Terrible Action by Target

I'll have to see how my wife deals with it. She is the Target fan and has their app and uses all kinds of functions on it I can't figure out.
 
DD loves Target but they did something to her that she swears she's going elsewhere.

In December she was doing her Christmas shopping and had a shopping cart full of goods... she had one item that she forgot that was across the store so she left her basket there and went across the store to fetch the last item. By the time she got back, some Target employees had concluded that her shopping cart was abandoned and had returned everything to the shelves.... she swears that she was only gone 10 minutes... she had a cow.
 
Target store prices and web prices can differ. I had them price match themselves.

Also I have seen larger package sizes actually be more expensive per unit than the smaller package size. Very counter intuitive.
 
Dynamic pricing. Try buying baseball tickets online. A different price every day, and probably different if they know I have looked several times.

I am not justifying it, just explaining it.

Target seems to be unique by actually changing the price based on location. But others will follow.

When working, our highest profit margin customers were the regulars. They called, we fulfilled (with a minor discount). They were happy, we were happy.

It's not personal, just business.
 
pb4uski said:
DD loves Target but they did something to her that she swears she's going elsewhere.

In December she was doing her Christmas shopping and had a shopping cart full of goods... she had one item that she forgot that was across the store so she left her basket there and went across the store to fetch the last item. By the time she got back, some Target employees had concluded that her shopping cart was abandoned and had returned everything to the shelves.... she swears that she was only gone 10 minutes... she had a cow.
Click to expand...

I have had similar things happen several times there. I would leave my cart near the registers and use the ladies room--less than five minutes. Cart was gone and I was told they put the items back.

Another time I had a cart full of items and was in the sock department--skinny aisle where the cart couldn't really fit. Gone again.

Wonder how much business they lose from this--people say "forget it, I really didn't need the stuff anyway."
 
It's stupid... it's happened enough that you would think they would just put the cart to the side for a hour and see if a customer comes along for it.
 
greydog17 said:
Don't know if anyone else has seen this, if its already been posted - apologies.

News story examining Target raising prices shown to customers on their app upon entering the store. Terrible business practice at best, shareholders should be alarmed.

http://www.kare11.com/video/news/the-target-app-price-switch-what-you-need-to-know/89-c11c73b5-50bc-4bc1-a25d-896d58ea2742
Click to expand...



They are punishing customers for using their app and providing Target with their location. The trick (per the new piece) is to check that you Never allow Target to have your location.

I agree, it is a terrible business practice.
 
Seems pretty common with lots of businesses, make the regular customer pay more.

I don't shop at Target much, so if I see a good online deal, I'll buy and go pick it up. I don't have their card or app.

But this is similar to Redbox. I have 20 accounts with redbox from years ago. They changed the system about a year ago, so I "registered" one of the accounts.
It's very handy, I can reserve a DVD online, then go to the box and pick it up.

However, I've noticed, that account occasionally gets a 50 cent code deal, buy the other 19 accounts regularly get $1.25 code deals.

It does not seem to pay to be a regular customer. ( I use the good deal codes and they work for the registered account ).
 
Their name is "Target"... and the target is YOU!

This reminds me of that Tom Cruise movie (Minority Report?) where in the future, when you walk into a store they know who you are, what you want and what your size is, etc. and even call your name on small speakers when you pass a product you might like.

As someone noted though it's almost like the airlines and sports venues who price according to demand.

Next they'll be pricing according to your income, credit score and the balance on your Target bill.
 
marko said:
Next they'll be pricing according to your income, credit score and the balance on your Target bill.
Click to expand...
What makes you think that’s not already happening? When you shop online how do know the price you see is the same others see?
 
MichaelB said:
What makes you think that’s not already happening? When you shop online how do know the price you see is the same others see?
Click to expand...

Ummmmm..... because it's on the internet and everything on the internet is true? Someone told me that once.

Seriously, I was once looking up pricing for a flight and was going back and forth several times. Within a few minutes the price had gone up 30%; seems that my repeated inquiries had made this a suddenly desirable flight.
I logged out, gave it a day and the price had gone back down.
 
There is also technology used by some stores (especially department stores) that tracks what you are really interested in buying, so they can tempt you with sale offers.

Your phone is detected as soon as you walk in the door and you're tracked as you walk around.

Geolocator beacons make note of how long you linger in front of particular items.

Hidden cameras in store displays watch your facial expressions as you look at things.

