Photos: See Target's Plan to Bring Back the Holiday Spirit in Stores

It’s the most wonderful time of the year for shoppers, but Target is trying to reduce the chaos of holiday shopping in its stores.

Target’s chief guest experience officer, Cara Sylvester, said customers are craving consistency when shopping in stores. For Target, that means cleaning them up, keeping shelves stocked, and having happy staff members.

It’s all part of an effort to keep consumers engaged and shopping the aisles of the winter wonderland that Target is creating throughout its 2,000-plus stores.

Although it’s spreading holiday cheer this season, Target hasn’t had a joyous past few years. The retailer posted declining comparable sales for six of the past nine quarters under exiting CEO Brian Cornell. Last month, the company said it would be laying off about 1,000 corporate employees and cutting another 800 open roles to help the company move faster and simplify workflows.

Target’s chief operating officer and soon-to-be CEO, Michael Fiddelke, has big plans for the retailer that he will helm in February. His strategy is based on “knowing what makes Target Target,” Fiddelke said during Target’s earnings call in August. The guest experience is one major area he wants to improve.

Target took me on a tour of a New Jersey location, where I stepped into a “whimsical Alpine world,” as Sylvester described it to me, to get a preview of how the retailer is revamping its stores to win shoppers back this holiday season.

“We want guests to see, to feel, Target” when they walk into stores, Sylvester said. It sounds simple enough, but the retailer has struggled with store traffic recently. The goal is to make it “look beautiful” with various holiday-themed displays to show off its winter collections.

However, I got the sense that some of the changes aren’t just seasonal; they’re targeting bigger issues.

I was immediately hit with holiday smells and sounds when I walked in

If it smells like warm holiday cookies when you first walk into your local Target, that’s by design. The store is targeting all five senses, with smell playing a new role. I caught onto the strategy immediately as the automatic doors slid open.

“Smell is actually the strongest of the five senses that triggers memories,” Sylvester told me.

In addition to the smells, the holiday vibes were established early on by a life-size gondola — similar to one you might find in the Swiss Alps — that’s used for photo opportunities during the weekly events hosted at the New Jersey location I visited.

Although there weren’t any events scheduled for the Wednesday morning of my tour, my guides told me that toy demonstrations and children’s activities would be held weekly leading up to the holidays.

The Alpine Hotel set the stage for the rest of the store

Cozy sweaters and matching knitted sets from Target’s Universal Thread brand lined the Alpine Hotel near the entrance of the store. It set the tone for the overall Alpine theme of the store, complete with electronic gondolas hanging from the ceiling.

I caught a vibe that would become a thread throughout the rest of the store. It felt like I’d stopped into a small shop that sold cozy knits and sweaters.

However, it was the same Target outside the Alpine Hotel display. There were still racks and racks of affordable, matching winter pajamas to peruse.

The Holiday Market served as inspiration for my Christmas decorations

With a six-foot tinsel Christmas tree as the centerpiece, the Holiday Market was hard to miss at the back corner of the store. Although the holiday vibes were sprinkled throughout the store, the Holiday Market is where you’d go to find the decorations you need for your tree, yard, and wherever else you want to place Santa Claus figurines.

Before my tour, I’d seen a TikTok user post a video that described the decorations as “tackier” than usual.

Telsey Group analyst Joe Feldman told me that Target has struggled to stay on trend and in fashion over the past few years.

However, that wasn’t my takeaway from this visit.

It had a nostalgic feel, which Gen Zers like myself are obsessed with. That’s intentional, Target told me. The ceramic trees and light-up reindeer weren’t unlike the decorations my grandma has used for years. Now that I’m decorating my own house, it feels like an opportunity to continue the tradition.

Target wants you to take your phone out while you’re browsing the store

Target said it overhauled its app for the holidays, with the “Get Ready Yeti” character who guides guests through what’s new on the app, including markdowns and deals.

Target is also pushing Store Mode in the app. The feature displays a virtual map to help shoppers locate what they’re looking for in the store. Many other retailer apps have similar features.

Target, like other retailers, is also infusing AI into the shopping experience with a new assistant that can help find the right gift for a loved one. My tour guide demonstrated it by looking up gift ideas for his gothic nephew, who loves video games.

Target also rolled out another AI-powered feature this week, enabling users to take a photo of their written grocery list and have the items added to their cart.

I felt like I was entering small specialty shops as we walked around.

Hearth & Hand with Magnolia is a brand collaboration between Target and home renovation stars Chip Gaines and Joanna Gaines. The brand has its own little holiday setup, and it made me feel like I’d stepped into a small shop selling specialty home goods, such as handmade wreaths and decorative candy canes.

Target-exclusive products were prominently featured in each display during my walkthrough. Both Target-owned and partner brands dominated the shelves, with national brands taking more of a backseat.

We finished the tour with steaming cups of hot chocolate

Well, sort of. The Target I visited does, in fact, host a weekly event on Saturdays where people can get free cups of hot chocolate. However, the Hot Cocoa Club, where the event is hosted, was still set up with sweet treats, gingerbread houses, and winter-themed plush toys.

Although it was a relatively small part of the store, it smelled of chocolate and mint as we approached. When I got closer, I saw that the cardboard hot chocolate cutout had real steam pumping out from behind it.

Some of these changes are here to stay

The holiday decorations are all fine and dandy, but Target needs more than a booming December quarter to mount a true comeback. Inconsistency in stores has been a frustration for shoppers that the company is working to address.

“Target has to provide a more consistent experience,” Feldman, the analyst, said, adding that customers expect to have a good experience regardless of the location or number of times they go to the store.

For the retail giant, that means cleaning stores, making sure products are in stock, and offering them at a low price, both Feldman and Sylvester told Business Insider.

Target said Tuesday that it would slash prices on thousands of food and beverage items and household goods in time for Thanksgiving. On my own visit, I observed Black Friday sales stickers already posted in the toys section.

Although Target’s new holiday look won’t last forever, this level of execution of its plan is necessary to fully turn things around.

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