Target tops the iOS apps for retail.
These days, the retail world is much more than window dressings and early bird specials. It’s cyber. It’s global. It’s mobile. Many retail chains have jumped on the mobile app bandwagon and created elaborate, elegant apps for users to find the products they seek with ease. In the next four reviews, I will be discussing four of my favorite retail apps: Target, Starbucks, Walgreens and Best Buy.
Target
With $67.4 billion in net sales in 2010, the Target Corporation has a well-established history of being one of the largest retailers in the U.S. In December of 2008, Target Corporation decided to release its own iPhone application. An app that probably started out as a way to increase holiday sales, has gone through several versions and is currently on version 4.3.1.
The Target App allows you to view Target’s Weekly Ad, Daily Deals and find the closest Target store to your current location using the iPhone’s GPS and Google Maps App. Users can shop for his or her favorite Target items by shopping categories such as Baby, Bedding & Bath, and Clearance, or by using the overall ‘Search’ function, which utilizes a voice-to-text technology similar to Google Apps.
Like many retail apps, Target has a scan-to-search option which allows users to scan the bar code of items to find them within Target’s database. Target App also allows users to create shopping lists and search baby and wedding registries. In my opinion, the registry search is the reason to download the app. It makes shopping for friends and family so much easier than printing out the registry at the store or even from your home computer. The app shows users if items have already been purchased, whether or not it is available ‘In Store’, and allows you to order directly from the registry.
I can highly recommend this app to any Target shopper. Target’s App is available for free through the Apple iTunes Store.
