Target Paid Membership Program?

[wnetmacman]

Things I have with Walmart+ that do not come with this program:

• Free Paramount+

• 10 cent/gallon gas discount

• Free delivery of all orders

• Free Flat Repair regardless of where tire came from

• Scan & Go

This new Target plan gets you free delivery from Shipt *if* you spend $35 or more. And you still have to deal with Circle. I'll keep my additional money.

[ClownLoach]

Things I have with Walmart+ that do not come with this program:

• Free Paramount+

• 10 cent/gallon gas discount

• Free delivery of all orders

• Free Flat Repair regardless of where tire came from

• Scan & Go

This new Target plan gets you free delivery from Shipt *if* you spend $35 or more. And you still have to deal with Circle. I'll keep my additional money.

And Walmart+ is twice the price. Walmart is also expected to drop free shipping or install order minimums soon, so expect a competitive minimum order burden like $30. Walmart is using very suspect order delivery methods including telling workers to drive orders on their way home, and social media had some viral posts a ways back of their employees with customer orders sitting in the sun at a bus stop (!). Besides, have you seen all the Walmart price increases? If you think you are getting free delivery if you order a $9 pack of dryer sheets for home delivery, I have news for you... They obviously have raised prices all over the store to offset the high cost of labor that this eCommerce operation burdens them with. They've made it clear to investors that they will make all eCommerce orders profitable this year no matter what it takes. So if you're paying $98 a year plus they have raised the prices 30% then you are not getting free delivery regardless of what the receipt says.

This new plan is certainly not for everyone, but it should be a boon for their Shipt business. They have criminally neglected it. If you didn't know Target owned it, you certainly wouldn't know they offered such a service by shopping in the stores. I have heard Shipt was losing gig workers over inconsistent business. If this does well it should give them a lot more work to do. What I hope to see is many of the customers who currently do drive up will switch to the fast home delivery.

If you've ever dealt with either Walmart or Sam's tire centers then you know how difficult they make life. Their employees are poorly trained and learned how to install tires watching a video. They basically won't fix any tire except for the absolute simplest dead center of the tire flat, and I had a flat repair from Sam's fail because it was done improperly so I was left stranded with a flat tire which then had to be replaced since they bungled it. I've heard horror stories of them ruining wheels as well. Costco will also fix any flat tire as long as it meets the tire manufacturers association standards (can't be in or on the sidewall and tire must have at least 3/32 tread), regardless of where sold, and they charge less than $20 plus will rotate and rebalance all the other tires at the same time. I don't see any value in this Walmart+ offer.

As others have mentioned here, Target usually skews towards trying to be simple to shop. They made a mistake back when Circle was called Cartwheel and required you to use the app to get certain deals. I see this as a reversal of that. And although I am a huge proponent of Scan & Go, nearly every Target I've visited in the last two weeks magically has half a dozen or more cashiers available and no wait. So their efforts to hold their managers accountable to staffing the registers are working. There is a large contingent of customers who have made a religion of disliking self checkout and the newest Walmart prototype just completed a few months ago near me makes them wait in two different lines before seeing a live cashier. I think Target senses an opportunity to capture these customers by improving full service checkout, something that has been neglected in their stores for a decade now. I've heard they are testing a program like the old Lucky 3's a Crowd program as well in some markets where they're going to effectively advertise that their full service checkout is fast and no lines.

And I suspect they will have some promotions coming up to make the first year of this service either free or nearly free, maybe RedCard members will get first year free etc

Where this gets a tad ugly is the quiet strategy Target is employing. They now have a large contingent of "flex" workers just like Amazon who bid for shifts in the store when they want to work. Glorified gig workers and a workaround to states that are creating schedule predictability laws and/or making "on call scheduling" illegal. Target is flaunting this law just like Amazon has for a while. Now they are pushing that further and trying to shift a significant number of Target employee pulled drive up orders to Shipt gig worker pulled home delivery orders. As we know this puts the burden of productivity on the Shipt worker who effectively can get paid less than minimum wage if they are too slow. So I can't help but wonder if branding this as Target Circle 360 is going to backfire later if they have a gig worker revolt like Doordash, Uber, and Lyft did where they demand guaranteed wages and benefits. When they're doing work for a Target brand service it's pretty hard to defend accusations that they are in effect Target employees instead of Shipt gig workers...

