Target Announces Deal Days, Holiday Price Match

Target has treats for those starting their holiday shopping before Halloween this year.

The Minneapolis-based retailer announced it will launch a Holiday Price Match Guarantee on Oct. 10, allowing guests to request a price adjustment on almost any item purchased (clearance merchandise and contract mobile phones excluded) if Target lowers the price through Dec. 24. The company also noted it will continue to match prices offered by select competitors—including Walmart and Amazon—within 14 days of an item's purchase. 

Target also will host the latest go-round of its Deal Days event Oct. 10–12, overlapping with a long weekend for many U.S. consumers. New for this event, the promotional pricing on electronics, home goods, apparel and groceries will be available not only online and through the Target mobile app but also in all Target stores. 

Target's holiday-deals announcement comes a week after the retailer said it plans to hire 100,000 workers for the holiday shopping season and beyond—a number smaller than in the past two years as Target looks to offer more extra hours than ever to current team members to meet its end-of-year labor needs. In August, Target reported solid comp growth of 8.9% for the company's second fiscal quarter, led by gains in grocery and an increase in traffic of 12.7%. 

Target COO John Mulligan told investors in an earnings call at the time that despite the fact that "our guests are still seeing empty shelves on some occasions," the retailer was confident that early and strategic buying through the summer made Target well-positioned to meet holiday inventory demands. Those demands are expected to be strong after a subdued pandemic winter of 2020, Target Chief Growth Officer Christina Hennington noted. Guests are "hungry to celebrate key holidays," she said. 

Inventory levels at the end of the second quarter were up 26% versus the year-ago period, the company stated in a post on its Bullseye blog earlier this month, and strategic moves ranging from chartering the company's own container ship to working with vendors to fast-track orders to, in a move announced Thursday, hiring 30,000 new supply-chain workers, are being made to help keep shoppers' Target runs running smoothly this holiday season. 

"Bottom line: We’re ready for our best season yet," the retailer stated.