1

The Target Corporation

Institutional Affiliation

Course Name: Course Number

Professor’s Name

Assignment Due Date

 2

Threats, Opportunities and Trends for Target

The Target Corporation was founded back in the year 1902 in Minnesota, United States

of America. The company is well known for the provision of different merchandise to its clients.

It offers discounted prices for luxury products and everyday essentials (Kapadia, 2020). The

company has an efficient supply chain, offers loyalty offerings and has embraced advanced

technology that has greatly helped in improving customer experience. The target company is also

known for its effective business practices that has helped it in opening new routes for future

growth. The presence of online and digital platforms has made it easier for customers to buy

products from them.

External Factors (Opportunities)

The company has a red card loyalty program which stands a great opportunity for

expansion. This makes it possible for the company to gain an insight about customer consumer

changing behavior and preference. This further makes it possible for the company to access

client information for promotion and marketing purposes. The company has a same day delivery

channel known as Shipt (Kapadia, 2020. This platform makes it possible for it to do same

delivery for its merchandise just like Walmart and other big retail outlets. It has also gone further

ahead to add drive up for grocery pickup in dozens of its small format locations. This will in turn

help in expanding same day delivery services.

 3

External Factors (Threats)

The Target Corporation continues to face local competition from other key players in the

market like Walmart, Amazon, and Kroger among many others. These retail stores have

numerous stores spread around the United States and are strategically placed near the local

population (Venugopal, 2020). This has a huge impact on the company’s market share. However,

the company commenced a holiday deals in October that was to help in countering competition

from the amazon e-commerce sector. Target also extended its black Friday pricing for the entire

month of November.

There are a lot of retail outlets that operate just like Target which means that customers

have a wide variety of options in the market. This therefore leads to consumer changing

preferences that may negatively affect the company’s sales. Other key players such as Amazon

that are well distributed in the market may pressurize the Target Company making it difficult for

them to operate in densely populated areas

External Factors (Trends)

The company has to ensure that it remains relevant even amidst tough competition. One

of the trends that the company has adopted is ensuring that it turns stores into mini malls. This

will be achieved through adding more shops and displays that feature popular national and

international brands. It has rolled out a program to refresh its 1900 stores across the United

States.

Another viable trend that the company uses is sweetening perks of popular services. The

company’s distribution channel has gone a long way in increasing its customer base (Venugopal,

2020). The same day services that include Order Pickup, Drive Up, Curbside pick option and
 4

many more have greatly improved its online customer experience which in turn boosts company

sales.

Conclusion

The Target Corporation is one of the most reputed retails in America today thanks to its

huge customer loyalty fan base and globalization. However, the company should not only focus

on this but also consider other factors that may push out of the consumer market. This will help

in ensuring that it continues to stay relevant even in the presence of giant players like Walmart

and Amazon.
 5

References

Venugopal, A. (2020, Mar 25). Sales of essential goods at Target soar in March as shoppers
stock up. Reuters
Kapadia, S. (2020, Aug 17). Target’s investments in store-centric fulfillment pay off. Supply
Chain Dive