Target revealed during its investor conference on Tuesday, the retail giant announced it would launch a paid membership program, Target Circle 360, on April 7 to take on rivals Amazon and Walmart. The subscription tier includes benefits like unlimited free same-day shipping on orders over $35, free two-day shipping, plus exclusive partnerships and product offers. Same-day delivery is available through Target’s Shipt delivery service, which the company acquired in 2017.
Target Circle 360 serves as a paid version of Target Circle, a free loyalty program that has been around since 2019. The company is relaunching a more personalized program for members, including automatic discounts and personalized offers. Additionally, Target RedCard credit and debit cards will be rebranded to Target Circle, giving customers an additional 5% discount on purchases.
Target is currently providing a promotional rate of $49 per year for the new subscription until May 18. After that, it will cost $99 annually. It will still cost $49 if you have a Target Circle credit card, though.
Target has been rolling out paid memberships much later than its competitors, and the move comes as the company’s sales continue to decline (down for three straight quarters). The company hopes to follow the example of Amazon and Walmart, generating additional revenue and increasing sales. Although Target’s fourth-quarter results beat Wall Street expectations, the company’s overall comparable sales fell 4.4%. Additionally, Target expects sales to decline in the first quarter of 2024, with comparable sales he expects to decline by 3% to 5%. Total revenue was $31.9 billion.
Meanwhile, Amazon released its fourth quarter results last month, announcing sales of $170 billion (compared to $149.2 billion a year earlier). The company attributed the jump in sales to a “record-breaking” holiday shopping season and October’s Prime Day event. Amazon launched its $139 membership in 2005 and now has more than 200 million members.
Walmart also has success with Walmart+, their premium membership that launched in 2020 and costs $98 annually. In February, Doug McMillon, the CEO of Walmart, informed investors that Walmart+ members purchase more items overall and spend almost twice as much as non-members.