• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechTarget

Target Takes Another Step to Better Compete With Walmart and Amazon

By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Leena Rao
Leena Rao
Down Arrow Button Icon
June 9, 2017, 3:37 PM ET

Target is making another move to catch up with Walmart online and fend off e-commerce juggernaut Amazon.

Target said on Thursday that it plans to consolidate its mobile apps to eliminate customer confusion over having to switch between apps for important tasks.

The move is part of Target’s $7 billion push to improve its e-commerce operations and stores over the next three years as it faces stiff competition from both online and bricks and mortar retailers. In 2016, Target’s online business only represented 5% of its total sales, well below the industry average of 10%.

In recent months, Target has started an overhaul of its tech strategy after some futuristic tests failed. For example, it recently announced that its big innovation project, the “Store of the Future,” which aimed to incorporate robots into stores and to test other innovations, would be shuttered.

Since 2013, Target has operated two separate apps for its mobile commerce efforts—a main app for shopping, and Cartwheel, an app that includes coupons and discounts for shoppers in physical stores and online. Cartwheel had gained momentum with 27 million users, but Sean Murphy, the company’s vice president of digital products, said that using two apps confused customers.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter.

To fix the problem, the retail giant is integrating Cartwheel’s discounts into the main Target app. The change is in line with Amazon and Walmart, both of which have individual apps that let shoppers buy items and access discounts and coupons.

According to TechCrunch, Target won’t shutter Cartwheel completely, but will slowly phase new and existing customers over to the one dedicated Target app.

For more on Target:

For the newly consolidated app, Target is adding a number of new features that it hopes will lift sales in its bricks and mortar stores. The Target app had already included maps of stores, but now it will recognize which ones customers are in so that it can show shoppers their location inside and highlight deals nearby.

As Target announced earlier this year, the app will also let members of its loyalty and credit card program, REDcard, pay for items in stores using their smartphones. However, the retailer did not reveal any other details about how this technology would work.

 

About the Author
By Leena Rao
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
Fortune Secondary Logo
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

OpenAI logo is seen in this photo illustration with the South Korean flag in the background
AIOpenAI
‘Could it kill someone?’ A Seoul woman allegedly used ChatGPT to carry out two murders in South Korean motels
By Catherina GioinoMarch 2, 2026
4 hours ago
Sam Altman speaking into a mic.
AIOpenAI
OpenAI’s Pentagon deal raises new questions about AI and mass surveillance
By Beatrice NolanMarch 2, 2026
5 hours ago
iran
AIIran
Iran has the intent—and increasingly the tools—for AI-powered cyberattacks
By Sharon GoldmanMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago
AITech
Anthropic’s Claude overtakes ChatGPT in App Store as users boycott over OpenAI’s $200 million Pentagon contract
By Marco Quiroz-GutierrezMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago
dave ricks
AIScience
Tech giants see a cure for cancer in AI. But Eli Lilly’s CEO finds it ‘not particularly good’ at solving biology or chemistry problems
By Jake AngeloMarch 2, 2026
7 hours ago
Photo of a young man holding a smartphone having his face scanned
LawSocial Media
Social media companies are fighting the ‘age verification trap’ as collecting biometrics on kids violates privacy rights
By Catherina GioinoMarch 2, 2026
9 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Middle East
U.S. military gives Iran a taste of its own medicine with cheap copycat Shahed drones, while concern shifts to munitions supply in extended conflict
By Jason MaMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Success
MacKenzie Scott's close relationship with Toni Morrison long before Amazon put Scott on the path to give more than $1 billion to HBCUs
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Your grandparents are the reason the U.S. isn't in a recession right now. That won't last forever
By Eleanor PringleMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
AI
American schools weren’t broken until Silicon Valley used a lie to convince them they were—now reading and math scores are plummeting
By Sasha RogelbergMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago
placeholder alt text
Health
Gen Z men are eating ‘boy kibble,’ the human equivalent to dog food, to load up on protein cheaply
By Jake AngeloMarch 1, 2026
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Slack cofounder says workers and CEOs can get stuck doing 'fake' work like pre-meetings and slideshows
By Emma BurleighMarch 1, 2026
1 day ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.