The tests: In an effort to regain momentum, Target is piloting several initiatives aimed at boosting sales and protecting its margins.

The details:

• Bundled value: Target is experimenting with online bundling of everyday essentials like coffee and snacks to gauge demand for bulk buying. It’s also pairing complementary items—such as electric toothbrushes with replacement heads—to encourage larger basket sizes, per Bloomberg.
• Temu-style shipping: Target is testing a factory-direct shipping model that allows suppliers to ship directly to shoppers. The model closely resembles the strategy used by Temu and Shein to keep prices low.
• Smarter security: To tackle shrink and improve the in-store experience, Target is testing smartphone-controlled technology that lets employees remotely lock and unlock display cases, replacing traditional manual keys, Bloomberg reports.

Our take: Target isn’t standing still amid its challenges—but it isn’t clear if its latest moves will resonate with consumers.

• Bulk buying suits warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam’s Club, where value and volume are baked into the model. But it’s unclear whether Target can replicate that success online—and it hasn’t extended the test to stores, where bulky items could strain limited shelf space.
• Meanwhile, the landscape that fostered Temu and Shein’s rapid rise—low tariffs and the de minimis exemption for low-value imports from China—has shifted. Current policies require retailers to pay duties and tariffs on many of these parcels, and a proposed law could eliminate the de minimis exemption altogether by 2027, making that model far harder to sustain.
• As for store security, smartphone-unlocked cabinets may be a small improvement over manual keys—but locked-up merchandise still introduces friction. And in a world where speed and convenience rule, that friction could send shoppers straight to a competitor’s website or app.

It’s encouraging to see Target establish an “acceleration office” to push innovation forward. But with consumer budgets under strain, finding the right formula won’t be easy—especially given the stiff competition it faces from Amazon, Walmart, and others.