Target’s mobile app has long been one of the company’s not-so-secret weapons.
The company was one of the first in its brick-and-mortar industry to invest seriously in digital business. The app was the driving force behind Target’s early success with curbside pickup and continues to serve as the hub for its membership program.
When my first daughter was born during the pandemic, I started shopping at Target more often, and I often found myself wishing more retailers had an app as useful as the one with the bullseye logo. The store map was a particular time saver for me during a very busy time in my family’s life.
In recent years, competition has intensified to narrow or even exceed the lead over targets.
From the scan-and-go self-checkout of Walmart and Sam’s Club apps to Lowe’s and Home Depot, where shoppers can find and learn more about products in-store, mobile apps have evolved into much more than a pocket-sized version of the company’s website.
Not every store’s apps need the same features, but Target was starting to look like it was losing its edge.
Dominic Reuter/Business Insider
About one-fifth of Target’s product sales last year came through the web or apps, or more than $21 billion. Beyond the e-commerce element, a good app is important because while shoppers still tend to frequent stores, they’re also more likely to have their phone in hand when adding items to their cart.
“About a third of our guests use the app in-store,” said Sarah Travis, Target’s chief revenue and digital officer, during a meeting with investors and media at the company’s Minneapolis headquarters earlier this month, which I also attended.
Travis showed how Target has responded to this change with several new user-friendly features aimed at making shopping easier. I was surprised to see these upgrades being rolled out so quietly.
Unlike Target’s flashy partnerships with Google and OpenAI, these new features include more subtle integrations of artificial intelligence to power common tasks.
“Target’s unique opportunity is to think holistically about the guest experience,” Travis said, referring to this combined digital and physical approach to shopping. “The experience you have today is very different than the experience you would have had six months ago.”
Once I got home, I decided to try it myself. While not all of these features are exclusive to Target, three struck me as much-needed additions to the app experience, especially if Target wants to keep shoppers coming back.
Dominic Reuter/Business Insider
handwritten list scanner
Similar to brick-and-mortar stores, paper (or whiteboard) grocery lists are still a reality in many American households.
I can’t speak for everyone, but my family rarely creates shopping lists with detailed brand and packaging information. We list products with generic terms like “milk” rather than “Fairlife 2% Organic Lactose-Free Milk – 52 fl oz.”
Currently, the app’s[My Target]The tab has a “Scan paper list” option that uses your phone’s camera to capture handwritten text.
Once the app processes the images, it retrieves up to 20 related product listings for each list item and adds them to your in-app basket or shopping list, turning handwritten notes into orders that you or someone else can fulfill with precision.
I tried it and it worked pretty well, except when the app assumed I was looking for a women’s or children’s shirt and didn’t show me the men’s options. My paper list just said “T-shirts,” so I could have been more specific.
Dominic Reuter/Business Insider
Buy again tab
Another, more visible tool enhances the functionality of existing apps and places them prominently as tabs on the main screen.
Target’s app has always made it easy to find past orders and add selected items to your cart. It’s still an option, but the app now highlights items you buy frequently, items that have discounts, and items you bought a while back that may be running low.
Travis added that the customized experience means no two shoppers will have the same experience, and that the feature has “basically become a speed run of weekly essentials.”
With just a few taps, it’s refilled and ready to go.
Dominic Reuter/Business Insider
More helpful maps
In my experience, one of the most useful features of the Target app so far is its mapping tool that shows you where items are located in the vast store. This is especially useful when you’re traveling or have to go to a location on the other side of town.
When Home Depot rolled out its own version; It’s called Store Mode, and I wish Target had something to match that. That’s now possible, thanks to the same geolocation startup that also serves Dick’s Sporting Goods.
With a recent upgrade (and location sharing enabled), the app now prompts in-store customers to enter “store mode.” This enables a range of map-based features, including where to find current sales and promotions.
[リスト]Rather than searching for items one by one, Tabs shows everything in your in-app list (that you’ve previously scanned) as a pin on the store map, helping you plan your route to getting what you want without jumping around.
It’s a win for Target, too. “When guests use store mode, their basket increases by over 7%,” Travis says.
These upgrades show that Target’s app is still one of the most convenient shopping apps in the game, and you’ll know you can save time and money on your next Target run.