Target wants to make it well known that it is the go-to retailer for all things wellness.
On Wednesday, Target shared that starting in January it will debute 1,000 new wellness-related products, ranging from apparel and accessories to beauty, supplements and technology. Target recently made headlines for bringing on new and buzzy brands like Kourtney Kardashian Barker’s supplements brand Lemme, Hum Nutrition and Bala bangles. Beauty has been a robust category, as seen in the retailer’s most recent third-quarter earnings in Nov. 2023. While comparable sales declined 4.9% year-over-year, the decline was offset by growth in beauty. Target saw a 4.3% year-over-year sales decline to $25 billion, but net earnings were $971 million, a 36% year-over-year increase.
Glossy spoke with Cassandra Jones, svp of beauty and essentials at Target, to discuss why the retailer’s announcement is significant, how Target thinks about wellness and how that attitude toward wellness is demonstrated in the beauty aisle.
Why make an announcement about 1,000 new wellness items?
“It’s this idea that wellness is evolving. It is much more than the fad diet or the hottest beauty trend. It’s the idea of self-care and wellbeing, and what our guests put in and on their bodies to become the best version of themselves. And they look to Target to curate and make it easy for them to find those products for themselves, their family, or their pet and home. As our guests evolve their wellness or wellbeing journey, we continue to heighten our focus, as well, to ensure that, as they show up at Target, we’re there for them. … That’s why we’re focused on curation across Target — to create a destination.
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That journey looks different for each of us on different days. Some days, you might wake up, and self-care looks like grabbing a Starbucks, wandering the aisles of Target, and being inspired by our experiences and products.”
Does the broadness of ‘wellness’ open it up to needing retailer-created definitions?
“I think the beauty of being able to focus on our guests and serve our guests is that we focus on transparency. Transparency comes to life in several different ways. One of those is our Target Clean Program, which is how we clarify what ingredients are in what products across our store. But I am excited to continue talking about the evolution of wellness.”
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People might roll their eyes if Starbucks said it was a wellness product.
“The nuance of what we’re talking about is the difference between wellness evolving into this idea of self-care and our ability to serve and meet our guests. The more than 1,000 items we offer and new items this year go across a broad spectrum and include things like Sechey non-alcoholic wine or Native [personal care], which falls into our clean product categories. And then we have ingestibles that we’re launching that are new.”
How is the beauty consumer demonstrating their idea(s) of wellness and self-care?
“There is a continued and heightened focus on how beauty has evolved to what you put in and on your body to become your best version of self. It is a lot more than just applying skin care. It’s how someone gets their best sleep and what tools they need to help facilitate that. Maybe it’s an eye mask, a magnesium supplement or even a yoga mat [for those who] stretch before bed. We’re also seeing our ‘nutrition and supplementation’ category continuing to grow. And the idea of self-expression through beauty remains top of mind for our guests. And that’s often showing up as skin care and product categories rooted in clean, but it’s also sometimes a great lipstick to showcase self-expression for that day.”