[veteran+]

Just got home from the Target across the street from the upscale Beverly Center Mall.

Good amount of people shopping.

4 full checkouts open with 1 person waiting in line. The orders were not big.

Now get this: Idiot customers waiting in line 10 deep at the self checkouts.

Walked past that cluster xxxx and got checked out at the regular lanes quickly where I could notice the same 10 people in line waiting at the self check out.

Hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ClownLoach]

Just got home from the Target across the street from the upscale Beverly Center Mall.

Good amount of people shopping.

4 full checkouts open with 1 person waiting in line. The orders were not big.

Now get this: Idiot customers waiting in line 10 deep at the self checkouts.

Walked past that cluster xxxx and got checked out at the regular lanes quickly where I could notice the same 10 people in line waiting at the self check out.

Hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable. I didn't want to say anything but I saw the exact same scenario in Menifee. SuperTarget store, had the large west bank of self checkouts closed but the small east bank open. Multiple machines out of order. A dozen full service checkouts with several lanes open no waiting. And a long queue of people waiting for the few working self checkouts. Makes me wonder why... Obviously they don't value their time, but also wonder if at least some of them were there deliberately hoping to pull off some kind of scam like ticket swapping, stolen credit card use, fake scanning theft etc. I can't imagine that everyone had some kind of embarrassing personal care items or whatever else that they didn't want to present to a cashier, especially considering there was a employee hovering around the few working self checkouts who would see such items anyway (I've heard this is a popular reason for self checkout use). A employee was telling customers there was no waiting on the full service lanes and most of these people still would not move. Bizarre.

The self checkout there also has a new corporate made sign that says "Express Self Checkout - 10 Items or Less." The closed bank said "Express Self Checkout is Closed - Full Service Lanes Open to Assist You". And unlike the past they were careful to log out all of these self checkouts so nobody could sneak around and use them unsupervised.

I also noticed the store has installed the new ZEBRA "curtain" RFID scanners over all doors, but I did not see the full surveillance systems that are presently in Las Vegas and that one Garden Grove store (large triangular antennas, about 250 of them, arranged across the entire ceiling hanging down about four feet on poles). With these ZEBRA curtain scanners they can immediately identify every single RFID tagged item that has not been purchased as it exits the store. This means they can actually measure shrink by the door, by the hour, by SKU, etc. and they know what is being stolen in real time. That also means that there is some science to the anti-theft work Target is currently doing instead of just guessing as they can gather specific evidence. I know there is a new smaller version of this antenna and I noticed some odd ceiling black plastic mounted equipment specifically over the exit of each self checkout "corral" making me wonder if they are able to isolate theft to self checkout versus other shoplifting as the unpaid items go past two sets of antennas instead of one.

Macy's apparently installed these systems at their stores after fully embracing RFID tech, and they are helping them immensely. Unfortunately they found that a third of their theft was employees... They even caught an employee who had 62 years with the company stealing! They are able to use the tech in pretty amazing ways... Including tracking interstate theft which can be prosecuted at a Federal level (ensuring that the thieves actually get locked up and prosecuted unlike many states including California).

https://www.retaildive.com/news/rfid-te ... ry/707312/

[storewanderer]

Just got home from the Target across the street from the upscale Beverly Center Mall.

Good amount of people shopping.

4 full checkouts open with 1 person waiting in line. The orders were not big.

Now get this: Idiot customers waiting in line 10 deep at the self checkouts.

Walked past that cluster xxxx and got checked out at the regular lanes quickly where I could notice the same 10 people in line waiting at the self check out.

Hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable. I didn't want to say anything but I saw the exact same scenario in Menifee. SuperTarget store, had the large west bank of self checkouts closed but the small east bank open. Multiple machines out of order. A dozen full service checkouts with several lanes open no waiting. And a long queue of people waiting for the few working self checkouts. Makes me wonder why... Obviously they don't value their time, but also wonder if at least some of them were there deliberately hoping to pull off some kind of scam like ticket swapping, stolen credit card use, fake scanning theft etc. I can't imagine that everyone had some kind of embarrassing personal care items or whatever else that they didn't want to present to a cashier, especially considering there was a employee hovering around the few working self checkouts who would see such items anyway (I've heard this is a popular reason for self checkout use). A employee was telling customers there was no waiting on the full service lanes and most of these people still would not move. Bizarre.

The self checkout there also has a new corporate made sign that says "Express Self Checkout - 10 Items or Less." The closed bank said "Express Self Checkout is Closed - Full Service Lanes Open to Assist You". And unlike the past they were careful to log out all of these self checkouts so nobody could sneak around and use them unsupervised.


https://www.retaildive.com/news/rfid-te ... ry/707312/

I see this type of thing all the time in stores. This tells you that many customers DO NOT want to go to a regular cashier. They probably don't want to deal with the superficial interaction, the hard sell for a "red card," not being able to see prices as they scan, etc.

If it is a line of customers that all or even half of are avoiding a regular cashier because they are trying to engage in various fraudulent activities are you describe above, we have a much bigger problem. I find it hard to believe there are that many people trying to engage in those activities. I know some are.. but not a whole line worth (I hope...).

[mbz321]

No mention if RedCard members lose the free shipping but I assume they do as that was always supposed to be a limited time promotion.

According to a blurb in my Target app, Free shipping is still there for RedCard (now Circlecard. Target surely loves changing names of things!) Of course a lot of items don't ship for free without a minimum $35 spend anyway.

IMO, Target should start charging a pickup fee for DriveUp orders and make it a 'free' perk of the their 'Circle 360' Membership. It still amazes me they don't, and all the impulse sales they are losing out on from encouraging people not to come into the store!

[storewanderer]

Is Circle going to automatically add offers for those on paid memberships, or even for those with a basic/free Circle account, all offers will automatically apply?

I wonder if this is the beginning of making all sales prices "Circle" so the customers who don't join will just pay full price for everything.

Wall Street loved Target's huge profit beat in their earnings report but I couldn't help but notice the negative comp store sales result... even after all the price hikes that number being negative strikes me as extremely troubling.

They cost cut their way to success and Wall Street loved it. They are talking growth now. With such poor sales numbers they will have a blow out next year in the same period (I hope, for their sake), which I am sure Wall Street will love again.

[ClownLoach]

Is Circle going to automatically add offers for those on paid memberships, or even for those with a basic/free Circle account, all offers will automatically apply?

I wonder if this is the beginning of making all sales prices "Circle" so the customers who don't join will just pay full price for everything.

Wall Street loved Target's huge profit beat in their earnings report but I couldn't help but notice the negative comp store sales result... even after all the price hikes that number being negative strikes me as extremely troubling.

They cost cut their way to success and Wall Street loved it. They are talking growth now. With such poor sales numbers they will have a blow out next year in the same period (I hope, for their sake), which I am sure Wall Street will love again.

First, yes they said the free Circle membership is going to automatically take care of all those offers posted in store. This really never should have been an app requirement at Target for posted sale prices. They even use the language "We heard you, Circle sale prices are going to be automatic now" although they hint that personalized offers (like spend $75 three times in a month and get $20) will still need to be turned on in the app.

I could see it moving towards all sale prices being Circle, but in a way they've already acknowledged they did too much already with required jumping through hoops. I suspect that they are going to heavily cut back on the single item discounts with Circle and only do a few broad offers "like 20% off all shoes this week with Circle". I think they are trying to remove complications.

