Target Steps Up its Loyalty Program Operations

February 8, 2024         By: Steven Anderson

The loyalty program is one of the great accompaniments of a mobile payments program. Some of the best mobile payments programs will actually incorporate their operations into an existing mobile payments platform. Target, meanwhile, recently announced it was stepping up its own loyalty program, bringing the Target Circle plan to more cities starting later this month.

The Target Circle plan goes live in five new cities—Charlotte, Denver, Phoenix, Indianapolis, and Kansas City—starting February 19, the reports note. Originally, the program was only available in Dallas, but apparently it’s done sufficiently well therein to expand out of Texas.

Free to join, and offering one percent return on all Target purchases as well as a free surprise on your birthday, among other rewards, Target Circle actually works in a very personalized fashion. The program uses shopping preferences to determine rewards, so whatever you buy the most of, you’re most likely to be rewarded in that as well. Throw in free delivery options and it’s clear that this is a welcome loyalty program.

It’s about to get even better; the Dallas testing found one big reward customers liked: the ability to select a local nonprofit organization to have donations made to based on the amount of shopping done. In Dallas, 50 different nonprofits have brought in about a quarter million dollars so far, and it’s not likely to stop any time soon.

Americans love loyalty programs, and with good reason; why not get a consideration for all the shopping done with one particular vendor? When it’s built into a mobile payments program, then it can handle some of the drudge work of keeping track of how many points to a reward. This makes the program more likely to be used, and makes customers cognizant of their position therein. If a customer forgets he or she is a member, or how much is left until reward, the impact of that program may fall away. Target’s program, meanwhile, shows how much potential there is in a rewards program by giving its customers what they so clearly want.

Only time will tell just how far Target’s program goes in both reach and use rate, but it’s clear that it’s already made quite a splash as it is.