I'm Lost! The REDCard Thread

Whenever I cashier guests either don't want one, have tried before but were declined, but the vast majority of guests already have one. Which leads me to my point, how can Target keep expecting more people to sign up for a redcard, are there really that many new guests shopping every single day who don't want one.
 
Same at my store, we are way behind for the year. My idea is if a Guest doesn't use a Red Card, program the POS system to display how much a Guest would have saved if they had used one on that transaction. The cashier then can see it and say: "Here's your change and receipt, and you could have saved an additional $2.47 if you had used a Red Card. Thank you." (Of course, the cashier would have mentioned the Red Card at the start of the transaction.) It wouldn't get an application at that point, but it might prime the pump for the next time the Guest is in the store. After a while, they may begin to mentally add up what they could have saved and ultimately decide to apply.
 
We're behind on RCs too. What I often feel like doing is going out in front of the lanes and tell someone that I'll check them out-----ONLY if they get a RC.
 
I'm hoping that Spot will have some new things to add to the RC. Why get a RC if all you do is spend 5% on your total?

Why can't we have guests open a card and save 25% for opening a card and then 10% for each shopping trip?
Or, sign-up, save 20% and then when the RC is actually sent out send them a coupon to save 10% extra on their first transaction with their new RC??

We've had to stop doing any incentives for TMs when they get someone to sign-up. Our SrGSTL has told us that too much money has been "spent" on requisitions and we have to stop giving out any "treats" until further notice. So, where does that get us now? Well....getting RedCards is "part of your job"....technically I think that we're supposed to ask guests and educate them about RedCards.....and not force them to get them.
 
Discover Cards give you 5% back....but you have to wait until your "anniversary" date.
RedCards at least charge 5% less in the first place so you "save" right away.

Travel points appear to be great....especially when compared to the RedCard program. We can't compete with travel points.

At Kohl's stores 70% of their sales are made with a Kohl's card. So what we need to do is figure out how we can match that percentage, too. My store has a penetration level of 29% of sales (our store % is pretty high) but we're still way behind Kohl's.....so, what can spot do to get better RedCard sales more like Kohl's?
 
Discover Cards give you 5% back....but you have to wait until your "anniversary" date.
RedCards at least charge 5% less in the first place so you "save" right away.

Travel points appear to be great....especially when compared to the RedCard program. We can't compete with travel points.

At Kohl's stores 70% of their sales are made with a Kohl's card. So what we need to do is figure out how we can match that percentage, too. My store has a penetration level of 29% of sales (our store % is pretty high) but we're still way behind Kohl's.....so, what can spot do to get better RedCard sales more like Kohl's?

Run some worthwhile promotions / specials .... Like sending me a coupon with a possible value of up to 30% off my purchase. I get 5% is better than most credit cards .... But it doesn't even equal out to sales tax in savings.... While over the course of a year it adds up, I think more people are swayed by more "instant" savings. I'd go as far to say most people don't REALLY operate off long term budgets in personal finances - so they don't equate 5% each trip at Target to be as good a "savings" as 10/20/30 % on a single transaction at a Kohls (because they'd save/use that discount on a larger/splurge purchase because they see "larger" savings immediately. )
 
Discover Cards give you 5% back....but you have to wait until your "anniversary" date.
RedCards at least charge 5% less in the first place so you "save" right away.

Travel points appear to be great....especially when compared to the RedCard program. We can't compete with travel points.

At Kohl's stores 70% of their sales are made with a Kohl's card. So what we need to do is figure out how we can match that percentage, too. My store has a penetration level of 29% of sales (our store % is pretty high) but we're still way behind Kohl's.....so, what can spot do to get better RedCard sales more like Kohl's?

Where did you get that Kohl's card information? I'm skeptical about that number - 70%. It seems awfully high.

Anyway, you'd also have to look at shopping patterns and foot traffic. For example, how many guests per day for each store. What is the average basket size. Things like that.

Again, if Target was all in on the redcards, they would make them a job requirement of cashiering. They don't, so we are left in this gray area.

I think it is sad to hear an etl stand at the flow team huddle and beg people to get redcards.
 
Run some worthwhile promotions / specials .... Like sending me a coupon with a possible value of up to 30% off my purchase. I get 5% is better than most credit cards .... But it doesn't even equal out to sales tax in savings.... While over the course of a year it adds up, I think more people are swayed by more "instant" savings. I'd go as far to say most people don't REALLY operate off long term budgets in personal finances - so they don't equate 5% each trip at Target to be as good a "savings" as 10/20/30 % on a single transaction at a Kohls (because they'd save/use that discount on a larger/splurge purchase because they see "larger" savings immediately. )

Target can't 'afford' to give such high discounts. Kohl's pricing structure is built on high prices which then are discounted heavily. Kohl's ladies tshirt $20, Target, $10. Grocery doesn't allow for 30% off. Target is trying to compete with WM, not Kohls, both very different markets.

They need to come up with some other hook to get customers to get & use Redcards.
 
Kohl's also has Kohl's Bucks (or something similar) that you get $10 or whatever off towards a future purchase....even more if you use their cc.
 
Part of the problem is that most people either don't carry checks around with them or don't have checks at all.
We have been told not to do any requisitions for cashiers when they get RedCards. I know it's part of their core roll but giving prizes for RedCards inspires the cashiers!
 
They said at my store in a huddle that if you don't ask every single person while at a register that you can be coached. Everytime I back up every single guest has one. I think the people that come there all the time already have one and some Joe schmoe isn't going to get one to save 5 percent on some milk cause this was just the closest store. Alot of guests too have said its annoying being "harassed" about red cards and I don't blame them.
 
