Target has opened the company’s newest small format store in midtown Manhattan’s Herald Square, one of 12 new stores debuting in metro New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. The store openings kick off several new store and digital initiatives for the retailer.
The new stores will bring the total of small format locations operating across the Target portfolio to 55. The retailer plans have more than 130 small format locations nationwide by the end of 2019. The small store expansion will generate Target’s first Vermont location in South Burlington, slated to open in fall 2018. The retailer will open a total of 32 new stores in 2017 and intends to open 35 more in 2018.
Target will also expand its same-day delivery service in New York City to three additional locations— Herald Square, Brooklyn Bensonhurst and Brooklyn Fulton Street— as well as offering the service via its Tribeca location. When they shop those locations, customers can have their in-store purchases delivered later that day anywhere in Manhattan and to parts of Brooklyn and Queens in a two-hour timeframe for a small fee.
Target is also accelerating its plans to remodel more than 1,000 stores by the end of 2020. The company will fully renovate about 110 stores in 2017, 325 in 2018, 350 in 2019 and 325 in 2020, installing modernized design applications and customized elements derived from guest feedback.
The company also noted that it plans to launch its Restock program across the U.S. next year. The program provides shoppers who place their orders by 7 p.m. the chance for next-day essentials delivery. Target currently offers the Restock program in 11 markets and will expand Restock to more major markets early in 2018 and nationwide by the end of the year.
Earlier this year, the company began testing a fulfillment option called Drive Up, a new service through the Target app that enables consumers to have their digital orders brought out to their cars by a store team member. This month, Target began providing Drive Up throughout the Twin Cities area.
In another approach, Target expanded a partnership with Google featuring the rollout of a Google Express service nationwide that uses stores to deliver items in just two days. Target also developed a U.S. retail-exclusive partnership with Pinterest focused on integrating the Pinterest Lens into Target’s registry and eventually Target’s app, a move that will allow faster product searches.
“Target has made significant progress in our strategic priorities since announcing a meaningful investment in our business earlier this year,” said Brian Cornell, Target chairman and CEO. “We’re elevating every aspect of how we serve our guests, including reimagining hundreds of stores, opening new small format stores, introducing new and exclusive brands, pursuing an aggressive digital strategy and transforming the way we replenish our stores and get products to our guests. As we open more small format stores in new neighborhoods across the country, we’ll be even closer to our guests, and our reimagined stores will provide elevated inspiration and ease, along with serving as hyperlocal distribution centers to fulfill digital orders faster.”