I am not making this up.
 
pb4uski said:
DD loves Target but they did something to her that she swears she's going elsewhere.

In December she was doing her Christmas shopping and had a shopping cart full of goods... she had one item that she forgot that was across the store so she left her basket there and went across the store to fetch the last item. By the time she got back, some Target employees had concluded that her shopping cart was abandoned and had returned everything to the shelves.... she swears that she was only gone 10 minutes... she had a cow.
Click to expand...

If she is like my DW, she probably saw 3 people she knew, and 10 minutes became 30 minutes...... :LOL:
 
jim584672 said:
Also I have seen larger package sizes actually be more expensive per unit than the smaller package size. Very counter intuitive.
Click to expand...

I have seen this in lots of stores, and it can vary from product to product. It always pays to check the unit prices!
 
braumeister said:
There is also technology used by some stores (especially department stores) that tracks what you are really interested in buying, so they can tempt you with sale offers.

Your phone is detected as soon as you walk in the door and you're tracked as you walk around.

Geolocator beacons make note of how long you linger in front of particular items.

Hidden cameras in store displays watch your facial expressions as you look at things.

I am not making this up.
Click to expand...

You're freaking me out, man.
 
marko said:
Ummmmm..... because it's on the internet and everything on the internet is true? Someone told me that once.

Seriously, I was once looking up pricing for a flight and was going back and forth several times. Within a few minutes the price had gone up 30%; seems that my repeated inquiries had made this a suddenly desirable flight.
I logged out, gave it a day and the price had gone back down.
Click to expand...

I have a similar concern regarding air fares

braumeister said:
There is also technology used by some stores (especially department stores) that tracks what you are really interested in buying, so they can tempt you with sale offers.

Your phone is detected as soon as you walk in the door and you're tracked as you walk around.

Geolocator beacons make note of how long you linger in front of particular items.

Hidden cameras in store displays watch your facial expressions as you look at things.

I am not making this up
Click to expand...
Another reason to stay out of stores
 
For several months a couple of years ago, my Safeway would block their app when you got close to the door. After figuring it out, I would e-mail "My List" to myself and have the e-mail open when I walked through the door.

The local Kohls no longer has paper price signs. All of them are LCD displays. They can change them as often as they like. I don't shop there much, but it's unnerving. Lots of chains, such as Staples, often have different prices at the store than on-line. Caveat Emptor!
 
It seems pretty popular to heavily bash a major competitor of Target. Even seen it on this site many times. Target is offered up as the saintly alternative.

The fact is all major retail businesses have certain practices many of us find distasteful. It is a dog eat dog world. They will do what they can, and we simply need to shop elsewhere if irritated. Unfortunately, dynamic pricing among all the major players will just accelerate. I think this is the tip of the iceberg.

As for phone apps. I don't use any specific company-based app. It is all about data collection and playing games with you. They suck you into a discount at first, then you are nothing but another data acquisition device.
 
In Connecticut, the law already requires that if a price scans higher on the register than it is listed on the shelf, the consumer gets the item for free (or $20 if the price is more than that). The law only applies to groceries and consumables. The law also requires that sales advertised in the newspaper circular must run for 7 days. It seems like that law probably needs to be updated to account for the era of the electronic "shopping app", to prevent them from changing the price as you enter the store. I think I'll work on a note to my legislator.
 
Gumby said:
In Connecticut, the law already requires that if a price scans higher on the register than it is listed on the shelf, the consumer gets the item for free (or $20 if the price is more than that). The law only applies to groceries and consumables. The law also requires that sales advertised in the newspaper circular must run for 7 days. It seems like that law probably needs to be updated to account for the era of the electronic "shopping app", to prevent them from changing the price as you enter the store. I think I'll work on a note to my legislator.
Click to expand...

I was just thinking "well at least no one is accusing Big Retail of conspiring to change prices after an item is in your cart".

I think I was bit by the Target scheme. I was comparing Target to Amazon and Target was better but when I went to the store their price was equal to Amazon. I didn't think it was anything nefarious and I didn't want to wait a whole day for delivery from Amazon.
 
The last time I was in Target, I had them price match a computer mouse that was 50% cheaper on their website (not in the app) than in the store. If I was using the app and saw the price jump when I got in the store, I'd go back out in the parking lot, wait for the price to drop, order it right there to be shipped to my home for free. :D
 
WOW, this is kind of amazing, isn't it? It even feels fraudulent, but I guess not?
 
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