Buying gifts for fussy relatives just got easier
Target’s GiftNow lets you swap out presents
Target has come up with a new way to help you satisfy those finicky relatives on your gift list this holiday season.
Before shipping a present, Target lets online shoppers send an email to check if the recipient might want something else instead.
The new “GiftNow” button will allow online shoppers to purchase a present and then send an email as an “electronic gift box,” or “e-gift” for short. The recipient can accept the present, switch its color and size, or, if it’s destined to be stuffed in the back of their clos- et, swap it out for something else.
“This is the perfect solution for that fussy relative that we all have,” said Mike McNamara, a Target executive vice president, at an event last week in New York to introduce it. “It’s also great for last-minute gifting because you don’t have to worry about whether the product is going to get there in time for Christmas. The e-gift is going to get there as fast as email.”
The new option is one of the ways Target is trying to woo
shoppers in what is typically the most lucrative season of the year for retailers. At a time when Amazon is upending the shopping landscape, Target and others are adopting novel ideas, both digitally and in stores, to better compete.
In addition to GiftNow, the big-box store chain is rolling out special deals, offering free shipping, and featuring exclusive brands and experiences to try to make its stores destinations for shoppers who are increasingly content to simply browse and buy online.
Target will offer free shipping starting Nov. 1 and continuing through Christmas. And while company executives say that they will likely offer fewer discounts this holiday season, the store will roll out special weekend deals starting Nov. 11 through December.
Industrywide, stores are still where roughly 90% of purchases are made, retail experts say. But retailers are having to work harder to get shoppers through their doors and are increasingly offering special events and experiences to draw them in.
This holiday season, for instance, Target says it will feature a Lego chimney as a backdrop for photos, Star Wars toy demonstrations, giveaways, and hot cocoa and cookies for customers at stores across the country.
“We are focused on being a top destination for gifts,” says McNamara.