Target is hoping to entice this year’s holiday deal hunters by expanding its offering of $5 gifts and promising to have purchases delivered the next day to customers in more markets.
The retailer, trying to overcome a series of challenges, including slumping sales, an unappealing in-store shopping experience and disgruntled customers, on Tuesday said it will offer 20,000 new items — double the number from last year — and with more than half exclusive to Target, and priced at $5, in time for the holiday shopping season.
And Target Circle Week, the retailer’s equivalent to Amazon Prime Day event, this year will run from Oct. 5 to 11.
Target TGT 0.00%↑, which already offers same-day delivery across a majority of its market, also said it’s expanding next-day delivery of online orders (free for orders over $35 or with no minimum order amount for Target Circle 360 members) to more markets and expects the service to cover 35 top U.S. metro areas by the end of October. The new markets will include San Diego (California), Orlando (Florida), Tampa (Florida), Cleveland (Ohio), Charlotte (North Carolina) and Durham (North Carolina).
“With our unmatched combination of great products and great prices, Target is making it possible for everyone to celebrate the holidays on a budget,” Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief commercial officer with Target, said in a statement. “This year, our holiday assortment features more new gifts than ever, from cozy, cashmere-like sweaters and faux fur blankets to the hottest toys and beauty items.
Among the $5 and under items include holiday decor and beauty products. Target said it will also stock several “pop culture exclusives” in the fall, such as clothing, toys and collectibles tied to the fifth and final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and new and exclusive items in beauty, collectibles, drinkware and tied to the upcoming Universal Pictures film, “Wicked: For Good.”