice that the contractor is only allowed to zone? Wow!

Ok. Stepping off the rantbox now. You may return to your regularly scheduled Target BS now.

All this... 100% true, sadly. I related everything you said to at least something on my store. Now we are back up to 91% amazed, but for like 4 weeks we were in the 70s, and get this, we had less people on the floor, too with bare payroll. My store isn't terrible, we are regarded as one of the nicest stores in the district. But we could def. benefit from a actually staffed store.

 

[Rock Lobster]

Target really can grow if done the right way. I am hoping that the direction we are heading is looking to the future and not trying things from the past. The answer is truly the omnichannel and Target's ability to drive its brand in this manner, which will lead to changes to how the brick and mortar stores operate in ways that that we have not seen before. I am excited and hopeful, because these changes could bring Target out of the archaic traditions and routines of the past and bring it back to being relevant! Either that or it will fail miserably trying to push service without any restructuring at all.

Update the Website and Target Accounts to streamline the ordering processes. Make it mobile AND easy for guests to use. If we can increase Online Sales (and make stores supporters of it from corner to corner) we can decrease freight flow, simplify store product placement, and cut payroll by decreasing unnecessary work in the stores. These types of improvements can inherently decrease the amount of product depreciation (clearance) in stores, reduce the amount of unnecessary freight entering the building (which is taking hundreds of hours per store to stock, backstock, and ring up), and ultimately increase guest experiences.

 

[Rock Lobster]

Target really can grow if done the right way. I am hoping that the direction we are heading is looking to the future and not trying things from the past. The answer is truly the omnichannel and Target's ability to drive its brand in this manner, which will lead to changes to how the brick and mortar stores operate in ways that that we have not seen before. I am excited and hopeful, because these changes could bring Target out of the archaic traditions and routines of the past and bring it back to being relevant! Either that or it will fail miserably trying to push service without any restructuring at all.

Update the Website and Target Accounts to streamline the ordering processes. Make it mobile AND easy for guests to use. If we can increase Online Sales (and make stores supporters of it from corner to corner) we can decrease freight flow, simplify store product placement, and cut payroll by decreasing unnecessary work in the stores. These types of improvements can inherently decrease the amount of product depreciation (clearance) in stores, reduce the amount of unnecessary freight entering the building (which is taking hundreds of hours per store to stock, backstock, and ring up), and ultimately increase guest experiences.

How much Koolaid did you drink?

Yes, Target needs to get all over the "omnichannel" transition as much as possible, I agree, but not at the expense of the stores which is essentially what you are implying. Cut payroll and less product in stores? Really?

Do you honestly think Target.com is ever going to compete with Amazon at this point? It can be done but Target has shown zero understanding or care in terms of even putting together a functional website with even the least bit of aesthetic appeal, let alone compete with Amazon.

Publix, a grocery store here in the southeast (don't know how far it extends) is kicking major ass in my area because their stores are clean, fully stocked and there are tons of employees... the company isn't publicly traded and the employees still run it for the most part. Publix's prices are significantly higher than Target's across the board... and yet, people flock to Publix over Target. Brick & Mortar stores are a long long ways away from going away, particularly when it comes to food. And by long ways away, I mean at least 20 years. I've been online browsing the web since 1992... I order stuff online and I am not the least bit intimidated by it. I'd still rather just drive up the street and pick my crap up and be done with it. On top of that, no matter how fast the delivery gets, I want to go pick out and pick up my own food... I can't see myself ever ordering my groceries online. No thanks.

Target needs to staff their stores and get back to being shallow and image focused as opposed to cheap. Publix does just that... and they are kicking our ass. Their shelves often look like they're a picture from the training material on how to zone.

Guest service, guest service, guest service... and I don't mean using the resources we currently have and just focusing on guests... I mean adding resources and focusing on guests.

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

 

[oath2order]

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

That makes me feel better about my department then Just one eyeliner is equal to a pallet. Love it.

When it comes to furniture, my store has six aisles. I would honestly consider removing all six of the actual gondolas, and turning the furniture area into a display section with all or most of the furniture we sell in that section. Get some very strong ties (not the stupid crap in seasonal) to have signs attached to each product saying "blah blah in the back call a TM"

Maybe keep a gondola to display all the TV stands.

