Today's Wall Street Journal tells us that Target "... is tired of being used." In an article discussing a concept called "showrooming," where shoppers come into a store to see a product in person only to buy it from an online rival - typically at a lower price, Target is asking its vendor partners to create special products for the banner that shield it from price comparisons.
Online sites like Amazon.com pose a significant risk to retailers like Best Buy to Barnes & Noble. The article reports that this years holiday season saw an average 4.1% jump for brick and mortar stores while on line sales jumped 15%. Target's sales were particularly disappointing in electronics, books and movies – all categories that have made a significant shift to online sales.
It appears that Target's vendors may have little choice but to play along because of the second largest discount chain's clout. For a shopper marketing agency like birdsong gregory, this just highlights more opportunities to mine the path to purchase for consumer insights that may benefit our online and B&M clients.
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