How Brands Like Target are Upgrading Their Tech in the Face of the Amazon Effect

It’s no secret that retail sales are declining due to the onset of digital entities like Amazon over the last decade-plus. By playing into our collective need for instant gratification by bringing everything we desire to our doorsteps, going out to make a purchase is a thing of the past. Also in part due to our willingness to sacrifice a lot in the name of convenience, almost every facet of commerce as we once knew it, whether it be for clothes, shoes, or tennis rackets, has shifted from in-store to online. 

So, how do retail giants, with their massive store footprints and staffing requirements, compete with Amazon’s enterprise that seemingly doubles in size by the day? 

For one company, in particular, doing so has meant partnering with shipping companies to provide consumers with a nearly identical e-commerce experience in conjunction with expanded service options Amazon cannot. The business in question? Target. 

Target has seen a steady incline in online sales in the face of Amazon’s dominance and has actually begun to beat the e-commerce giant out in certain areas, in part, thanks to its order online, pick up in-store option. While Amazon may still dominate the e-commerce marketplace overall, Target holds a distinct advantage with its on-location pickup aspect, which breathes life into business and traffic that may have fallen off on the retail front, too. 

Something Amazon can compete with, however, is Target’s one-day shipping option. Target implemented a system where it can fulfill orders in one day in an effort to cut into Amazon’s market share and recapture some lost retail customers whose wallets wandered elsewhere in the name of convenience. Amazon has carved out the audience for instant gratification from day one and is, by all accounts, the leader in order fulfillment infrastructure, but the very idea that both companies can reliably offer expedited shipping puts them on the same plane as far as competing for customers is concerned.

While these two companies may be very different, the way that traditional retailers like Target have adapted and evolved their offerings to compete in an online marketplace will make or break whether or not they survive in our brave new digital-first world. By keeping a close eye on what’s going on in the tech space, retail giants have a chance to reinvent themselves for the new marketplace.