The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TARGET OFFERS RESERVATIONS OPTION FOR HOLIDAY SHOPPERS
What’s happening
At a time when the thought of holiday crowds might be more frightening than festive, Target is introducing a new safety measure: reservations. During the holidays, shoppers can visit Target. com/ line to see if there is a line outside their local store and reserve a spot. They’ll be notified whenit’s their turn to shop.
Other new safety measures include contactless selfcheckout anywhere in- store through Target’ s Wallet a pp, double the parking for Target’s popular Drive Up services, and expanded same- daydeliveryand pick up offerings, the company said.
Why they’re doing it
This holiday season, Target has said it plans to keep season hiring in line with last year– about 130,000positions at its nearly 1,000 stores around the country. But it’s doubling the number of employees helping with curbside and in- store pickup and hiring more full- time and seasonal warehouse employees.
Last quarter, Target’s online and in- store sales rosemore than 24%, driving profits up80% tomore than $ 1.7 billion.
Thebigpicture
More than a dozen major retailers have filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic and several others are at risk of running out of cash. Because of financial situations and fewer opportunities to exchange gifts, consumers expect to scale down this year. The average household expects to spend $ 1,387during the 2020 holiday season, down 7% froml ast year, according to Deloitte’s annual holiday retail survey.