In the Spotlight: Target’s Holiday Marketing Campaign and Its Use of QR Codes

With most retailers getting 40% of their yearly sales during the holiday season, the last three months of the year is a very special time for them. This is the reason why retailers move up their game and try to get ahead of their competition during the Christmas shopping season.

Target is no different. This year,they are trying to use technology to get ahead.

Price matching.

Target has announced that they will match any competitor’s price. This includes most other retail stores such as Best Buy, Toys R’ Us, Walmart and Amazon.com. You can go inside your local Target store and check out the prices from competitors. If you find a lower price somewhere, Target will match their prices to that lower price. The price matching promotion will be in force starting November 1 through December 24.

QR codes.

Target is also using QR codes to make shopping even easier. The retailer is going to attach QR codes to the hottest toys. Scanning the QR code takes you to a mobile site that allows you to buy the toy and have it delivered to anywhere in the country for free.

So if you have countless of nephews and nieces living far from you, you do not have to worry about the postal charges when you send them your Christmas gifts.

Or for busy parents who can’t ditch their kids to shop, you can still keep your Christmas presents a secret by scanning these QR codes and having them delivered to your home. This works really well for Santa Claus, too.

Free Wi-Fi.

Target is also offering free Wi-Fi for their customers. So if you need to check out what toys are hot for the season, or if you are trying to remember what your wife wanted for Christmas, you can always check out the Facebook status update where she mentioned it.

At some locations, Target will have wayfinding technology to direct lost shoppers to where they want to go.

To be honest, there is nothing unique or new with what Target is doing. But, taken together, this might help give them an advantage over their competitors.