Target’s 9 Competitive Advantages That Make Them Successful

Target Inc., a U.S. retailer, has achieved a new milestone and become the 8th largest operator in the country. As the country’s fifth largest retailer behind Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Costco, and BJ’s, Target is now the only non-discounter to make the list.

Target is a great place to work because of the way we do business. We offer great benefits that include tuition reimbursement and retirement savings programs. As a retail giant, we have a strong culture of caring for our customers. We are well-known for great service and a unique experience for our customers, whether in-store or online.

I’m going to talk about the 9 competitive advantages that Target has, so you can know more about them too.

Target’s 9 Competitive Advantages In 2022!

1. Extensive Nationwide Presence

Amazon is a major eCommerce company, with its own network of more than 1,600 physical stores in the entire country. In fact, more than 75% of Americans currently live within ten miles of Amazon, which leaves Target far behind.

Target has devoted a lot of effort in making its online shopping experience better. Target also uses a 44 distribution centers spread across the nation to provide their products to their stores.

Target distribution centers are widely scattered across the country. It makes deliveries on every corner of the country. Therefore; customers can now enjoy Target from the comfort of their own home.

The growth of Target makes it the largest retailer in the United States. As well as providing an excellent customer experience, Target has grown a lot since its founding. In 1989, there were only 25 stores and now there are more than 2,900. Furthermore, as of February, 2020, Target employs over 146,095 people.

The author points out that Target stores are much more widely located than Walmart. The author also says that this means that Walmart can easily expand into areas that Target can not.

2. Target’s Loyal Customer Base

In the past year, Target has been plagued by a series of scandals. Issues include: failing to pay overtime to hourly workers, selling expired food, and giving away discounts not advertised on marketing material. The company is now facing up to $600m in fines.

Â It’s mostly true that customers prefer Target’s stores to Walmart because of cleanliness and organization, but that depends on the particular location.Â Some stores are much cleaner than others.

Target also has their own line of store brands as well as private brand brands. Target’s own brands are usually sold at the lower end of the price range and priced between the price range of Target’s national brand. Target offers these private brands to increase brand recognition among mass market.

Additionally, Target launched its own loyalty program but customers are not forced into a membership scheme. The Circle Card allows customers to earn 1% rewards with a purchase, birthday treats, and exclusive sales.

Target also makes a donation to the community by investing 5% of its profits back into its local communities.
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In the age of Amazon, Target is going against the grain, aiming to provide its customers with a higher-end shopping experience that encourages them to return.

3. Small Stores, Busy Locations

Target’s competitive advantage is the combination of its strong distribution centers and its operation of small-scale stores strategically placed in busy locations.

Target wants to offer the modern shopper a lot more than the average discount store. They want to offer an environment that is clean, modern, and attractive. They also want to offer a more friendly shopping experience that is unique to Target.

The new shopping center in the heart of the city will be the next big thing for the shopping plaza. It is expected to draw people from all walks of life and the young professionals who work in the city and surrounding suburbs.

Target has been successful because it’s located in a dense urban area of Austin. The same cannot be said for the company’s new small format model stores.

While Target may not be able to keep pace with Walmart and Costco, they do have several advantages. For one, their smaller stores are still very profitable for the company.

Target stocks small sized local stores that meet the community’s demand by providing merchandise that meets the community’s demand, from university area school supplies to residential neighborhood baby garments.

4. Target’s Competitive Pricing

In terms of pricing, there really is no difference among the three. They all compete on a price versus value ratio and all three have their pros and cons.

In a market with lower prices and lower margins, Target is slightly better off, and the firm is able to provide a better pricing strategy. In the long run, Target has a slight advantage in the business.

After analyzing how Target does business, Walmart made a decision to cut out all of their private labels and went for private-label-only pricing, which is very similar to what Target does.

It’s definitely one of the best price matching policies on the market. If you can find a lower price for an identical (color, model, brand, size, and quantity) product, you can take advantage of a price match. Customers can even price match merchandise within 14 days of purchase. In the event that you don’t see a lower price on an identical product, you can check out Target’s “Clearance Center.” With products marked down up to 75 percent off, you can find a nice price on a new purchase.

5. Increasing In-Store Fulfillment

There has been an increase of interest in mobile apps for retail stores due to the fact that the sales for each visit will be higher than that of desktop or laptops. Therefore, it is important to create a mobile app that fits the need for each store.

