In the world of retail, fast and easy is king. And with Black Friday looming, Target Corp. has upped its game with more small-format stores that are easier to navigate and “skip-the-line” mobile checkout devices that help shoppers avoid long lines.
One of the Minneapolis-based retailer’s newest small-format stores will open Wednesday, Nov. 8 in south Orange County, bringing the greater Los Angeles total to 14. Other small-format stores — which average 40,000 square feet as opposed to 130,000 square feet for an average full-size location — can be found in such communities as Mission Hills, Burbank, La Canada Flintridge, Long Beach, Orange, Irvine and Anaheim.
The new Mission Viejo store will offer an assortment of health and beauty products, home decor items, toys, sporting goods, clothing and other merchandise, but in a downsized format.
Erik Corona, team leader for the store, said the concept seems to resonate with shoppers.
“People are excited that they can go out to one of our main stores or drive a few miles down the road and shop at one of our small-format locations where they can get in and out quickly,” he said.
By next week, Target will operate 87 small-format stores across the country, putting its total store count at 1,850.
No standing in long lines
And those handheld devices?
A Target employee can scan items in a shopper’s basket or shopping cart and accept payment by credit card on the spot from anywhere in the store. That eliminates the need to either checkout yourself or wait in lines at the front of the store — a perk most shoppers would appreciate.
“If a shopper can’t find what they’re looking for we can also use the device to scan an item on the floor to see if we have more in the back,” Corona said. “They can use it to print labels, take a payment and then have the item shipped to the store — or a customer’s home.”
Competing with Amazon
That kind of technology isn’t surprising in a retail climate where businesses are struggling to compete with Amazon’s strong online sales. Target, Walmart and other big-box retailers have beefed up their online operations in an effort to capture more e-commerce business.
“We’ve seen shakeouts with the likes of Sears, Kmart and other companies, but there is still room for Target and Walmart,” said Lars Perner, an assistant professor of clinical marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business. “For many, there’s still no substitute for going to a big-box store like Target and picking up everything at one spot.”
Target is also looking to be competitive on the wage front.
“All of our team members are earning at least $12 an hour except in markets where the minimum wage or competitive rate is higher,” company spokeswoman Jacque DeBuse said. “But from a national standpoint, we’ll get to $15 an hour by 2020.”
A ribbon cutting for the Mission Viejo store at 27551 Puerta Real will be held at 5 p.m. Wednesday and the store will remain open until 10 p.m. A grand opening is set for 8 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 11 where the first 1,000 guests will each receive a reusable Target bag.
Black Friday deals
Target kicked off its holiday shopping season Thursday with select pre-Black Friday deals on toys, electronics, home accessories and other items that were only available that day.
The company also unveiled its Black Friday ad, which includes an Element 55-inch Smart UHD TV for $199.99, an Instant Pot 7-in-1 Duo six-quart pressure cooker for $69.95 and T-shirts for $3.
Pay in the Aisles
Target’s latest technology will make shopping easier and faster. Here’s how it works:
- Using a handheld device, a Target employee can scan items in a shopper’s basket or shopping cart and accept payment by credit card on the spot from anywhere in the store.
- If a shopper can’t find what they’re looking for, the device can be used to check if there are more of that item in stock at the back of the store. The device can be used to print labels, take a payment and then have the item shipped to the store — or a customer’s home for free. This comes in handy if a customer is looking for a particular size, color or variety and the store is out.
