Shownotes
This Omni Talk Retail Fast Five segment explores Target’s launch of two new creator programs and what it says about the future of creator commerce in retail.
Chris Walton and Kathryn Mazza discuss why retailers are investing more heavily in influencers and creators, whether Target is late to the trend, and how social media is reshaping customer loyalty and discovery.
They also debate whether creator-driven marketing can actually rebuild emotional connection with younger consumers.
⏩ Tune in for the full episode here: https://youtu.be/W5Ei9Mjru4c
#Target #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #RetailMarketing #RetailNews #SocialCommerce #RetailTechnology #FastFive #OmniTalkRetail #DigitalMarketing
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Transcripts
Target has launched two new creator programs.
Speaker A:Club Target, a gamified experience for emerging and mid sized creators on TikTok and Instagram, and Target Ambassadors powered by LTK influencer shopping platform for established partner creators.
Speaker A:According to Chainstore Age, Target is the most followed big box retailer on TikTok and nearly 75% of US consumers have purchased a product because of creator content.
Speaker A:That is according to the Target's own data club.
Speaker A:Target is designed for emerging and midsize creators and features weekly Instagram and TikTok challenges, tools and tips in a multi tiered reward structure including Target gift cards, features on Target's owned and social channels, and commission opportunities.
Speaker A:Thousands of creators have already been participating in Club Target pilot with plans to scale over time.
Speaker A:Now Target Ambassadors Score, Powered by LTK officially launched May 1 and is designed for established influencer partners, giving them an integrated experience inside the LTK platform to create and publish original content, track performance and access expanded commission rates and deeper brand access.
Speaker A:Target Chief Digital and Revenue Officer Sarah Travis called social commerce one of the biggest shifts in retail in a generation and said flatly, target is built for this.
Speaker A:Chris, what are your thoughts on Target's new social media creator programs?
Speaker B:Oh man, oh man, I don't want to do this, Catherine.
Speaker B:I don't want to do this.
Speaker B:I feel like I've been on the nice train lodging Target as of late and I've seen a lot of people, you know, kind of fawning over this announcement on social media and I got to tell you, I 100% disagree with them.
Speaker B:I'm not, I'm not impressed by this at all and I really want it to be when I thought about it and read it.
Speaker B:But I'm not.
Speaker B:And you know the reason I say that.
Speaker B:And I'm going to go on a little bit of a rant here in true style, but to come out, to come out in the press release first, Catherine, and say that social commerce is one of the biggest shifts in retail in a generation.
Speaker B:That to me is, is downright ridiculous because it's like yeah, no, no, no, duh, like that's.
Speaker B:Of course it is.
Speaker B:But that shift happened like 10 years ago to so to come out and take credit for it now is in your strategy is just purely silly to me.
Speaker B:When you step back from it and it asks the question of like this should have been done a long time ago.
Speaker B:It's table stakes for any large retailer at this point and Target is actually late on it.
Speaker B:But where the rubber's gonna read the road is that the Actual digital platform experience has to work for the creators.
Speaker B:LTK is a great experience, but Target, you're paying them unnecessary commissions and it takes the customer off Target site ltks who ultimately wins here, not Target.
Speaker B:So in essence, Target has set up a me too scheme where they're just prostituting themselves out to creators via LTK the way anyone can.
Speaker B:So the problem with that is it costs that creators as well are fickle.
Speaker B:They're fickle as they come.
Speaker B:I know this for a fact.
Speaker B:And they're going to go wherever they can convert more.
Speaker B:They're going to go to Walmart, Amazon, to your old stomping ground, Dick's Sporting Goods, Ulta Beauty, Sephora.
Speaker B:Because this isn't merchandising.
Speaker B:This is just basically saying like, hey, there's creators out there, let's just allow them to sell our stuff.
Speaker B:And the devil is in the details.
Speaker B:So I think Net Net.
Speaker B:And as I get to the end of the rant here, Catherine, I think Target would have been better off investing and creating in something entirely unique that captures the brand love of Target rather than doing what is essentially at the end of the day a me too strategy.
Speaker B:But I don't know, what do you think?
