JoeySeven

Target[/url] is adding a paid option to its loyalty program, offering free same-day delivery from the retailer’s subsidiary and its 100+ retail partners. The Target Circle 360 program’s annual $99 fee will be only $49 (for the first year) for customers who sign up from April 7, when the program kicks off, through May 18, 2024.

The retailer will still offer its free-to-join Target Circle[/url] loyalty program

https://www.the-sun.com/money/103219...rship-program/
Target is relaunching its Target Circle loyalty program to include a new paid membership option.

Target unveiled a series of steps at its annual investors’ meeting Tuesday that aim to rejuvenate sales and traffic.

One includes Target Circle 360, a paid loyalty program that includes unlimited free same-day delivery in as little as an hour for orders over $35.

The membership will be available at a special promotional price of $49 per year from April 7 through May 18, when it will then reportedly cost $99 per year.

https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/ta...ram-circle-360

Hardly shop at Target anymore and it was mostly online when they had the great media selection and B2G1f deals.
And their stupid 50-cent bag policy for in-store pick-ups that can not be removed as I always bring my bags and some shit does not need bags.
Then you have to let them know to remove it, truly I think it is a scam to get more money.

fujishig

I think the bag policy makes sense for drive up at least because the employee doesn't want to bring a whole bunch of stuff out and put it in your trunk without a bag. Pick up, I had no idea.

Target doesn't have enough "in stock" on their site to really compete with the likes of an Amazon Prime subscription so I wonder if they are going to up the threshold for free shipping or something to tempt people to get this. Like don't they already have a confusing option to use Shipt instead? I assume this is just replacing that but in house?

Also I assume that like Walmart's program the expectation for same day delivery is that you tip (if groceries at least)?

TheBang

That's how they do it here. Well, also, we don't have bags here.

Abob Teff

$100 for "free" delivery . . . something sounds . . . off, Target.

Josh-da-man

I really don't know how Target stays in business.

When they first opened up in my area in the 1980s, they were leagues above the other stores like K-Mart, Alco, Gibson's, and TG&Y. They had the best toy and electronic sections, and the general quality of the merchandise was high. I bought the Transformers: The Movie soundtrack LP there when nobody else carried it. They also had a really nice selection of Commodore 64 computer products that other stores didn't. They were also the first store to carry the NES in my area -- the first time I heard about the NES was when I saw it one of their ads, the first release with that useless little robot with it, and thought it looked cool.

But I think that, during the 90s and 00s, they got eaten alive by Walmart like everyone else.

Now, when I go into their stores, the product selection is kind of -- odd. There's a lot of stuff they don't carry, and the common stuff they do carry generally costs about twice as much as Walmart. And, I know that Walmart has a bad reputation, but it's my experience that the typical Walmart store is cleaner and better kept than any Target I've been in in the past ten years.

And I'm always surprised how devoid of shoppers their stores are. Walmart and Kroger are always hopping, but every time I go to Target, it's always easy to find a parking spot and I never have to wait in line to check out. It's rare that there's ever anyone else in an aisle with me, and the other shoppers in the store just seem to be bored hausfraus pushing around empty carts. And when I do go there -- maybe once a month when I'm looking for something I can't find anywhere else -- I never buy more than five or six things a trip. Just looking at the foot traffic, they have to be getting slaughtered by other retailers.

There was even a time, fifteen or so years ago, when I'd shop there at least semi-regularly, and even buy some prepared hot food for a quick lunch. But now, what little hot ready to eat food they have in their deli looks unappetizing and over-priced.

On the plus side, just before Christmas, I they did have Huy Fong Sriracha sauce in stock, and I grabbed three bottles of it.

fujishig

It's kind of the opposite here. Walmart is a hellhole usually and Targets are pretty well kept. Both are really busy.

TheBang

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Walmarts are pretty shitty, and Targets at least look nicer. And for most things, I've found the pricing to be pretty comparable to Walmart. Certainly not twice as expensive. Plus, Target can have some good sales sometimes, and the Target Circle loyalty rewards help defray costs. Target and Walmart's curbside pickup are both pretty quick, but Target has no minimum order amount for curbside, unlike Walmart, so I tend to use them more.

BobO'Link

Both WM and Target here are well kept. Target's prices are generally a bit higher than WM but it really depends on what you're purchasing. Target's grocery section is somewhat a joke (about what a *small* grocery store would carry) but *does* have the more popular items (their "fresh" area is to be avoided though - very limited selection of mostly overpriced items). I *do* like Target's pickup better - but with the limited grocery selection I rarely use it. Plus they're in a mall at the corner of the busiest intersection in town - 30,000+ vehicles daily go through that intersection making it a royal pain to go to Target depending on time of day.

PhantomStranger

I stopped going to Target when they gave up on physical media, especially CDs. Now they don't even have a decent book selection anymore.

BobO'Link

I'm pretty much the same. Once the media section got reduced to a single isle I gave up on them. All I purchase in store these days are a couple of grocery items when they put them on sale. Otherwise, it's all online and typically toys (for grandkids/grand nieces & nephews), select media, and board games. Even then it's only when they're having a sale.

MLBFan24

A Target shopping cart vs. a Walmart shopping cart is quite different haha

I have $573.63 lifetime savings with the Target Circle app. Walmart doesn't have sales on those same everyday groceries and household items (cleaning supplies).

But I do shop at both Walmart and Target. Walmart has some items that Target doesn't have. For example, Target stopped carrying basic Ivory bar soap (not out of stock, just stopped supplying it). What??? So I had to get it at Walmart.

fujishig

I think that's the problem. Who shops at Target sooo much that this would be worth it to them (unless as I said earlier they really nerf the existing free shipping thresholds, which would just tick people off)? I assume those who already thought Shipt was worth it will migrate to this but otherwise I don't get it.

Or worse they pull a Best Buy. "oh these circle deals are only for premium members, sorry."

Trevor

We used to shop at Target all the time, but the last few years it seems like I never find deals there anymore. Normal prices are higher than Walmart, and the Target is kinda out of the way so it is pretty much out of our rotation now.

JoeySeven

Could Target be the next Sears? Besides their media B2G1F deal, which looks like it may still happen, but with very reduced stock. They do not have much to offer to me at least.

For spring planting and work around the house, I did not buy one thing from Target. Do they even have an outdoor nursery like Walmart?

I bought from Costco, Walmart, Bi-mart(NW store), and items those 3 stores did not carry, went to The Home Depot or Lowes.
And bought a small bike lock from Walmart. They have outdoor pickup on the side of the store, where you can drive or walk up to and pick up your order if you do not want to go in-store.
At least the Target in my city only has walk-in pick-up for online orders. I do not have your food delivery thing. I live about a mile from town.

PhantomStranger

Target is likely too big to completely fail since most smaller retailers have been decimated by the pandemic, they are the retail alternative for suburbanites who don't feel comfortable shopping Walmart. But I do see signs they are slowly rethinking their business model, somewhat akin to Best Buy's transformation over the past 20 years.