MarketWatch reports that Target has cut its minimum for free shipping for online orders in half, from $50 to $25, and move that undercuts both Amazon and Walmart.
According to the story, "After taking back its website operation from Amazon in fall 2011, and having endured such episodes as a website crash during its Missoni for Target launch, Target has upped its online game and is, in the company’s words, 'taking bold steps to be an e-commerce leader'."
The story says that the move reflects Target's desire to connect with younger generation shoppers, and that the company has been emboldened by a 2014 holiday shopping season during which it had a 58 percent conversion rate on its website, up from 31 percent a year earlier - still lower than the conversion rate at Amazon and Walmart, but showing a higher growth rate than either of those two sites.
According to the story, "After taking back its website operation from Amazon in fall 2011, and having endured such episodes as a website crash during its Missoni for Target launch, Target has upped its online game and is, in the company’s words, 'taking bold steps to be an e-commerce leader'."
The story says that the move reflects Target's desire to connect with younger generation shoppers, and that the company has been emboldened by a 2014 holiday shopping season during which it had a 58 percent conversion rate on its website, up from 31 percent a year earlier - still lower than the conversion rate at Amazon and Walmart, but showing a higher growth rate than either of those two sites.
- KC's View:
-
What's the over-under on when Target begins offering free shipping? Because down the road, that's going to be the cost of doing business.
I also think that one of the things that Target ought to do is what Amazon has done, which is provide preferential shipping rates to best customers, or customers who are willing to pay for it (Prime). That's a great way to differentiate between your customers and target the best ones.
