Target Starting New Membership Program, Including in New York

In recent years, people across America have been seeing and feeling the stress of our hard-earned dollars not going as far as they once did due to inflation. For the majority of people, any type of disposable income is limited and expenses for the essentials take up the vast majority of our paychecks.

Because of these financial issues, businesses have had to make adjustments as a way to try and help their customers make sure that their dollar is getting them everything it possibly can.

This brings us to the present day where Target, one of the largest companies in America, with hundreds' of stores nationwide recently made news as they are introducing a new membership program for customers designed to help everyone get more bang for their buck.

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Target's New Membership Program and Benefits

The famous supermarket chain, made the announcement last week and the new membership program is being called 'Target Circle 360'.

The new program is set to have numerous benefits that customers can take advantage of and is also part of a number of new programs the company is rolling out.

According to AP News, Target Circle 360 will "...offer unlimited free same-day delivery in as little as an hour for orders over $35 and free two-day shipping". In addition, from April 7 through May 18, new members of Target 360 will be able to sign-up for $49 per year. After that time, new member sign-ups will be $99 per year.

Customers who are already loyal Target Circle members will be able to sign-up for the cheaper 360 annual price at "anytime".

Speaking of Target Circle, the company is making some changes to its customer loyalty program.

According to the same AP News article, customers can kiss the days of painstakingly selecting and choosing individual offers they want, and instead, customers can expect to see deals applied directly at the register.

Target will also be renaming its Target RedCard to Target Circle as well. This change will allow credit card users easier ability to access Target Circle benefits like 5% on top of other discounts.

Target is also contemplating other potential perks to add to the programs but that those determinations would be made later, noting that Target will "...listen to what shoppers want".

Sizing Up the Competition

These changes and additions for Target are more than just potential benefits for customers but it's also the beginning of Target entering into a new sphere of the business world, as Target 360 is plain and simply a paid-membership program.

It's an interesting area to break into, especially with a company like Amazon which is a different kind of entity all to its own and rival business Walmart having launched its own paid-membership program back in 2020.

As it stands currently out of the three, Target actually would be the significantly cheaper option. Target Circle members and new members that sign up between the aforementioned dates would be paying half of what Walmart Plus members per year, $49 to $98.

Comparatively, Target Circle 360 members would be saving even more when compared to Amazon, as Amazon Prime members pay $139 annually, however, Amazon Prime has some meaningful differences. Amazon Prime members have access to a whole platform of entertainment and streaming on Amazon Video, in addition to other benefits that are offered.

All of this means that competition is up and all customers now have another viable option of where it is that will be getting the most value out their dollar.