promotion

Information;

Obstacles: Currently, 40% of Target shoppers are buying their laundry detergent from Wal-Mart, which is an obstacle that needs to be overcome (4). According to Today Magazine, “consumers gravitate to Targets clothing lines for their fashionable styling and durability (1).” While another woman wrote on her blog, “Whether you're searching for clothes or crock pots, you’ll never see past styles at Target (2).” These statements show that consumers, especially women, are going to Target for their fashionable clothing, however when it comes to washing and taking care of those products they are purchasing their laundry detergent elsewhere. After walking the aisles of local Targets throughout San Diego, it is evident that their current store layout could attribute to part of the problem. Women’s clothing is directed at the entrance of the store, while the laundry detergent aisle is on the completely opposite side of the checkout stations. Some women solely shop clothing and accessories and don’t pass by or think to visit the laundry detergent aisle before leaving; which is resulting in Target losing those valuable customers to Wal-Mart and other competitors.

Customer Insight: Target shoppers are not entering the store to buy home essentials, such as laundry detergents and P&G products. An article by Today describes, “While its prices are modestly higher on many items, "Tar-zhay" enjoys a reputation for relative quality and attention to design, particularly in areas such as apparel and home goods” (1). This information alone describes that consumers are entering the store with a completely different purpose buying home essentials. A blog post on the Thought Catalog, describes the struggle of entering a Target store and running into the issue of being distracted by clothing, home goods, and toys (5). An additional 102 commenters agreed with the author’s post, displaying the consumer’s general tendency to visit only specific sections of the store that cater to fashion, entertainment, and anything hip. Children ages 12-17 are not just children who demand for their parents to buy them items. Children age 12-17 are adults who have a voice, and for the most part are given money, according to Business Insider (3). Business Insider claims that teens spend 21% of their money on clothing, which runs in first place along with food. An additional 8% is spent on electronics and gadgets, and another 7% on video games and systems (3). This shows that teenagers have influence on homemaking buying habits.

Proposed Solution An in-store and online Ad campaign may help Target overcome this obstacle. Researchers suggest that although shoppers are making lists 50-60% of purchase decisions are made in the store and 60% of the time brand decisions are made after entering the store (6)(7). Women in particular are more likely to be influenced by end caps for unplanned purchases (6). Gen Y, the teenagers of today are more influenced by perimeter ads for unplanned purchases (6). Internet advertisement seems to have greater impact on brand decisions rather than impulse buys (6). A joint ad campaign with Target and P&G, both in store and online, can potentially attract women to the laundry detergent aisle and increase the sale of laundry care products because women will be more aware of what laundry care items to used on newly purchased clothes. Since the target markets are influenced differently by ads in various areas, the campaign needs to specify what P&G laundry care products should be used to treat certain items and where to find the available P&G fabric care items in the store.

References

1. Conover, Raechel. "Target, Wal-Mart, and Kmart: Who Has the Best Deal?" TODAY. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <http://www.today.com/money/target-wal-mart-kmart-who-has-best-deal-6C9676427>.

2. L, Jennifer. "Reasons Why We Love Target | The Budget Fashionista." Budget Fashionista. 30 May 2012. Web. 7 Apr. 2015. <http://www.thebudgetfashionista.com/archive/reasons-we-love-target/>.

3. Peterson, H. (2014, April 9). Retrieved April 8, 2015, from http://www.businessinsider.com/how-teens-are-spending-money-2014-4

4. “Cross Shopping Target-Total-US Detergents”, MediaMark , Retrieved on February

14, 2015 from Assignments Section of Cougar Courses for MKTG 450, Spring 2015.

5. Wolfe, T. (2014, March 12). Retrieved April 7, 2015, from http://thoughtcatalog.com/taylor-wolfe/2014/03/inside-a-womans-mind-at-target/

6. In-Store Ads More Effective than Out-of-Store. (2009, April 7). Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.marketingcharts.com/traditional/in-store-ads-more-effective-than-out-of-store-8623

7. Myers, M. (2012, January 1). In-Store Advertising: When Does it Clutter the Consumer Experience? Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.digitalsignageconnection.com/store-advertising-when-does-it-clutter-consumer-experience-512

Table 1

Target Cross Shopping Compared To Walmart

DETERGENTS
	% OF SHOPPER GROUP PURCHASING (15)	% OF PRODUCT GROUP $ BY RETAILER(15)
WAL-MART-TOTAL-RTL	43.2	20.4
TARGET-TOTAL-RTL	26.4	9.4

Assignment description;

Individual Merchandising and Promotion Paper

For this homework you need to begin thinking about communicating with your consumers. Here are the questions to be addressed in this paper:

1. What is the promotion goal for your current target market and what is the promotion goal for your potential target market?

2. What promotion materials will work best to achieve these goals on what schedule for the next 12 months? Why? Prepare a 12-month schedule.

3. How will you determine what response you get from these materials?

The uploaded document will present this information answering the three questions listed above (using headings) in one page single-spaced with citations indicating which data comes from which source in the text and in the tables. MLA style. The Works Cited section and any charts, tables, or figures that are in Appendices do not count as part of the one page. You will use Arial font size 12 and have one-inch margins all around. Use separate headings for each of these pieces of information.