Target Adds Product Search to App in Time for Black Friday

Many Black Friday shoppers have already begun scouring preview flyers and formulating their plan for pushing, shoving, and sprinting their way to the items on their shopping lists. This year, Target has made the whole process much easier with the release of new features on its mobile app, including product inventory search.

The new functionality will enable Target consumers to see if a product is available in-store prior to making a trip. Once they are there, the product is mapped to an aisle location, which can be accessed on an in-app map.

The app is powered by Point Inside, which unifies data across Target’s 1,801 stores to provide search results. As soon as the consumer is in-store, the app automatically switches into geo-fencing mode, allowing for personalized location-based information.

Other new features of the app include:

• Easily accessible shopping lists that include a scanner function
• Availability of products at different store locations

Target will also be releasing an iPad app update later this month. The enhanced features will include:

• Pulling user posts from social media and publishing them on the app
• Display of trending Target items on Pinterest
• Personalized homepage by selecting categories to feature

Commenting on the app’s new functionalities, Allan Wizemann, vice president of product for Target.com and mobile, said:

“We want to build mobile experiences that Target guests will love. We believe the new shopping lists and maps make it easier than ever to shop target. While we’ve got a lot more mobile innovation to come, we look forward to guest feedback on these new experiences so that we can continue to refine and enhance them.”

The Search for Xbox One

Target has already released its Black Friday preview ad, which will give Black Friday fanatics a jump-start on their planning.

Rather than just taking Target’s word for it, I decided to do some hunting of my own. The screenshots below show my search (using the Target app) for what some would consider a hot-ticket item for the holidays.

After glancing through the Black Friday preview ad, I immediately spotted the Xbox One bundle with Assassin’s Creed. After clicking on the image within the ad, I was taken to a product detail page.

From that page I could easily add the item to my shopping list. Alternatively, if I had been in a Target store at the time I could have scanned the barcode to add automatically.

Next it was time to see if my closest store (which happens to be located right by Target Corporate) had the Xbox One available. Sure enough, the Nicollet Mall location did have the product in stock.

Maybe the biggest upgrade to Target’s app is what I experienced next. Based on the product I selected, the app showed specific coordinates for finding it based on the store I had chosen.

This feature will be incredibly useful for Black Friday shoppers who are facing huge crowds and little time.