As of February 2018, approximately 25% (460) of Target’s stores have the capacity to fulfill online orders. The company has the ability to ship orders to customers’ homes within 2 days. They use this competitive advantage to keep up with eCommerce competitors.

By having inventory at the store, every customer is able to try on their outfits in the dressing room. Additionally, the store’s website is a great place to see what’s new in the store.

Target has a contract with UPS to help pick and pack orders. Target trained their own staff for packing, and now has cross-trained staff to fill in for those who are on vacation.

Target also adapts to modern demand, which sees customers becoming increasingly impatient waiting for their online orders. Fulfillment capabilities enable same-day delivery, contributing to nearly $15 billion in growth in the next two years. From a perspective on growth, that figure is more significant than Target’s collective growth over the past 11 years!

6. Broad Selection Of Private Label And Exclusive Brands

Target is a great place to shop, especially if you are looking for a wide range of products that may require additional research. They have a much more specialized selection in areas like home, food and fitness. They also do a great job of having many stores next to each other to give you the ability to easily go to the store.

Target offers exclusive products which are sold under brand names and they are a significant driver of company’s store sales. It offers exclusive products in the market that are exclusive to Target.

The reason why we sell private labels is not only to gain profits, but also to increase our sales. Private labels are popular as they offer a cheaper price point and differentiate customers’ experiences from those available to the general public.

Customers love Target because of its affordable prices and exclusive products. They love to see high-fashion items at Target and get excited to see brands that they love. These exclusivity partnerships also raise Target’s profile among its customers.

7. Employee Satisfaction At The Heart Of Target

It is important to create an organizational culture at the core of the Corporation to ensure strong employee relationships.

Target is trying to improve the overall customer experience and raise starting wages. These moves are aimed at increasing Target’s competitive edge. Walmart is still trying to improve the customer experience. The company’s wage increase is smaller and will not raise starting wages.

As an immigrant who has experienced these benefits first hand, I am appalled by how the average American (whether Republican or Democrat) ignores the suffering of millions of people who have moved to the United States for a better life. For example, Target would not hire me as a marketing intern because I am not from the United States, as if that would somehow make me not good enough to work.

I like to think of HR as a key competitive advantage as it is so important to making sure that your company is as successful as it can be. Having employees who are satisfied and engaged with their work is critical to the success of a company. As such, HR helps to ensure that employees are happy, engaged, and satisfied.

Target knows that employees can be the most powerful advocates for a company’s brand. By encouraging employees to progress at Target, the company ensures that customers will keep coming back.

8. Strong Marketing Campaigns

One essential source of competitive advantage is a well-designed marketing campaign. In 2019, Target spent $1.65 billion on advertising, utilizing both traditional and digital methods. Additionally, its location in populated areas indicates that it offers higher quality goods, thus attracting organic attention.

With the release of their new logo, Target is now the only place in the U.S. that the company uses a red logo, which makes Target the official red store of the American Red Cross.

The red adds color and texture to the shelves, which makes the shelves look fresh and modern.

Target has proven that they are able to effectively utilize new marketing means such as Twitter to post announcements linking customers to limited collaborative collections.

Insta-shopping is a great way to market products at an affordable price. Instagram’s marketing tools make it easy to create a viral campaign and reach targeted customers. The ability to create a lookbook right from the app means that you can use the brand’s image to entice people to buy the product.

9. Enticing Concessions In-Store

Target’s new strategy involves bringing big brands into their stores to give them a new experience where consumers can shop for high-end products such as iPhones and other high-end accessories as well as beauty products.

Starbucks not only work wonders for Target’s brand equity, optimizing brand reputation on the market, but they do so by optimizing the Target’s reputation with a wider breadth of customers who will then stumble over their own brand.

You may also find a lot of Apple stores working inside Target stores which, again, instantly attracts higher-paying customers.

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Conclusion

Target’s competitive advantage is its ability to build and maintain a loyal customer base from what I’ve learned. Promoting a positive customer experience is found at the center of their business model possible by dedication to employee satisfaction with progressive roles.

Its small-scale stores covered in distinctive red selling privately labeled and exclusive brands truly sets Target apart from its competitors. Additionally, Target has transformed stores into multipurpose centers that fulfill consumer needs physically and digitally. And in addition, the retailer is also planning to open more of these “smart stores” in urban markets.