Target Rolls Out New Perk For Loyal Shoppers

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Target is rolling out a convenient curbside scheme that will allow shoppers to return unwanted items without leaving their cars.
The 'Drive Up' refunds service forms part of the store's strategy to retain customers amid fears of a 'retail apocalypse' which has seen  due to low sales.
The curbside-returns program is already on offer at around a quarter of Target's stores and will be available at all 2,000 by the summer. 
Customers must have downloaded the Target mobile app in order to benefit.
It comes after online retailers such as  in a bid to crack down on serial returners.
Target is rolling out a curbside returns scheme which will allow shoppers to have items refunded without leaving their cars
The service forms part of the firm's strategy to retain customers amidst fears of a 'retail apocalypse.' Today Target stocks were trading at around 34.23 percent lower than a year ago 
To benefit, shoppers must inform their nearest store via the app when they plan to return the item.
Consumers must then drive to the store and follow the instructions on the app, which will navigate them to exactly where they need to be.
A staff member will then meets them at the allocated slot and pick up the refunded product.
As with all Target purchases, customers have up to 90 days to request a refund.
The store already offers a 'Drive Up' pick up service which allows customers to collect products they have ordered online without leaving their cars.
The retailer says it has been a major driver of its online sales.
Target exploded a boom in popularity during the pandemic, with its total annual revenue growing by around $31 billion - or nearly 40 percent - between 2019 and 2020.
The company is now under pressure to retain those gains. 
During an investor day in February it projected full-year earnings per share of between $7.75 and $8.75. 
This fell below Wall Street's expectations of $9.23 per share, according to StreetAccount.
On Wednesday Target stocks were trading at around 34 percent lower than they were a year ago.
The expansion of the Drive Up returns scheme aims to boost loyalty among customers and compete with ultra-convenient online retailers like Amazon. 
It also comes after online retailers such as Amazon started slapping customers with refund processing fees in a bid to crack down on serial returners
Chief Stores Officer Mark Schindele said: 'Any time we remove friction from our guest experience it benefits the guests and benefits Target because they deepen their relationship with us.
'We've shown that wit Drive Up overall.

Guests try that service, they love it and they return to our stores more often.'
Click and collect services - which refer to purchases that are made online but picked up in-store - accounted for 11 percent of e-commerce sales in the US, according to data from market research firm Euromonitor.
Bricks-and-mortar stores have suffered several blows in recent months, with the likes of Walmart and Foot Locker all slashing the number of their locations. 
The scale of the crisis was laid bare this week after retailer Bed Bath & Beyond . 
But online retailers have also been hit by dwindling custom and serial returners.
Last week it emerged Amazon would start charging customers a $1 fee if they made a return to a UPS store when there was a Whole Foods, Amazon Fresh grocery store or Kohl's closer to the delivery address. 
It followed in the footsteps of a wave of other retailers which have implemented similar fees. 
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Maxx, for example, applies a $10.99 fee to online returns while J.Crew, H&M and Zara charge $5.95, $3.95 and pttogel login $7.50 respectively.
Figures from the National Retail Federation show customers returned roughly $428 billion in merchandise in 2020 - accounting for 10.6 percent of retail sales in the US.
More generally, the NRF estimates that the average retailer incurs $106 million in merchandise returns for every $1 billion it makes in sales.