Target CEO Brian Cornell On Black Friday Sales

Target Corporation TGT seems to be the biggest beneficiary among most listed retailers this holiday season as far as investors’ sentiments are concerned.

 The retailer’s stock is up by more than 22% in last one month and is showing no sign of weakness. So, what makes Target different from other retailers?

Brian Cornell, Chairman & CEO of Target, was recently on CNBC to answer that question and also to discuss the company’s initial Black Friday sales results and online engagement.

“It’s still early, I mean it’s not 10’o clock yet on Black Friday and I really like to make it sure we look at the facts. I can tell you that from an online standpoint we saw tremendous results yesterday and it was a record day for us online. So, very strong engagement from an online standpoint,” Cornell said.

“We launched the Target free shipment earlier this month and I hear that’s really made a difference. It really connecting with the shopper, they are visiting our site more often, our conversions are up and we saw that early yesterday with initial sales. I was actually out in stores last night, I was up at our Harlem location where we opened the doors at 6 P.M. and we had a big crowd waiting for us to open the door […]”

When asked about Target’s online strategy for conversions, Cornell replied, “ […] we have also recognized that convenience is really important. So, you can shop online and an hour later come to our 1,800 stores and pick up your order. So, convenience is still important, but then we know more and more customers are turning to their digital device, they are turning to mobile, they are shopping online, so, we thought free shipping was really important […]”