Amazon wouldn’t have brought Wholefoods if according to your logic. They can use Targets physical location to cover a lot of last mile delivery or more products to have those 2 hour deliveries.
There are many products at Target that are simply inferior and more expensive than their alternatives on Amazon.
If target could more intelligently replace those inferior and pricier products with their cheaper, Amazon-based alternative, then Target would provide a more competitive buying experience.
But Target is locked in with old brands and not necessarily the best ones in the market for their given vertical.
Seems like an extremely simple fix, but maybe Target is mired in longer term contracts with big brands that they can't break.
As a quick example, is Bic still the best manufacturer of the best available pens?
When I lived in a smaller suburban town Target was a great responsibly priced alternative to Amazon for many things, especially consumables like cleaning supplies. Now that I lie in a busy city its not worth the horribly busy parking, checkout lines and crowds to go to Target. If I could simply order everything from Amazon I would. If Target sold better quality I still wouldn't go. Prime Now seems to be improving but the selection is pretty spotty.
> There are many products at Target that are simply inferior and more expensive than their alternatives on Amazon.
And there are many products on Amazon that are fake. At least I know what I'm getting at Target, and returns don't involve negotiating for a shipping label and figuring out where there's a package drop-off nearby.
> As a quick example, is Bic still the best manufacturer of the best available pens?
Probably not, but luckily they're not the only brands that Target carries in-store: Paper Mate, Pilot, BIC, NPW, Pentel, Staedtler, Sugar Rush, Uniball, up&up, Write Dudes, and Yoobi are all advertised as pen brands sold by Target.
If target could more intelligently replace those inferior and pricier products with their cheaper, Amazon-based alternative, then Target would provide a more competitive buying experience.
But Target is locked in with old brands and not necessarily the best ones in the market for their given vertical.
Seems like an extremely simple fix, but maybe Target is mired in longer term contracts with big brands that they can't break.
As a quick example, is Bic still the best manufacturer of the best available pens?