Target launches paid membership program as it chases new revenue streams | Hacker News Reader

Target launches paid membership program as it chases new revenue streams

cnbc.com

11 pointskoolba20 comments

> The paid membership tier will launch in early April and initially cost $49 per yea...

> The subscription tier, Target Circle 360, will include unlimited free same-day delivery for orders over $35 in as little as one hour with no delivery fees and two free-day shipping, along with other perks.

$49/year for 1-hour delivery from Target sounds pretty good. One huge advantage for ordering from Target is avoiding the multitude of 3rd party sellers and commingling of inventory on Amazon.

However, just like there's subscription fatigue for Netflix / Disney+ / Paramount / ..., there's going to be the same thing for this / Amazon Prime / Walmart+ / etc.

That advantage is almost immediately overwritten by the fact that most of Target's inventory is usually of no better quality than the comingled things on Amazon, with a higher price tag and custom label. I almost prefer to shop either on Temu/AliExpress now because at least they are up front about everything being cheap crap. If I want quality, I'll buy from a manufacturers website.

And groceries are also very limited and not in a Trader Joe’s way (which often leans towards unique things you want and good flavors at good prices).

I really don’t see how you can reach this conclusion unless you’re buying stuff from the Target web site that’s sold through their marketplace vendors.

This would really depend on what you’re buying. I would never trust any health product bought from Amazon, but Target has a supply chain with verified vendors so you can be reasonably sure that the medications, lotions, etc you buy from them are legit.

I've bought picture frames, kitchen organizers, a frying pan, tupperware, towels, blankets and tons of other stuff - all of it was terrible quality and cost far too much. It was actually fairly hard for me to snap out of the preconception I had of Target being full of quality products - it simply isn't true anymore. As for your health products, those would be under my "purchase at manufacturer" category of stuff.

Yes, I can see that. A lot of their store brand items in clothing, housewares, etc. are losing their quality. It used to be that Walmart was the lower quality, but in many cases they’re now similar.

That's an interesting take, I don't think I've ever cross shopped anything at Target with Temu or Aliexpress. I don't really think they compete well on clothing, health/beauty, household essentials, etc.

Curious what do you buy from temu.

I’ve always wondered who’s buying 2 dollar shoes

I'm not sure I agree with that. The things you can buy on Target are definitely more curated - for tech it's a poor selection.

I'm at the point in life where if it's crap I question whether I need it. Most of the times the answer is no.

That's what I thought for Walmart+, but here I am 3 months into a free membership having used it once. Nearly all items I've compared are more expensive than Amazon and more expensive than in store. The nail in the coffin is their search is awful and half the items don't qualify for the shipping benefits you're paying for! They're more than making their money back because people easily miss $1-2 differentials on essentials that add up to $40 on your grocery bill.

Amazon is the devil. They are flooded with cheap chinese crap, returns are a maybe, and shipping times, when the controlling entity is amazon shipping itself, are a clown show.

The thing that sets Amazon apart is they lead the pack in enshitification of platforms like these.

Amazon quality control is very bad. Don’t mind paying a little extra at Best Buy, Target, or Walmart if I could avoid poor QC.

That's a bummer that Walmart+ upcharges vs in-store.

If this new Circle 360 works like purchasing a Shipt membership via Target did previously, then for same-day delivery orders it's the same price as in-store or shipping.

everything there is true of course-for others curious on the details of "initially":

> It will cost $99 per year after the company’s promotional period, which ends May 18. Customers who have a Target Circle credit card will be able to pay the lower price of $49 per year beyond that.

If Target and Walmart want these subscriptions to be useful, they need to drop the minimum amounts for deliveries. I can order a $5 item on Amazon and get it without paying an extra fee and without being expected to pay a tip because the company is too cheap to pay its own labor costs. If I want a $5 item from Target or Walmart, I also have to purchase a $30+ item that I don't need immediately.

If it isn't practical to do immediate deliveries, that's fine. Just batch the orders and send somebody out to deliver them once you have a full vehicle load or, at the latest, end of day.

> If Target and Walmart want these subscriptions to be useful, they need to drop the minimum amounts for deliveries.

That appears to be exactly what they are doing here.

The free 2-day shipping under Circle 360 doesn't mention any order minimum in the fine print. They definitely could have made that more clear in the marketing material though.

Target, at least around here is doing whatever it can to keep your from coming into the store. Sometimes the prices are higher than if you did a pickup, the store is a disorganized disaster and the checkout lines are massive. Target is no better than Walmart these days.

Isn't this just renaming Shipt as Target Circle 360?

The old Shipt membership via Target didn't include 2-day delivery without an order minimum. I also don't think having that membership made your shipping orders any faster (only same-day delivery orders), so it seems like an upgrade / expansion as well.

"Target is turning to its competitors' playbook for a reason: Walmart CEO Doug McMillon told investors on the company's earnings call in February that Walmart+ members spend nearly twice as much as non-members and buy more over the course of a year."

Correlation does not imply causation. It's doubtful an occasional Walmart shopper is going to consider Walmart+ because he would get negligible benefits from it. Conversely an already heavy Walmart shopper would--because he would get significant benefits.

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