I'm Lost! The REDCard Thread

Have redcard signups become harder in your store since the rollout of target circle?

The Circle signup on the checkout lane payment pads is like a speed bump, you gotta explain to guests to sign up or press "no thanks" and offer a pamphlet. This takes time and guest attention away. With the time taken away by Circle signups or reminding existing Circle guests to type in their number or scan the app, there's much less time to effectively "educate the guest about the redcard". This is very annoying since we still need to meet quota for redcard signups. YMMV. Thoughts?
 
jackandcat said:
Have redcard signups become harder in your store since the rollout of target circle?

The Circle signup on the checkout lane payment pads is like a speed bump, you gotta explain to guests to sign up or press "no thanks" and offer a pamphlet. This takes time and guest attention away. With the time taken away by Circle signups or reminding existing Circle guests to type in their number or scan the app, there's much less time to effectively "educate the guest about the redcard". This is very annoying since we still need to meet quota for redcard signups. YMMV. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Something you could try is asking "what's a good phone number for you?" or "what phone number do you have your circle rewards with us under?" at the very start before you even start scanning. Gets the circle and talking about it out of the way while also helping improve circle capture percentage. Then you have all transaction to talk about the redcard. I've found this worked best with the "phone number entry" key, but I don't know if that still exists.
 
A few months ago, our store was notified we no longer could enroll Redcards using a dedicated ipad tablet. That was a target-owned device, and I would guess the word came down about a potential security risk. (That's also the reason I personally won't pay using Target Wallet). As a result, our debit-card signups have dropped a bit.

In our store and location, the Circle rollout has slowed down RC signups. I've taken a fair number of RC signups over the holidays, but at least in our location Airline Rewards Cards are king! Greater Seattle ain't Minneapolis! We're the backyard for Amazon, Costco, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Microsoft etc. Target can dream about growing RC market share but Circle does reduce the exclusivity of the RC. What can corporate do to make the RC truly competitive around here - maybe offer a free streaming subscription such as "Netflix by Target"?
 
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In my area, most people no longer carry checks. In addition, many people are not willing to put their financial information into the My Check Out device. Online signups are booming in my area. We got 17 online signups last week; 3 instore signups. The goal was 10. Even though we hit the goal; the SD & SE ETL still aren't happy.
 
jackandcat said:
Have redcard signups become harder in your store since the rollout of target circle?

The Circle signup on the checkout lane payment pads is like a speed bump, you gotta explain to guests to sign up or press "no thanks" and offer a pamphlet. This takes time and guest attention away. With the time taken away by Circle signups or reminding existing Circle guests to type in their number or scan the app, there's much less time to effectively "educate the guest about the redcard". This is very annoying since we still need to meet quota for redcard signups. YMMV. Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Target circle is awful. Having to stop before paying is just so ridiculous. People would use circle if Target listened to the feedback. They do NOT want to scan every item. That's work. Not worth it. Half the time, their phones won't work in the store. The log in system is ridiculous. Most give up.

So I ignore circle, focus on red cards, and then advise them to download app for special red card coupons.
 
And no one talked about the ridiculous level of work, scanning everything twice - on your phone and on the price scanner - and separate out what is cheaper on target.com. I hate the hassle, but I've been burnt by not doing it.
 
That works well, unless you're an impulse shopper (like me). "Oh, that's a really good sale on (insert meat). I could not get (planned meal) ingredients and get this instead. Let's look up Circle for the rest of the ingredients. Also, are there any really good offers for toiletries, where price plus Circle makes it comparable or even a better purchase price than the regular stuff?"

And there's still the double scanning. 👎
 
Either way it's a pain. Scan as you go and hope the shelf label is up to date and try to figure out a spot where your target.com match items can be placed so they don't get mixed in. Don't trust labels and scan at a price scanner and compare, and figure out where to put the items so they don't get mixed in. Scan again at the register because who can remember what the different prices are for 5 items on your cart out of 40-50, one at a time so the cashier can compare to the register and adjust as needed.

Blech. Ever since I learned about the geo fencing my shopping time has doubled, and it was already really long because I will walk back several aisles to compare value if I think I found a better deal in a different part of the store (and there's at least 4-5 of those each trip).
 
Got a Redcard CC signup a couple of days ago, which was nice. They were pretty jazzed about the current $25 voucher offer on a future purchase.

Nowadays, most of our RC signups seem to be from online rather than in-store. Guests who don't already use a RC become a bit standoffish for the RC discussion when we have already needed to push them through the Target Circle opt-in or "skip" buttons on the payment pad. Corporate doesn't want to hear this but forcing each guests to navigate the Target Circle screen at checkout lanes is a speed bump right at the timeframe in the transaction when we should be present a personalized, convincing explanation of the Redcard and its benefits.
 
This week's RC promo is very attractive (upon approval of credit, $40 credit towards a $40 merchandise purchase). I signed up a RC Sunday and yesterday, plus one the previous week before the promo. I still think forcing guests to navigate Target Circle on the pads - particularly as I still have to patiently show them the input pad is on the touch screen, not on the pad buttons - is hurting RC signups. Our store has taken to mentioning the RC before reminding them about Circle, but if there's only a few items to ring up there's precious little time.

In case anyone is new to this thread, I also mention that you'll sometimes have long stretches with no RC signups. The key is keep asking. Also, understand that not all stores have the same guest/customer base. Stores in high-income suburbs with nearby headquarters of other corporations are going to attract far more frequent-flyer travelers, many of whom are absolutely married to those airline rewards card. Where we are at, we get many visitors from foreign countries who are either attending corporate conferences for their corporate employers (big software or tech companies HQ'd in Downtown Seattle or around the Eastside) or visiting their relatives living around Seattle. The foreign guests aren't eligible to apply. Our percentage of RC holders has definitely risen but doubtless is lower than in a less-trendy metro area with a lower penetration of hard-core frequent flyers like Madison, Wisconsin or Lubbock, Texas.

It's too bad Target doesn't make the obvious step of developing a joint Travel RedCard with a major air carrier, perhaps with an annual fee and special privileges similar to other airline cards. This makes business sense. Target's biggest spenders per ticket are those who also are frequent travelers. Hasn't anyone at corporate figured this out yet?
 
Tongue In Cheek suggestion: For the month of May, the Redcard account-signup promotion should offer a guaranteed FREE COVID-19 screening test.

To really clinch the deal, throw in a 50% off coupon for any COVID-19 medical treatment needed due to a positive diagnosis.
 
I wonder how RC signups are faring at your store. It seems like almost all applications are being submitted online. Although the Redcard and Circle are different programs, is it possible that the growing usage of Circle is coming at the expense of Redcard signups?
 
November 1997 screenshot for the Target Guest Card: Enjoy the Benefits of the Target Guest Card - November 1997

Worth noting is that in 1997 Target was part of Dayton Hudson Corporation. In 2000, the stores other than Target within the Dayton Hudson organization were "spun off", and the company renamed Target Corporation. Some of the changes in policies occurring around that time might reflect this little bit of history.
 
You got 10 percent off your 1st purchase, and a coupon for a future purchase. After that, each time you reached a certain dollar amount spent, you were mailed a coupon for another 10 percent off a purchase.
 
I don't remember what the offer used to be, but at some point in the 90s, the card adverts had my name on them. It made me happy every time I went to target LOL


We have to push red cards again.
 
"would you like to save 10% by opening up a Target Card today"... every guest, everytime was the drill in the mid 2000s. I never hear guest advocates even ask anymore. Or answering the phone "Thank you for calling Target. Can I help you find something?" Ah, memories.
 

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