Unfulfilled with its 1,805 retail locations, Target announced Thursday that the new site would be accessible to consumers in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide, including China, Mexico, Canada and more.
From clothes, toys and beauty supplies, shoppers around the globe can now shop about half the assortment of Target.com at Intl.Target.com, the retailer reported. Catering to all shoppers, wherever they may be, the checkout page will be “translated” into the appropriate language and prices will be shown in the local currency.
24/7 Wall St. argued that Target may find it challenging to reach new consumers due to a lack of “brand awareness” outside the U.S. But Mobile President Jason Goldberger expects positive reactions from people around the world and looks forward to a new achievement for the company.
“International shipping marks another step toward Target being able to truly deliver for guests anytime, anywhere,” he said. “We look forward to getting feedback from our international guests so we can continue to test, learn and iterate to help ensure we provide a great value to our new international guests.”
The retailer’s partner, Borderfree—a Pitney Bowes Inc. company—shares Target’s excitement.
“We are thrilled to deliver our global e-commerce capabilities to Target… Our deep experience with cross-border shopping is foundational to our collaboration with Target,” Pitney Bowes President of Global Ecommerce Lila Snyder said.
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As is true with most business strategies, timing is everything.
Target’s new site has launched right before the busy holiday shopping season, when many retailers go the extra mile in an effort to capitalize on shoppers’ willingness to spend. In addition to the international site, Target—alongside the likes of Walmart and Best Buy—will drop prices on many products to entice consumers.
Target also announced Thursday that it will again waive the $25 threshold and offer free shipping for all online orders between November 1 and December 25, but Goldberger expects the global site will be an even bigger moneymaker for the retailer this holiday season.
Amazon, a major competitor, made more than $8 billion in international sales last quarter and Target anticipates similar success. “We believe international consumers will love shopping the great brands, great prices and exclusive products that are synonymous with Target,” he said, adding, “Target.com already gets tens of millions of visitors every year from outside the U.S., and this test will give us even greater insight into how shoppers around the world engage with Target.”