TL;DR – What You Need to Know
Target announced it will launch a beta app in ChatGPT: Moving beyond checkout to an app will allow it to build a better experience within ChatGPT than just providing a checkout through Agentic Commerce Protocol, as Walmart has already announced.
But don’t expect it to be a material channel: Maybe they should have upgraded their TikTok presence first? Target trying to be the first-mover is a little like being first in the Turkey buffet line at Thanksgiving. Sometimes, it means you’re just the first one to fall asleep.
In short, don’t expect Target to mention results from this in their earnings call soon. You can’t fix your retail fundamentals with a new channel.
Why Launch a ChatGPT App at All?
The Speed is the Point
After being a step behind the industry the last few years, Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke seems to be trying to prove a point. Let’s try to get ahead of things rather than stay behind them.
It’s not lost on me that Amazon is making noises about a deeper retail partnership with OpenAI, and Walmart announced their support for Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) over a month ago.
The Headlines
Here are a few of the callouts in Target’s press release.
The ability to purchase multiple items in one basket. Be still my heart.
Shop Fresh Food products.
Use Omnichannel Fulfillment Options. This one I like. Will the location-aware functionality work as well as a native iOS app for instance?
ChatGPT Enterprise for Employees. This is an OpenAI app announced buried in an OpenAI sales call. OpenAI selling a lot of seats out there — Walmart announced the same thing.
On the roadmap is the ability to request personalized recommendations. Wait, what?! I thought personalization was the whole point. Isn’t that what agentic is supposed to be all about?
What is this “roadmap” you speak of?
Conversational Retail Will Not Save Target
Let’s get right to the point. Conversational commerce is still commerce. Product, price, promotion, and placement. Target’s product has gotten stale, and their pricing is not as good as Walmart.
Adding a retailer with declining fundamentals to a new distribution channel doesn’t make it more attractive. It just means your poop has shown up in a new place.
Perhaps it’s time to upgrade the offer? In a world where Walmart can offer better price, convenience, and is better at grocery, Target needs to rediscover why it exists at all.
Michael Fiddelke Might Struggle
If sprinkling some agentic fairy dust in Target is expected to change their core issues, then
There is a concerted whisper campaign that Target may be evaluating being acquired by a larger retailer. It’s not outside of the realm of possibility. Why else do you go almost a year without a Chief Marketing Officer?
Fiddelke has very little time to define his strategy and set it in motion. And this is coming from someone who has been a years-long Target fan.
Sources
Wrap-Up
Target is looking to make a splash with AI and generate some buzz. Sometimes buzzing around will just get you stung. I suggest that Target instead focus on their fundamentals, because right now Walmart is running circles around the big red dot.
