Target Winds Down Cartwheel Perks Loyalty Program

Target is winding down its Cartwheel Perks rewards program that it started testing in five markets less than a year ago. The five markets are Denver, Houston, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, and St. Louis.

But Target’s Cartwheel app, which provides in-store shoppers with digital coupons for extra savings when they check out, will remain intact and be moving into the company’s main app this summer. The Cartwheel Perks rewards program launched in the five test markets in September 2016.

Target spokesperson Eddie Baeb told Loyalty360 that “creating simple, convenient, and fun digital tools for Target guests means listening carefully to guest feedback and regularly making adjustments based on what we hear. That’s why we’ve begun phasing out the pilot Cartwheel Perks program we’ve been testing in five markets.”

Existing Perks users in those markets have until Aug. 27 to earn Perks points and must make their final Perks selections by Sept. 27. Guests will then have until Oct. 27 to redeem any Perks.

“We thank our guests who participated in this pilot program,” Baeb said. “We had many learnings about how to engage and reward guests that we plan to leverage in the future. We look forward to sharing more about exciting changes coming soon to the Cartwheel and Target apps. While we don’t have specifics at this time, there are some exciting changes are in the works for Cartwheel and the Target app. We look forward to sharing more soon.”

Baeb said Target tested several iterations of Perks, and “did a lot of listening to guests. There were many learnings from the five-market test about how to engage and reward guests that we plan to leverage in the future. We thank our guests who participated in the pilot. Guest feedback is vital as we continue to test new ways to make shopping Target even better.”

Sean Murphy, Target’s vice president of digital product, explained what the future holds for Cartwheel in an article he wrote on the company site.

“We’ve heard one thing loud and clear from guests: ‘Keep making it easier.’ That’s why we’re moving Cartwheel, our popular savings app, into the main Target app this summer. That means guests will have one place where they can map out their store trips, snag great Cartwheel deals on in-store purchases, check out Target’s store and online assortments and, of course, make online purchases.

The changes are already happening. You can now access Cartwheel deals with the Target app. And we’ll be making more improvements over the summer.”

Murphy added: “We’ll soon begin inviting Cartwheel app users (who’ve now saved close to $1 billion – ONE BILLION DOLLARS – on their store purchases) to switch over to the Target app. Our goal for the updated app is to make shopping Target even better. We want to put the best of Target in the palm of guests’ hands. Our job is to make it easy for guests, and we'll stay focused on that every day. On top of the convenience of a one-stop-shop app, we’re already working on new ways the app can save guests time and money. Two examples: The app’s store map will soon show guests their location as they shop and highlight Cartwheel deals nearby. Later, we’ll add mobile payment for Target REDcard holders. So guests can eventually score all their Cartwheel deals AND get an additional 5 percent off everything they buy with their REDcard. All with a quick, easy scan of the app at checkout.”

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