 

[MissionStarlight]

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

That makes me feel better about my department then Just one eyeliner is equal to a pallet. Love it.

When it comes to furniture, my store has six aisles. I would honestly consider removing all six of the actual gondolas, and turning the furniture area into a display section with all or most of the furniture we sell in that section. Get some very strong ties (not the stupid crap in seasonal) to have signs attached to each product saying "blah blah in the back call a TM"

Maybe keep a gondola to display all the TV stands.

Ohh, I really like this idea. You could even make the displays really fancy and have a platform at shin or waist height--that'd keep everything off the floor and tied down but still easily seen and accessible so the guests could touchy-touchy to their heart's content. I'd put a call box on either side of the display area--front and back. I hate those things but they do make it easy to summon tm's.

The gondola for tv displays would work fine and then I'd reserve the other side to not be tied to any POGs and use it as flex, clearance and extra seasonal. Just because it seems like there's always extra stuff floating around and without dedicated clearance/flex zones it's untidy and it drives me crazy. Just put it in one area (with signs explaining that if it does not have a clearance sticker that matches the item number it's not on clearance). Give it two weeks and it'll sell itself because guests will know where to find it all. Domestics is usually near the center of the store so it's a good place for it--far enough from the door they'll walk past a lot of the impulse buy-stuff and close enough they'll pop in "just to see what's there". And dedicating a whole aisle to it means we can easily put the big things out without taking up real-item space inline. And then right around the corner will be this super pretty display area and it's "Oh, weren't we talking about a new dresser? We can just look." POG resets of that area would turn into a breeze--just swap out the display model and those signs.

And then, the most important step: staff the goddamned area. With a handful tm's who know how to properly pull and backstock. They can clean the coffee cups off the display, get to know the products and fuss over the guests. And, of course, help other areas as needed but there's usually enough to do in those sections they could stay busy most of the day without an issue.

 

[Rock Lobster]

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

That makes me feel better about my department then Just one eyeliner is equal to a pallet. Love it.

When it comes to furniture, my store has six aisles. I would honestly consider removing all six of the actual gondolas, and turning the furniture area into a display section with all or most of the furniture we sell in that section. Get some very strong ties (not the stupid crap in seasonal) to have signs attached to each product saying "blah blah in the back call a TM"

Maybe keep a gondola to display all the TV stands.

I picture the same thing. Expand this idea even further though, not just furniture. You could remove a majority of the gondolas throughout your "home" sections, and leave gondolas standing for your backwalls and one aligned with your breezeways to create natural dividers. Along these tall gondolas can be your "general accessories" such as the most popular lamps, tv stands, toss pillows etc... Inside each "area" would be your departments such as furniture, bedding, bath, domestics, kitchen... These areas can be mixtures of what global bazaar looked like and the Electronics Experience fixtures (the 8' long tables, but wood on top instead of black) where displays of towels, bedding, shower curtains, etc are all displayed on top, and product is aligned underneath. If a guest cannot load the item into their cart themselves, there is not a good reason to keep the product on the floor both as the display and the box stock. Along all these items as well, the signage should read something like, "Call a TM to retrieve these items here OR Use your Target App to Scan here and Ship directly to your house!"

I also agree on the staffing piece though, do not get me wrong! I do not want to just slice payroll, I want to stop wasting payroll on things that are not productive. By reducing the unnecessary replenishment of items that can ship straight to guests, we reduce the need to stock as much on our shelves, reduce the clearance, while still driving sales for Target itself.

 

[oath2order]

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

That makes me feel better about my department then Just one eyeliner is equal to a pallet. Love it.

When it comes to furniture, my store has six aisles. I would honestly consider removing all six of the actual gondolas, and turning the furniture area into a display section with all or most of the furniture we sell in that section. Get some very strong ties (not the stupid crap in seasonal) to have signs attached to each product saying "blah blah in the back call a TM"

Maybe keep a gondola to display all the TV stands.

