Target announced yesterday that this month it is debuting a new and “enhanced shopping experience” for Apple products in the chain’s stores and online.
The retailer said the plan consists of specially designated Apple shops inside 17 of its stores in 10 states with more to follow. The shops are intended to bring the technology giant’s products, including AirPods, Apple TV, Apple Watch HomePod, iPad and iPhones, along with accessories, into a single location in stores. Each shop will feature new lighting fixtures and displays. Target consultants who have received “specialized training” from Apple on the company’s tech will staff the shops.
Apple will also get standalone treatment on target.com with the same products highlighted online along with an expanded selection of accessories.
Target will give its REDcard holders, whether they buy in stores or online, an additional five percent discount on Apple products when they purchase with their cards.
Customers also have multiple choices for ordering and receiving their Apple purchases including going to a store and speaking with a tech consultant or through Target’s Drive Up, Order Pickup or Shipt same-day delivery services.
Christina Hennington, executive vice president and chief growth officer at Target, said Apple’s products are a draw for the chain’s customers. The two companies have been working together for more than 15 years. She said, “This new model was created with Target’s guests in mind, and we’ll continue to learn and enhance the experience through future rollouts later this year.”
The Apple shops are part of a larger trend toward strategic partnerships at Target. The retailer has collaborated with Disney, Levis Strauss and Ulta Beauty. The intended goal, according to Target, is to make the retailer “the ultimate destination for the most sought-after national brands, alongside its stable of coveted owned brands.”
The retailer announced last November plans to open Ulta Beauty at Target shops at more than 100 of its locations and online this year. The two said they were expecting to open “hundreds more” with the 1,000-square-foot shops staffed by Target staff trained by Ulta. The shops feature Ulta’s in-store digital tools, including its GLAMLab, virtual try-on tech.
