Target emphasizes mobile experience with updated Target.com platform

MINNEAPOLIS - Mobile is becoming the device of choice for today’s shoppers, Target noted in a release Thursday, and Target guests over-index for mobile usage. In addition, mobile traffic and sales have been key to driving Target’s digital growth, the retailer stated. 

 

Beginning June 2, no matter the screen size or device — mobile, tablet or desktop — visitors to Target.com will have a more consistent and unified experience, the company announced. 

 

Target previously operated two separate websites: one for desktop and one for mobile. The shift to one site means Target’s desktop experience will, essentially, be the same one that guests have seen on Target’s mobile website. Managing Target.com with one code base will enable the company's digital to make updates faster and more efficiently than ever before.

 

“People rely more than ever on their phones for everything in life, from interactions with friends to scheduling to shopping,” stated Jason Goldberger, Target’s chief digital officer. “We’ve talked for years about being a mobile-first retailer. This move takes us from mobile first to mobile only.”

 

The Target team has been methodically building and testing the new Target.com experience — which is built to adapt to screen sizes from desktop to tablet to mobile — since launching the site last year for mobile and tablet.

 

With the new upgrade, guests can switch more seamlessly between devices — even if they do so mid-shopping spree. In a recent survey, 80% of Target shoppers stated that they had started a task on one device, then switched to a different device to complete the task.

 

The overall digital engagement will be more visual, Target noted, with fewer words and descriptions. 

Last year, Target’s mobile conversion rate shot up almost 90% and is now higher than its desktop rate in 2013 — another clear sign that mobile is at the center of Target's guests lives and that they crave convenience, the retailer noted.