MINNEAPOLIS, MN - While the leaves haven’t even fallen off the trees yet, retailers are already looking towards their bottom lines for the holiday season. One retailer looking to make this holiday one for the pocket books is Target, who has announced it will boost its workforce by 70,000 for the season.
In the period from November through late January, many retailers make up to 30 percent of their sales and profits for the entire year, according to a report by Fortune. Store attendance also rises dramatically during this season, giving stores the chance to pull out all the stops as far as customer service, helping to solidify customer loyalty throughout the year. During 2015’s holiday quarter, Target’s comparable sales rose 1.9 percent, Fortune says.
However, while 70,000 seems like an impressive amount, some say the number reflects a shrinking expectation for the retailer's season. 70,000 was also the number of seasonal employees Target hired for its 2015 holiday, showing a lack of major growth year over year.
There is one particular area Target is investing in for its end of the year marathon, however: e-commerce. An increase over last year, the company is hiring 7,500 workers to serve in its order fulfillment centers and distribution centers. The trend as of late has been for shoppers to order online and pick up in stores. In response, Target has increased the number of locations that will ship online orders from 460 last year to 920 this year.
So how will the holiday season pan out as Target gets ready to take its 70,000 new troops into battle? Stay tuned as we continue to look at the company financials in the coming months.