So now reading the fine print, what I originally heard turned out to be completely accurate. Target Circle 360 really is Shipt offered with a different name and is actually the same $99 a year price. However it is $49 for the first year for new members with a RedCard (soon to be rebranded as CircleCard which I think is a big mistake for many reasons). Target Circle 360 will include all of Shipt not just Target, so if you buy it then you will get free delivery from category competitors like PetSmart, Petco, CVS, Walgreens, and Sephora all at "store shelf pricing" aka no markup like Instacart applies. I was surprised that they are not worried about potentially sending business to these competitors. But I also wonder if this means they are going to kill the Shipt name entirely and how those stores would feel about having a gig worker wearing a "Target 360 Shopper" shirt roaming their aisles. I think they might lose some of these competitors like the pet stores and Walgreens. And how does their new partner Ulta Beauty feel about Target Circle 360 delivering Sephora product at shelf price in an hour? I have to think that in a year or so Shipt name will be totally gone and renamed Circle 360 which will only deliver Target, CVS, and probably Ulta. Then the question becomes is it still worth $99 if it delivers less stores than it used to when it was Shipt?

As far as sales go, I am not exactly surprised because remember the year before Target had swung from inventory shortage to inventory overload. They were sending entire truck loads to liquidators and their aisles were packed with clearance buys. They're going up against those inflated sales with very bad margin figures; I thought they lost money same quarter last year due to all the clearance especially big electronics blowouts? I got a Samsung TV for $100 less than Costco plus a free $75 gift card last year same quarter and they had TV sets stacked all over the store including all through apparel due to over buying. I think Wall Street understood for once this is a good case of negative comps as they were going up against the clearance blowouts.

So I do not see anything in last quarter as cost cutting their way to profit except for the fact that they weren't running a glorified liquidation sale for the entire quarter this year. They did roll many price cuts in foods especially their "key categories" like dairy and yogurt, snack bars, and cereals which may have also reduced comps. They did not discount sodas as much as the past, and I just have to assume this was a choice to give up sales instead of running a loss leader as in the past.

The thing that leaves me with a queasy feeling is knowing they are intentionally trying to push customers to choose the gig worker services over their own employees services. I think they are going to be more successful in this endeavor than Walmart has been with "plus" because of the positive reputation Shipt has. This unspoken push might be good for the store experience for the customer in the short term as workers are not pulled off registers to pull unprofitable eCommerce orders as much as before. Until they realize that they can cut those hours later and fatten the profit line for Wall Street...

The idea that retailers are trying to push work onto gig workers makes me uncomfortable when I think of how much abuse can come from it. There are also gig work apps like "Field Agent" currently available that are intended to generate exception reports for retailers and reduce the need for District Managers and even Store Managers... Apps that tell customers to look for certain items and take pictures of them in a store, or take pictures of the price tag or even the entire aisle. This in turn becomes the validation work that the Manager used to do like checking if the new planogram was set correctly, price changes completed, recalls done etc.. You get something like ten cents per picture and the offer is aimed at customers (who become gig workers) as "you're already shopping at XYZ store, go on a treasure hunt for us while you're there and get paid!" Again good companies could use this tech to make life easier for their employees and managers, but bad companies can start using this to eliminate positions, justify these "multi unit store manager" jobs that snuck up in the past at companies like Toys R Us and such. Instead of having the District Manager visit now they can just use these apps to have someone at the corporate office email out the s___ list that "Store 123, 456, and 321 didn't set the new display and Store 789 didn't finish their price changes." And we know the bad actors who would work this way outnumber the good guys... I just see work being pushed off to below minimum wage gig workers, which is worsened by the fact that as the store workers start to lose the "thinking" part of their jobs like validation tasks and such that make them understand how the business works and why their jobs are important. Ultimately the stores get worse as the experienced people who understand what matters in retail lose their jobs. There become less Store Manager, District Manager, Regional Manager etc. positions one can work to get promoted into, accelerating the talent loss the entire industry is struggling with. None of this is good long term, unless you're a Wall Street fat cat.

