There was a time when a retailer's relationship with its customers ended at the cash register, or perhaps at the return counter. That time, it seems, was several algorithm updates ago.
Target is overhauling how it works with the social media creators who post videos of themselves wandering its aisles, a shift that comes as the Minneapolis-based chain tries to reverse a sales slump under its new chief executive, Michael Fiddelke. The retailer quietly wound down an affiliate program introduced in 2023, a move that caused what Sarah Travis, the company's chief digital and revenue officer, acknowledged was disruption among partners.
"This was particularly disruptive," Ms. Travis said in an interview. "Our focus has been and will be on building a stronger and more future-ready model."
The new approach splits creators into two camps. Target Ambassadors, which began May 1 and runs through the third-party platform LTK, is an invitation-only program for established influencers — a few hundred of them, to start. Club Target, which exited its pilot phase this week, is aimed at smaller creators on TikTok and Instagram, offering a gamified system of weekly challenges, gift cards and the chance to be featured on Target's own channels. (Commission rates, naturally, are reserved for those who prove their worth.)
The reorganization responds to the rise of social commerce storefronts like TikTok Shop, which is expected to command roughly a quarter of a market forecast to exceed $100 billion in United States sales this year. Target's net sales declined 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter, to $30.5 billion, and two of Mr. Fiddelke's stated priorities are re-establishing merchandising authority and elevating what the company calls the guest experience — including on social media.
Ms. Travis was bullish on Target's position. "We are already mentioned over 50,000 times a day in user-generated content and we're the most followed big-box retailer on TikTok," she said. "You can't buy that organic presence."
About 8,000 creators have joined Club Target so far, most of them new to working with the retailer and averaging 5,000 followers or fewer. The threshold to apply is 500 followers — a figure that suggests Target is betting on volume and enthusiasm over reach.
Whether that bet pays off may depend on whether the company can convert neighborly shopping-haul videos into something more durable than algorithmic ephemera.
Original story published in Marketing Dive: "Target's digital chief breaks down the retailer's creator overhaul"