Retail is changing quickly. The way people shop is evolving in real time, and so is the technology behind every experience. At Target, we turn change into momentum. This shift affects everyone, from our teams to vendor partners, and calls for quicker, more intuitive decisions that keep Target relevant and always moving forward.
Here’s how our tech team is powering merchandising authority and elevating our guest experience:
- Using data and technology in new ways to strengthen inventory planning, improve in-store consistency and enhance guest interactions
- Improving forecasting tools to help designers and merchants make more confident style and design decisions
- Putting AI tools in the hands of our teams to help them work smarter, faster and imagine what comes next
- Modernizing our supply chain and fulfillment capabilities and making reliability improvements to meet guests’ needs
As we look ahead, our people and technology will continue to co-create solutions that strengthen Target’s leadership in retail, ensuring a consistent, exceptional experience wherever and however guests shop.
We spoke with Chief Information and Product Officer Prat Vemana to learn how technology is unlocking value and fueling growth for Target.
You view the pace of change in retail and technology as an opportunity and not a challenge. What excites you most about this moment?
I am more optimistic than ever about where Target is heading and what this moment enables. The pace of change in retail is a catalyst for transformation. The way guests discover products, the speed of trends and the rise of new technologies are all opportunities to lead. We are shaping what comes next.
Over the past 18 months, our teams have built meaningful momentum. We adopted a modern product operating model that sharpens focus and strengthens collaboration across product, technology, user experience and the broader enterprise. That work fuels a steady pipeline of innovation designed to make shopping easier, faster and more personal for every guest.
What excites me most is that technology is defining the future of how Target works and serves. We are helping merchants respond to trends faster, giving teams intelligent tools that reduce friction and powering every guest interaction with more ease and joy. Target’s future will be built by all of us, using technology as a true multiplier for growth and creativity.
Our Chief Operating Officer and incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke has shared that Target’s top priorities are leading with authority in our merchandising assortment, elevating the guest experience with every interaction and accelerating technology. How do you see technology advancing those areas?
Our brand is built on style, design and a differentiated guest experience, and technology helps us accelerate all three. We do this in two ways: by delivering near-term proof points that move us faster today and by modernizing our technology foundation to scale solutions across the company. I call it “foundations and innovations” to our core business.
Tools like Target Trend Brain, our GenAI-powered trend intelligence platform, blend human creativity with machine intelligence to surface emerging ideas and speed up product development. With better data and more flexible supply chain systems, our merchants can respond to trends quickly and bring the right mix to market faster and smarter. We are also exploring ways to identify emerging trends before they hit the mainstream.
None of this happens without strong technology investments. That is why we are modernizing our core systems, expanding real-time data access and building a foundation that supports speed, experimentation and scale across our teams. All of this helps elevate the guest experience and strengthen Target’s leadership in retail.
Beyond recent wins, what’s a capability or unlock you think Target still hasn’t fully tapped into but has big potential to accelerate growth?
When guests walk into a Target store, AI quietly supports the experience behind the scenes. It helps reduce checkout times, guide team members to assist guests faster in the aisle, streamline returns and Drive Up, and ensure shelves are stocked with the right products. From the entrance to Guest Services, technology is making shopping feel effortless. We are only beginning to unlock its potential.
This holiday season, keeping products on shelves is more important than ever. We are using AI to spot when items are running low earlier than before, helping store leaders take real-time action hour by hour. We are also expanding the use of AI agents across merchandising, inventory and digital marketing. The next step is connecting data across marketing, digital, supply chain and headquarters systems to help teams move faster and make smarter decisions across the enterprise.
Target’s app and digital channels are evolving rapidly. What improvements are making shopping feel faster, more personal or more seamless?
We made search and discovery a top priority because it is often the first and most important step in a guest’s digital journey. Each year, guests conduct billions of searches across Target’s digital platforms, and about 25% of those use subjective terms like “cute” or “sturdy.” Over the past year, we rebuilt our search and recommendations engine to better understand intent, product trends and availability in real time. The result is smarter, more relevant results that help guests find what they want and discover something new, faster.
In stores, our app’s Store Mode uses mapping technology to help guests locate deals and products in real time, almost like having a friendly Target team member by their side. We continue to refine how we present fulfillment options, such as next-day delivery and Order Pickup, so guests feel confident about when and how they will get their items. Behind the scenes, we are connecting supply chain and store data to ensure items are ready for launch day. The same technology helped power Taylor Swift’s recent Target debut and supports many of our biggest retail moments.
All of this brings together Target’s convenience and joy with the latest in AI and experience design, creating a shopping experience that feels seamless, personal and unmistakably Target.
Technology is at its best when it helps people do their best work.
You often talk about tech as an “amplifier of talent.” What does that mean to you and how are you seeing it come to life?
Technology is at its best when it helps people do their best work. When we say it is an “amplifier of talent,” we mean giving teams tools that increase speed, simplify decisions and create more space for creativity and connection. That approach shapes how we build for our team members, vendor partners and guests.
Across Target, team members are using GenAI in their daily workflows, supported by training and hands-on experimentation. Tools such as Agent Assist and Store Companion help teams serve guests with care, while our software developers use ThinkTank to collaborate and test new ideas. We have also deployed chatbots like JOY to help vendors and suppliers get answers faster, and our cybersecurity teams use AI to strengthen defenses before threats emerge.
What excites me most is that this work is not about replacing talent; it is about scaling it. Technology becomes a true multiplier when it is applied with purpose, amplifying the creativity and care that make Target unique.
As you look ahead, how do you see technology defining Target’s future?
As technology becomes more predictive, the human desire for discovery grows right alongside it. That is our opportunity. Whether in store or online, we focus on creating moments that inspire joy and curiosity. In the future, the time guests spend exploring may be just as valuable as the transactions they make, and we are designing with that mindset today.
Our moment to push Target forward is here. We are building a company that moves with the guest, anticipates needs, adapts to preferences and delivers a consistent experience at scale, in stores and online.