This past week our ETL-GE said that they did a survey and 70% of Target guests didn't know about the Red Card. I find that hard to believe. Maybe they didn't know about all the benefits, but they had to know about it it they've shopped in a Target at least five times in the last couple of years.
 
Does it really, though? Breaking a balloon to find a "prize" to redeem for a free "meal" is not inspirational tbh. Telling me I'm the best at getting redcards and then only getting a 15 cent raise? Also not inspirational.

It always worked on me! Free meal, $5 or $10 gift card, $5 in merchandise. ..always got me to do Spot's biding. Heck, I was especially a pimp for Spot when there were $10 g/c up for grabs. It was a nice way to bump up my hourly wage a few bucks an hour!
 
Where did you get that Kohl's card information? I'm skeptical about that number - 70%. It seems awfully high.


Sorry, I realized that I have the right number, but the wrong %....70% of their guests use the Kohl's card when purchasing.....and the # of users Vs. the % of sales are different. Sorry!
I've no idea what their % of sales is.
 
Even if someone comes to the store every day some people are just too involved with their own lives to pay any attention to what "RedCard" means or what it does.

I had a guy that I told him all about the RedCard....he said that we ought to advertise that we have such a great program. I showed him our weekly ad that has "RedCard" info all over it and then I told him that we had signs all over the store. To make it seem worse, this was near 4th quarter when there were little red circles on all endcaps.
How he missed our advertising.....no idea. What a dork!

I've had guests come to my line that I know I've seen before so I know they have been told about both cards.....and sometimes these (repeat) guests will tell me, "I've never heard about the debit card before....is it new?"

So, in a way I am not at all surprised at the numbers that they got when doing surveys.
 
Target can't 'afford' to give such high discounts. Kohl's pricing structure is built on high prices which then are discounted heavily. Kohl's ladies tshirt $20, Target, $10. Grocery doesn't allow for 30% off. Target is trying to compete with WM, not Kohls, both very different markets.

They need to come up with some other hook to get customers to get & use Redcards.

My response was directly related to someone mentioning kohls. And I agree / understand our pricing structure is different - however, I still stand by the core of what I was saying. I used to be a loyal target customer in high school and college. However, I no longer am. I think the actual target brand is less " valuable" than it was in the past. (For example, i think our groceries lessened the image of Target as a higher end mass retailer -- and that aside (I get it draws people in since its necessity shopping / constant) our prices and product selection in this area aren't competitive at all compared to my local grocery stores (or Walmart, if I shopped there)). I can't tell you how many times I did attempt to shop for groceries while in store in the past to realize most of what I needed was higher cost or not available. I'm especially annoyed with how often we carry products, but then just stop.

And re red cards -- I only signed up for a red card to use my tm discount (because I almost never carry more than $20 cash on me, if that much). Free shipping online doesn't entice me since I don't buy online unless I have to (I.e. Only sold online (like when I bought a speciality handmade bird feeder from an independent business in North Carolina (which is hours from where I live)). I want the product "now" - not possibly stolen from my apartment door a week from now. I also like seeing /touching the product before I purchase - so I can avoid getting something I don't like and having to make another trip to return -- so extended return times do little for me, ... this is just me and my take I know. But the 5% was the only perk && it's fairly nominal in my mind so why would give another retailer all my personal info / possibly have another credit card when I get so little in return. (And I felt this way prior to many of the recent / large data breaches in the market ).

I think if the point is to get red cards in as many peoples wallets as possible - offering a one time large incentive is still a better option. I mean the fact is once they have it, the guests shop more frequently and in larger amounts - yes? So offer more off the first trip to bait them. Worried about insanely large purchases / cost - set a limit for max value. -- Have another option for the credit cards where you have the option for extended no interest payback ( a la Best Buy) - spend $400 or more in a single trip and you have x months to pay it back before interest is assessed .... To push consumers to seek out Target for larger purchases in entertainment, home, etc more frequently / before other retailers . ... I'm just saying I think there are other options they could examine.
 
Target should offer an incentive to the guest for opening one. Something like a free popcorn, or medium soda.
 
We got idle threats today. Apparently we are way way down in red cards when we were number 1 for 2 months and they aren't happy...... Basically you got to get 4 redcards on your shift or there will be CA. I can see 1 or 2 redcards but 4 come on....... I know they are way down but sheesh threats isn't the way to go and yes I know redcards is apart of your job but again 4 is setting the bar kinda high when sometimes you are lucky if you even get one or sometimes you get nothing. I know it's coming from the higher ups and then they push it onto the ETLS and in return scare TMs by saying you better do this when reality you know they probably won't do CA I mean sure if you don't ask they can say you didn't do your job but they can't put you on CA if you didn't get redcards. I mean seriously....... Scare tactics gotta love them;)

This happened to me yesterday. I'm in my third week and haven't had a conversion yet. I don't respond well to threats anyways. But I've been reading the threads trying to figure out what to change. Because I definitely don't want to go through coaching or role playing.
 
A GSA at my store was telling me that during the next week or so that we'll have different TMs from stores coming to see if we are really asking guests about RedCards....the catch is that the TMs coming in are supposed to be dressed in "plain" clothes so that we've no idea who they are.
We'll have to see if this is really what's going to go on. We've been missing our goals on RedCards by quite a lot so I think they figure if they come in in plain clothes to test us and we fail then we'll be in real deep doo-doo.

Our goal for today was 10....when I left around 2:30 we had one card.
Sunday we got 6 or 7 on a goal of 15.

All you can do is ask....can't help it if guests already have one, but don't use it......or guests aren't interested......or husbands who say "my wife has the RedCard..."......or the guest doesn't speak English very well.........
 
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