Target: A Good Role Model For Improving Customer Experience

By Sam Lewis

Heritage plays an important role in retailer’s vision of customer experience

These days, every retailer is focused on improving the customer experience, and one of the undisputed leaders in this area has got to be Target.  From the wide aisles and the bright lights, to the signs branded with its logo, everything this retailer does is intended to create an excellent customer experience to its shoppers each time they walk through its doors. But to understand how Target evolved to where it is today, you need to go back to its roots as Dayton’s Department Store.

Dayton’s had a knack for anticipating needs of its customers and fulfilling them with a great experience. Dayton’s expertise of customer experience was not a stroke of luck. Everything — store layout, lighting schemes, signage, and product presentation — was researched and carefully planned. Obviously, in the 100+ years since the inception of Dayton’s, products and pricing have changed, along with the store name, but the dedication to meticulous merchandise presentation and a top-notch customer experience remain untouched.

Furthering its commitment to thoughtful presentation, in 1975 Target introduced the race-track store layout. To ensure customers at each store have the same experience, Target developed the idea of having one main aisle encircling the store. With aisles inside the perimeter, the race-track format allowed for a more open store layout and more space for merchandise to be displayed on inner aisles. Opposing the traditional department store layout of a collection of shops throughout the store provides easy navigation and better lines of sight for the store’s entirety. Additionally, the departments are located with convenience in mind. Everyday products are located at the front of the store, and similar items like toys, games, and electronics are grouped together to make store navigation simple.

Another key in the evolution between Dayton’s and Target lies within the beauty department. In 1962, when Target succeeded Dayton’s, items like perfume and make-up were kept neatly behind glass cases, giving a department store-like feel. This theme limits the customer experience and interactions with products. Today, Target’s health and beauty merchandise is set in the open, within brightly lit wide aisles that immediately draw the shopper’s attention and allow customers to interact with the product prior to purchase.

More recently, Target has gone through some growing pains as it made a name for itself in e-commerce. Target partnered with Amazon for its online presence in 2001, but decided not to continue outsourcing after a decade of working together. The summer of 2011 brought Target’s redesigned Target.com, which the retailer boasted contained more product recommendations, better gift registries, better site search and navigation, improved graphics, and a faster checkout process.

Simply put, Target’s plan didn’t go as smoothly as anticipated. Broken links, missing registries, shopping cart errors, and searches turning up out-of-stock items plagued the new Target.com at its inception. September of 2011 brought on another challenge when Target launched its much hyped Missoni for Target collection. Huge traffic numbers crashed the newborn site, leaving it inoperable for hours and customers complaining for weeks. A team of IT engineers was assembled and resolutions to the site were made in time for the big push of the holiday season — Black Friday and Cyber Monday. The team of engineers condensed a three-year plan to improving Target’s e-commerce into two years, leaving customers with the online shopping experience the retailer had originally planned.

The success of Target hasn’t been an accident, and it hasn’t been easy. The retail giant finds itself in the top 50 companies in terms of customer satisfaction year after year. By learning from triumphs and defeats in its past, along with adapting its brick-and-mortar business with new channels — e-commerce, and mobile retailing — Target will continue to provide a first-rate customer experience.