Speaker B:Am I being too harsh?
Speaker B:Do I have some good points?
Speaker B:What do you think?
Speaker B:Katherine, you are the expert here.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:So listen, Chris, I think you're being a little harsh.
Speaker A:Okay, I think you're being a little harsh.
Speaker A:But listen, Target, you read everything in the public about Target right now and their new CEO and their leadership team, they are openly stating that we got to get this train back on the tracks.
Speaker A:Yeah, right.
Speaker A:And between this initiative.
Speaker A:But then how they're investing in A.I.
Speaker A:My favorite thing is what they're thinking about reimagining the in store experience.
Speaker A:They understand that they owe the shareholders and their, their consumers answers on what they are doing.
Speaker A:So listen, I think, I think that they're trying to get their Target back.
Speaker A:I, I think they know that their, their Target customer spends a lot of time on these platforms and they need to start rebuilding that relationship.
Speaker A:I would certainly be one of those Target consumers.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And I remember, you know, my daughter's 13.
Speaker A:Eight years ago I would be checking out at Target and I would say, gosh darn it, Target, you did it to me again.
Speaker A:$300.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker A:And I just came in for a bag for a birthday present.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:And so they gotta reconnect with the people like me.
Speaker A:And I think, you know, while maybe they're late to the game, okay.
Speaker A:I'm more concerned about seeing how the creative comes to light.
Speaker A:Life.
Speaker A:I think content is king.
Speaker A:And I think until we see the content and the way this comes to life, we won't truly know if this is differentiated versus what other retailers have been doing, you know, for close to a decade.
Speaker A:So, listen, I am.
Speaker A:I'm a huge believer in Target.
Speaker A:I think they're going down the right path.
Speaker A:I think you're being a little harsh.
Speaker A:I mean, listen, there's.
Speaker A:There's retailers out there that are still doing print advertising, Chris.
Speaker B:Oh, I know.
Speaker B:Yeah, right, right.
Speaker A:I mean, that, that, that went up.
Speaker A:That ship sailed two decades ago.
Speaker A:So I think you're being a little harsh.
Speaker B:Okay, okay.
Speaker B:People are already.
Speaker B:People are already listening.
Speaker B:This are gonna be like, oh, my God, when she could.
Speaker B:When could she come back?
Speaker B:Because she's.
Speaker B:She.
Speaker B:She's telling Chris how she feels.
Speaker B:This is great.
Speaker B:This is great.
Speaker B:But so I take a couple things from you, and this is why we have these conversations, to understand where we're right, where we're wrong.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:The purpose of the show is to debate and discuss.
Speaker B:And so what I take from you is like, you know, maybe getting the table stakes is good.
Speaker B:That's what I'm hearing from you, Catherine, is like, there are some table stake strategies that just might be smart to do as Target right now.
Speaker B:And I, I think I can get behind that, you know, if that's what you're saying.
Speaker B:And then the other point, too, that I want to highlight is because what I'm hearing you when you say, you know, I used to go into Target and I'd come in for one thing and I'd come out with something else, which is always a story you hear.
Speaker B:It comes down to great product and great merchandising and only things that you can find at Target.
Speaker B:And that's what you have to do first and foremost to activate this creator strategy.
Speaker B:So the creator strategy is one thing for table stakes, if we agree on that.
Speaker B:But you've got to be able to activate it with great product and great merchandising and as a Target brand.
Speaker B:And that's something that I think we're still all waiting to see.
Speaker B:The revival of that hasn't quite come yet.
Speaker B:You're shaking your head.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:Now.
Speaker B:Now we're in.
Speaker B:Specifically in agreement.
Speaker A:Oh, yes, yes.
Speaker A:I think you know, that.
Speaker A:That in store experience.
Speaker A:I'm thrilled that they're clearly focusing on it.
Speaker A:And I think, you know, mark your calendar this time next year.
Speaker A:That's come back and see.
Speaker A:See what, what we've seen and see if we fill any of the target.
Speaker A:Mojo coming back.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And no one wants to see it more than I do.
Speaker B:I will say that first and foremost,.