I picture the same thing. Expand this idea even further though, not just furniture. You could remove a majority of the gondolas throughout your "home" sections, and leave gondolas standing for your backwalls and one aligned with your breezeways to create natural dividers. Along these tall gondolas can be your "general accessories" such as the most popular lamps, tv stands, toss pillows etc... Inside each "area" would be your departments such as furniture, bedding, bath, domestics, kitchen... These areas can be mixtures of what global bazaar looked like and the Electronics Experience fixtures (the 8' long tables, but wood on top instead of black) where displays of towels, bedding, shower curtains, etc are all displayed on top, and product is aligned underneath. If a guest cannot load the item into their cart themselves, there is not a good reason to keep the product on the floor both as the display and the box stock. Along all these items as well, the signage should read something like, "Call a TM to retrieve these items here OR Use your Target App to Scan here and Ship directly to your house!"

I kind of want to make a new thread about this. hm.

 

[Rock Lobster]

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

Well, it's simply not true that one eyeliner equals a pallet of water... in fact, if the eyeliner was free and let's say someone like Covergirl straight up gave it to Target at no cost to Target, it still wouldn't be as profitable to sell that one eyeliner at $30 as selling an entire pallet of water would be. I'm not going to go into specifics on numbers but suffice it to say I looked it up.

And the reason that groceries will never work for Target is because they absolutely refuse to commit to groceries and treat them like they should which basically goes back to the whole staffing thing.

I agree that they should be looking to boost online sales.

I also agree with you that they should potentially look at shrinking certain departments and expanding others... furniture is probably a good place to start, as you suggested. I'd have to look it up but I believe that MMB was perpetually one of the worst performing departments comp wise, year after year.

You can say what you want but we are no where near... absolutely no where near guests giving up the ability to come in and buy a pack of toilet paper and instead... ordering it online. Cleaning Supplies, Beauty, Healthcare, Food... people prefer to buy in person. Electronics is a different story. Clothing I don't really know but personally I don't buy clothes online except for shoes because I have a hard time finding them.

I am simply repeating what Target has communicated to its leaders with water vs makeup. Furthermore, even if the gross margin does not even out, the cost of shipping a pallet of water (loading, unloading, stocking) versus shipping a single box of eyeliner makes up the difference, but this is besides the point...

Like I said, food is food. There is no "online" method that is going to take off right now. You just have to keep grocery items instock and at competitive prices, but this will not win Target any additional market shares. My whole point is that Target needs to reach out and grab its consumers, and just falling back to strong food instocks and good service is not going to do anything...

 

[Signkitty]

I am implying that the stores need to BOOST the online sales. Honestly grocery is not where Target is going to make its profit. As nice as a grocery store as your Publix probably is, that is not where Target is going to make its money. It takes an ENTIRE pallet of water to make as much profit as ONE eyeliner in cosmetics! The GM Sales (Target's Niche) is where they need to focus on rebranding. We have groceries now, it will bring guests in the store, but it is not the answer.

When it comes to GM, more and more guests want to go online. The store's square footage is often times wasted on products that will either depreciate in value over the year and not move or eventually go clearance. There are main items that guests want right away, and some that guests are fine with ordering. Furniture is a great example! We have TWO representations on the salesfloor of every item (the display and the box), yet the guests have to find a TM to take the box up front. This is valuable retail space completely getting wasted. You could literally carry twice as many skews as displays, and sell all from the Backroom.

Well, it's simply not true that one eyeliner equals a pallet of water... in fact, if the eyeliner was free and let's say someone like Covergirl straight up gave it to Target at no cost to Target, it still wouldn't be as profitable to sell that one eyeliner at $30 as selling an entire pallet of water would be. I'm not going to go into specifics on numbers but suffice it to say I looked it up.

And the reason that groceries will never work for Target is because they absolutely refuse to commit to groceries and treat them like they should which basically goes back to the whole staffing thing.

I agree that they should be looking to boost online sales.

I also agree with you that they should potentially look at shrinking certain departments and expanding others... furniture is probably a good place to start, as you suggested. I'd have to look it up but I believe that MMB was perpetually one of the worst performing departments comp wise, year after year.

You can say what you want but we are no where near... absolutely no where near guests giving up the ability to come in and buy a pack of toilet paper and instead... ordering it online. Cleaning Supplies, Beauty, Healthcare, Food... people prefer to buy in person. Electronics is a different story. Clothing I don't really know but personally I don't buy clothes online except for shoes because I have a hard time finding them.

I am simply repeating what Target has communicated to its leaders with water vs makeup. Furthermore, even if the gross margin does not even out, the cost of shipping a pallet of water (loading, unloading, stocking) versus shipping a single box of eyeliner makes up the difference, but this is besides the point...

