As I’m sure many of my female counterparts would agree, it is nearly impossible to leave a physical Target store with only the items you intended to buy. The dazzling displays make it very difficult to stick to your shopping list. An embarrassingly huge fan of Target myself, I wanted to look into the adapted branding of Target.com.
As an established store, Target has an established brand and this allowed the store to (eventually) have success online. Elements of a strong brand including awareness and recognition, something Target has plenty of. From the logo to the mascot dog, I’d be willing to be there is hardly a person in the USA who wouldn’t associate branded ads with company. Of course, just being aware of the brand is not enough to deem it successful. Customer behavior has be involved with purchases. Whether they are high priced or convenience items, having an associated brand always creates an advantage.
All these pieces now translate to the online Target store. However, this wasn’t always the case. In the fall of 2011, after ending their relationship with Amazon, Target faced a poorly built website and very frustrated customers. Buyers were faces with broken links and long wait times to checkout. Though the products were the same as in the stores, the website certainly did not supply the best possible customer experience, an important part of brand marketing.
Two years later, target.com customers are met with a very different website, in that it functions properly. Starting at their homepage, it has bright personality and voice, making a clear message: Get ready for Christmas!
According to eMarketer.com, 47% of US internet users are expected to shop online this holiday season. Target is smart to combine their attention-grabbing brand with targeted holiday marketing, on and offline. These are key elements of strong, successful brands. While Target.com may not be hugely creative in their website, they are keeping up with the latest design trends with the 'flat' layout of the bolded text, as was made popular by the most recent iPhone update.
The site is fairly standard, no videos, games, or coloring PDFs to print out for a stay-at-home mother's children. While this could be seen as a point of lacking, I hypothesize that it was deliberate. Given the popularity of the Target brand offline, Bullseye the dog doesn't need his own Facebook page like the Travelocity Roaming Gnome has his own homepage.
The site is fairly standard, no videos, games, or coloring PDFs to print out for a stay-at-home mother's children. While this could be seen as a point of lacking, I hypothesize that it was deliberate. Given the popularity of the Target brand offline, Bullseye the dog doesn't need his own Facebook page like the Travelocity Roaming Gnome has his own homepage.
In conclusion, it seems that Target executives just wanted the site to work properly, with no added frills. The site is straightforward and perpetuates the popular brand image.
Sources:
Roberts, M. L., & Zahay, D. (2012). Internet marketing: Integrating online and offline strategies. (3rd ed.). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning.
eMarketer. (2013, November 1). Customer Confidence Up, Holiday Shopping On. Retrieved from http://www.emarketer.com/Article/Consumer-Confidence-Up-Holiday-Shopping-On/1010353
Nice post, Emily! I must say, the Minnesota Target store experience is so far superior from the California Target experience. I moved back to MN after being out there for 6 years and was surprised the vast difference. I know Target is based here, so the stores probably have a lot more corporate visits therefore needing to look extra spiffy. I always felt that the CA stores were out of stock of EVERYTHING and messy. Just my opinion! :)
ReplyDeleteAs for creating their brand, what happened to the designer collaborations? I know that they have done a few lesser known designers this year, but the clothes have been meh. Bring back Missoni and Rodarte! That will get me to come back to your store, Target!
I think their website offers more than the brick and mortar store. I believe I saw petite clothing sizes for the shorter folk like me. I think the website offers quite a few opportunities for the Target shopper to enter in an email, so Target can start data mining and sending out offers, SO THEY NEVER EVER WILL LEAVE TARGET.
I downloaded the Target App for my phone and it is also very easy to use, so I can make purchases on the fly when I have zero time to go to the store. Hey, a mobile visit still counts as a visit!
Emily,
ReplyDeleteFirst off you are 100% right when it comes to woman going into Target and spending a lot more then they wanted. My wife is the perfect example of that, however I can't say that I don't do the same thing. I think you did an excellent job on your first blog, you are right that their site is pretty standard with no thrills. Do you think that this works to their advantage? I know personally when I go to websites if there is a lot of clutter right away I am turned off and move on to the next site. It also amazes me that 47% of people shop online for the holidays, personally I do my Christmas shopping in stores but I have shopped online, in fact I have the Amazon app and my card is stored so I just buy and go, I just didn't realize that many people did it on the holidays. Great job!
Emily,
ReplyDeleteGreat job! I also agree with your statement that Target is a difficult store to leave with only the items you came for. Personally, I thought the layout of the website was a bit too cluttered, there were so many products grabbing my attention. I love that you looked into the history of target.com and emphasized the changes Target has made, and the effects that has had on the back room aspect of customer service.
Excellent blog! Easy and engaging to read.
Nice post Emily! Even I have a tough time leaving Target with items I did not intend to by when I went into the store. I feel like if I had a budget of $500 I still would go way over that budget. Tough to walk out of Target with only a $100 bill!!!!!! The website is set up to allow the user to breeze through it with ease. Straight forward and to the point. I do like it that the Spot Dog doesn't have a Facebook page. Well done Target!
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