Teardown Tuesday: Does Target’s onboarding hit the bullseye?
This week I examine Target’s mobile app onboarding to see what opens the register and what should stay on the shelf.
Overview
In 2020, Target launched its grocery pickup service, which spearheaded a long overdue pivot into a technology-forward strategy. Since then, the company has reaped enormous benefits from its pickup service and continues its transformation from a brick-and-mortar retailer into a digital powerhouse to give Amazon a run for its money.
Target’s changes to their business have completely changed the way my family shops, most of which is now done by myself in the app today. I set aside my bias for this audit of Target’s onboarding, to look at the app with fresh eyes from download through sign-up, ending before the shopping experience begins.
For a more polished presentation, view the audit in figma
Conclusion
Target ends up with a solid C for their onboarding, leaving some room for improvement. As always, the case with Target, the brand and visual approach is impeccable. However, the experience suffers from too much marketing and flawed decisions intended to assist the user but end up blocking them instead. The flows and content strategy leave room for improvement, and leaning on a more programmatic approach could help these flows get users into the app more quickly. Clearly, these challenges haven’t held Target back thus far, as their digital transformation is well underway. But with some tweaking and a little love, this app could continue to grow at a meteoric pace.
Illustration/Composite by David Kelly using Midjourney & Photoshop
Screenshots from app version 2023.36.0
David Kelly is a Lead Product Designer helping startups and other companies grow. To see more of David’s work, visit dksbook.com