Like I said, food is food. There is no "online" method that is going to take off right now. You just have to keep grocery items instock and at competitive prices, but this will not win Target any additional market shares. My whole point is that Target needs to reach out and grab its consumers, and just falling back to strong food instocks and good service is not going to do anything...

Even if we do reach out and grab consumers with no staffing in the store it will be hard to keep them. People expect Target to be better put together then Wall-mart and you can't give good service or have a nice looking store on a skeleton crew.

 

[Bosch]

Why is anyone believing what target leadership has to say?

Target needs to pull its head out of its ass, and decide to really focus on its stores and then get them full clean and staffed so they stay that way, then get their on-line together. You can't build on a broken foundation. Which is what they are trying to do. I have been on this planet long enough, that this won't end well if they don't get it fixed and soon. But mass layoffs isn't the answer. Which corporations do since its easier than actually fixing anything.

 

[thetargetman]

I had two guests in ONE DAY ask me if the store was going under. Lack of staffing, lack of zoning, lack of product. How long can Target run on bare bones before it's reputation is permanently tarnished?

I have had several guests tell me that Target used to be an excellent store and their favorite place to shop, the place was clean, well zoned ect. and I have to agree with them. When the people I train ask me how long I worked at target I just say for "X" years. I used to say "I have proudly worked here Xyears"

 

[RedDog]

It seems companies forget that the best way to compete with online shopping is by my making going to a store something special great guest service is a key to that, cheap chic in store only items are another. Also things that make going to a store special. Remember when the Target Christmas and Halloween step ups were something to see? At the time Target wanted to be Christmas/Halloween destination. Not only having great product but, also having great design and branding of the season area. Now? Now it looks the holiday section a dollar store. It is pathetic. Who would think Target now when you start thinking about your holiday decore etc? Sometimes it seems like Target has just given up.

 

[Bosch]

It seems companies forget that the best way to compete with online shopping is by my making going to a store something special great guest service is a key to that, cheap chic in store only items are another. Also things that make going to a store special. Remember when the Target Christmas and Halloween step ups were something to see? At the time Target wanted to be Christmas/Halloween destination. Not only having great product but, also having great design and branding of the season area. Now? Now it looks the holiday section a dollar store. It is pathetic. Who would think Target now when you start thinking about your holiday decore etc? Sometimes it seems like Target has just given up.

Our fall home décor isle was blown out in two days, well it looked like that since half the product we never got, what we did get sold out.. And no replenishment.. Now its packed with back to school clearance we still have hanging around..

 

[Rock Lobster]

It seems companies forget that the best way to compete with online shopping is by my making going to a store something special great guest service is a key to that, cheap chic in store only items are another. Also things that make going to a store special. Remember when the Target Christmas and Halloween step ups were something to see? At the time Target wanted to be Christmas/Halloween destination. Not only having great product but, also having great design and branding of the season area. Now? Now it looks the holiday section a dollar store. It is pathetic. Who would think Target now when you start thinking about your holiday decore etc? Sometimes it seems like Target has just given up.

My point is that it is not about "competing" with online shopping. Target.com or a Target Store are both money for the company. It is about getting our Target guests in store to ALSO use Target.com! The online experience then needs to be even better than their in store experience, which will ultimately drive sales for the company still WHILE decreasing the risk of produce depreciation in stores (we do not need to carry as many eaches in store if the guest is buying them online).

 

[RedDog]

It seems companies forget that the best way to compete with online shopping is by my making going to a store something special great guest service is a key to that, cheap chic in store only items are another. Also things that make going to a store special. Remember when the Target Christmas and Halloween step ups were something to see? At the time Target wanted to be Christmas/Halloween destination. Not only having great product but, also having great design and branding of the season area. Now? Now it looks the holiday section a dollar store. It is pathetic. Who would think Target now when you start thinking about your holiday decore etc? Sometimes it seems like Target has just given up.

My point is that it is not about "competing" with online shopping. Target.com or a Target Store are both money for the company. It is about getting our Target guests in store to ALSO use Target.com! The online experience then needs to be even better than their in store experience, which will ultimately drive sales for the company still WHILE decreasing the risk of produce depreciation in stores (we do not need to carry as many eaches in store if the guest is buying them online).