[BillyGr]

I see this type of thing all the time in stores. This tells you that many customers DO NOT want to go to a regular cashier. They probably don't want to deal with the superficial interaction, the hard sell for a "red card," not being able to see prices as they scan, etc.

Seems quite likely that many of those things are involved. Not sure it is as much an issue at Target (given their setups being different in terms of ads and such), but I certainly prefer it in the local supermarkets to be able to check as items are scanned that they are ringing up correctly, discounts/digital coupons etc. being applied and such.

Not that I wouldn't go to a cashier if there was a huge backup, but at least here the setup of a big backup at self-check and regular cashiers standing there unoccupied is rare.

[ClownLoach]

Just got home from the Target across the street from the upscale Beverly Center Mall.

Good amount of people shopping.

4 full checkouts open with 1 person waiting in line. The orders were not big.

Now get this: Idiot customers waiting in line 10 deep at the self checkouts.

Walked past that cluster xxxx and got checked out at the regular lanes quickly where I could notice the same 10 people in line waiting at the self check out.

Hysterical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Unbelievable. I didn't want to say anything but I saw the exact same scenario in Menifee. SuperTarget store, had the large west bank of self checkouts closed but the small east bank open. Multiple machines out of order. A dozen full service checkouts with several lanes open no waiting. And a long queue of people waiting for the few working self checkouts. Makes me wonder why... Obviously they don't value their time, but also wonder if at least some of them were there deliberately hoping to pull off some kind of scam like ticket swapping, stolen credit card use, fake scanning theft etc. I can't imagine that everyone had some kind of embarrassing personal care items or whatever else that they didn't want to present to a cashier, especially considering there was a employee hovering around the few working self checkouts who would see such items anyway (I've heard this is a popular reason for self checkout use). A employee was telling customers there was no waiting on the full service lanes and most of these people still would not move. Bizarre.

The self checkout there also has a new corporate made sign that says "Express Self Checkout - 10 Items or Less." The closed bank said "Express Self Checkout is Closed - Full Service Lanes Open to Assist You". And unlike the past they were careful to log out all of these self checkouts so nobody could sneak around and use them unsupervised.


https://www.retaildive.com/news/rfid-te ... ry/707312/

I see this type of thing all the time in stores. This tells you that many customers DO NOT want to go to a regular cashier. They probably don't want to deal with the superficial interaction, the hard sell for a "red card," not being able to see prices as they scan, etc.

So I am one that prefers self checkout too for all the reasons given. Having said that, Target hasn't offered me a RedCard application in years. And it isn't like I give it away easily that I already have one. Target has completely let all standards go away when it comes to their front end operations. There is zero supervision, a total lack of even basic "Hello" and "Thank you" most of the time, visible clutter and mess at the cashier stations, and if I am buying more than 10 items I catch them making a mistake (usually double scan or scanning wrong item twice) because of poor training. They love to try to rearrange items and scan multiples instead of simple scan and bag one at a time which of course is the best way to prevent errors. My understanding is that their current HR practices do not hold them accountable for results, but behavior instead. So as long as they ask if the supervisor is standing next to them watching then they will never get fired even if not a single customer applies for a RedCard. To fire them or write them up "observed behaviors" are required. And of course as discussed most of the cashiers were never on their assigned register in the first place because the lazy managers pull them to the floor where they work with zero sense of urgency because they aren't accountable for anything they do out there. My understanding is that they had also suspended their attendance policies during COVID and were no longer holding anyone accountable for arriving to work on time, not calling out excessively etc.

It sounds like the forcing the managers not to pull cashiers off the register rule is the beginning of bringing back accountability to Target. They used to be the best "people managers" in retail but this CEO has broken that culture. Supposedly he did the same in his previous companies.