It is a dark, dark sign for any retailer when your customers weigh in about a change with words like “hate.” That, sadly, is just what happened at Target with reports that its new self-checkout system is not going over well with shoppers. Investors, though, are feeling quite good about the new moves as shares were up over 4% in the closing minutes of Monday’s trading.
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Target is rolling out new self-checkout kiosks, though other reports suggest that the changes are not sitting well to the point that some Target locations are pulling the kiosks outright instead. Self-checkout has always been at least a little controversial. Customers often wonder why they are essentially dragooned into becoming unpaid employees, working for the store and then paying for their goods. But the new changes are not welcome.
Target had several issues with the older systems, including “partial shrink,” a term that emerged when customers would scan one item that cost less than another item, and then, bagged the more expensive item, allowing the customer to pay less than they should have. Naturally, this is much harder to spot than standard theft, since the customer is paying, but not what they should. There was also the potential that a customer may buy, say, five items, but only scan four, thus giving themselves an unauthorized 20% discount.
Teaming Up With…Walmart?
Then there came the strangest report of all, as word emerged about Target teaming up with Walmart (WMT) to take on an AirPod theft ring. The ring, which was operated by two women from New York state, reports noted, managed to get over $140,000 worth of goods from both Walmart and Target stores over the course of the last three years.
This actually managed to do what some might have thought impossible, as Target and Walmart subsequently teamed up in a bid to stop the theft. The two companies reportedly shared information with each other, and then took the shared information to authorities. That shared data helped authorities pin down the suspects, who both subsequently pled guilty, reports noted.
Is Target Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on TGT stock based on 10 Buys, 17 Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 40.09% loss in its share price over the past year, the average TGT price target of $125.15 per share implies 24.18% upside potential.