Your expecting Target to spend money to improve it's online presence something they have neglected to save money to put into the P-fresh and Canada flops. That does not sound like what Target has become. Instead they will copy some other idea from somebody else or roll out some other poorly planned program that will be gone within a year. Target has always treated online as it's red headed step child. Amazon just seems to scare them into not even trying.

 

[Rock Lobster]

It seems companies forget that the best way to compete with online shopping is by my making going to a store something special great guest service is a key to that, cheap chic in store only items are another. Also things that make going to a store special. Remember when the Target Christmas and Halloween step ups were something to see? At the time Target wanted to be Christmas/Halloween destination. Not only having great product but, also having great design and branding of the season area. Now? Now it looks the holiday section a dollar store. It is pathetic. Who would think Target now when you start thinking about your holiday decore etc? Sometimes it seems like Target has just given up.

My point is that it is not about "competing" with online shopping. Target.com or a Target Store are both money for the company. It is about getting our Target guests in store to ALSO use Target.com! The online experience then needs to be even better than their in store experience, which will ultimately drive sales for the company still WHILE decreasing the risk of produce depreciation in stores (we do not need to carry as many eaches in store if the guest is buying them online).

Your expecting Target to spend money to improve it's online presence something they have neglected to save money to put into the P-fresh and Canada flops. That does not sound like what Target has become. Instead they will copy some other idea from somebody else or roll out some other poorly planned program that will be gone within a year. Target has always treated online as it's red headed step child. Amazon just seems to scare them into not even trying.

Haha well I said that is what they SHOULD do... That will probably be different than what they are GOING to do

 

[RedDog]

It seems companies forget that the best way to compete with online shopping is by my making going to a store something special great guest service is a key to that, cheap chic in store only items are another. Also things that make going to a store special. Remember when the Target Christmas and Halloween step ups were something to see? At the time Target wanted to be Christmas/Halloween destination. Not only having great product but, also having great design and branding of the season area. Now? Now it looks the holiday section a dollar store. It is pathetic. Who would think Target now when you start thinking about your holiday decore etc? Sometimes it seems like Target has just given up.

My point is that it is not about "competing" with online shopping. Target.com or a Target Store are both money for the company. It is about getting our Target guests in store to ALSO use Target.com! The online experience then needs to be even better than their in store experience, which will ultimately drive sales for the company still WHILE decreasing the risk of produce depreciation in stores (we do not need to carry as many eaches in store if the guest is buying them online).

Your expecting Target to spend money to improve it's online presence something they have neglected to save money to put into the P-fresh and Canada flops. That does not sound like what Target has become. Instead they will copy some other idea from somebody else or roll out some other poorly planned program that will be gone within a year. Target has always treated online as it's red headed step child. Amazon just seems to scare them into not even trying.

Haha well I said that is what they SHOULD do... That will probably be different than what they are GOING to do

Imagine if they had taken half the money they blew in the Canada mess and instead spent it on IT and R&D. Instead Target has a money loser on its hands. Add that to P-fresh which was suppose to ad 20% increase in sales across the board which never happened and you have to wonder what the next idea will be.

 

[Bosch]

Canada didn't work since they didn't bother to actually learn Canada. The pricing issue which since I live in a boarder state, the Canadians would have understood.. But they didn't learn that Toronto has different needs and wants from Calgary again different Quebec, which is all together different from Vancouver. They also didn't make many friends with how they did the take over of the Zellers stores and what they did with the staff of those stores. Not a lot of goodwill was built when they could have just taken those people and made it a PR Win. But not so much..

 

[Noiinteam]

I will give up my stores seasonal hires, if that saves corp enough money to hire IT people that know what they are doing. Clearly the people we have now, do not.

 

[Barcode]

I will give up my stores seasonal hires, if that saves corp enough money to hire IT people that know what they are doing. Clearly the people we have now, do not.

IT People for what? /confused

 

[Noiinteam]

Target.com is not working again.

 

[redeye58]

IT & support is a joke. Our GSTL was talking thru clenched teeth, she was so angry.
They've got 5 registers down in the checklanes & the jokers they've sent to fix them seem absolutely clueless.
The GSTL referred to them as "Frick, Frack & Freeloader". They've been out several times & leave after starting a software reload that DOESN'T WORK.
I fear for Q4.