Thousands of new and exclusive products and a spectacular Broadway-style marketing campaign will help guests celebrate the season
Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) today unveiled the company’s 2016 holiday strategy, including new and exclusive merchandise in every product category, inspiring shopping experiences and simple ways for guests to save throughout the season.
“Target is at our very best during the holidays, and we’re building on last year’s winning formula to make the 2016 holiday season even better,” said Target CEO and Chairman Brian Cornell. “We’re elevating and expanding the offers that helped guests save time and money to make the most of their holidays. We’ll also inspire gift-giving, entertaining and decorating with new products and experiences online and in our stores. Most importantly, guests will find truly exceptional value through broad and simple offers timed to maximize savings on the most-shopped merchandise at each point in the season.”
New this year, Target is introducing Wondershop, where guests will find products for all their tree-trimming needs. Both in stores and online, this specially designed shop-within-a-shop will offer a curated assortment of 2,000 new seasonal items, including a one-of-a-kind Bullseye ornament.
Also new for 2016, the Target Wonderlist (Target.com/Wonderlist) is aimed at making it easy for guests to find personal, meaningful and creative gifts for family and friends. Guests can choose from a selection of 400 edited gift ideas, customizable by recipient personality types and interests.
Target’s holiday assortment offers guests an abundance of newness, including:
- Approximately 1,000 new pieces from Target’s newly introduced line for kids, Cat & Jack, each under $30.
- More than 1,800 new or exclusive toys will be available, about 15 percent more than in 2015. Guests will find thousands of Star Wars products, including more than 100 new options to gift and collect; more than 50 Trolls exclusives; two new Disney Princesses, Elena and Moana; expanded eye, hair and skin tone combinations within the Our Generation doll collection; and 50 exclusive board games, including pop culture hits such as Oregon Trail.
- Newly released virtual reality products including PlayStation VR and VR One Plus, and connected home products including Google Home.
- An exclusive 10-disc box set from Garth Brooks, which includes the artist’s new album and features the 25th anniversary edition of “Friends in Low Places.” The box set is available for preorder now for $29.99 at Target.com/Garth and is available at Target Nov. 11, two weeks before the artist’s new album is available at other retailers.
Value and Convenience
Target will offer great value on top gifts and holiday needs through broad and simple seasonal promotions, as well as everyday ways to save. New this year, beginning in mid-November, guests will save $10 off a $50 purchase on a different product category each week, including Grocery, Home, Apparel and Accessories, Trim and Toys. This broad promotion enables guests to save on the gifts and essentials that matter most to them on a weekly basis. In December, the promotion will expand to allow guests to save even more with the option to save $25 on purchases of $100 or more.
Popular promotions from 2015 will return, including 10 Days of Deals, which will feature a distinct offer each day for 10 days. Target also will extend its free shipping promotion by a full week this year, waiving the shipping fee for all digital orders from Oct. 25 through Jan. 1, 2017. Cartwheel, Target’s digital savings app, is bringing back popular holiday deals, including 50 percent off one toy per day between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, and on Dec. 4, guests will save 10 percent on Target GiftCards. Guests also will save with free returns and an extended Price Match Guarantee, which enables them to price match any purchase made Nov. 1 through Dec. 24, excluding Thanksgiving through Cyber Week.
Marketing Campaign
This year’s campaign is rooted in rich storytelling, mirroring what is top of mind for guests as they move through the season. The centerpiece of the campaign is a Broadway-style production called The Toycracker, Target’s modern interpretation of the classic holiday tale of The Nutcracker. The eight-minute musical will air in two four-minute segments during the network broadcast premiere of Disney’s Frozen on Sunday, Dec. 11, at 8 p.m. EST/7p.m. CST on ABC. The Toycracker stars Oscar, Golden Globe and 10-time Grammy winning artist John Legend as The Rat King, television personality and No. 1 New York Times best-selling author Chrissy Teigen as The Nutcracker, and a cast of Target’s must-have holiday toys that come to life through computer generated animation. Leading up to the debut of The Toycracker, guests will see cast members preparing for the production in a series of broadcast spots. Ginger Breadington will return to herald in the season’s top deals closer to Black Friday. The “spectacular” theme will be part of Target’s entire holiday experience, as guests see the theatrical production woven throughout elements including in-store displays, digital and on Target.com.
About Target
Minneapolis-based Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) serves guests at 1,800 stores and at Target.com. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profit to communities, which today equals more than $4 million a week. For more information, visit Target.com/Pressroom. For a behind-the-scenes look at Target, visit Target.com/abullseyeview or follow @TargetNews on Twitter.