The days of wandering through Target and getting lost among Method cleaning supplies and reasonably priced athleisure are numbered.
According to Engadget, everyone's favorite big-box retailer is upgrading its app in a major way, giving shoppers actual directions to the things that they're looking for.
Using Bluetooth Beacons, shoppers armed with Target's app will be able to access a real-time map of the store they're in. The new update will basically turn smartphones into mini GPS trackers that offer up turn-by-turn directions to exact items. It's the end of walking through the snack section to look for pens and getting distracted by frozen food and affordable wine on the way.
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On top of the directions, the Target app will also alert shoppers when they're in the vicinity of any items that have a valid Cartwheel coupon. TechCrunch adds that this new feature will roll out to about half of all Target stores before the holiday season and its impending shopping trips.
Target's chief information and digital officer, Mike McNamara, told TechCrunch that the retailer is looking to up its digital game in-store instead of focusing on the online shopping experience like a certain very popular website. Since people are heading to Target anyway — and getting blissfully lost in the aisles — McNamara wants to make the experience as great as possible.
"They're great places to shop, great places to ship from, and an easy and convenient place for guests to return unwanted items," McNamara says of Target's stores.
The item tracking is just the beginning for the new app and for Target's new digital horizons. According to Engadget, there are also plans for mobile payments soon, so Cartwheel's item-scanning feature can be integrated into self-checkout and coupon-hunting alike. McNamara explains it all in a video on Target's site, which also offers up a sneak peek at the app's new directions feature.
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