Target Merges Cartwheel Into Its Main App

Target appears to have grown weary of maintaining separate apps – one as its flagship phone application and another displaying its Cartwheel deals – and has decided to merge the two formats into one, Chain Store Age reports.

Users who want to find the app will now find it listed using the term “Target — now with Cartwheel.”

In addition to merging the two apps into one, Target is aiming to add additional features to its app format. The company plans to debut in-store maps leading consumers to where Cartwheel deals are, and will eventually also bring a mobile payment option to the app by early 2018, according to TechCrunch. Eventually, the company aims to allow customers to show a barcode at the point of purchase, where they can use their app to both pay for products and get Cartwheel deals.

Eliminating the Cartwheel app may be a learning curve for some consumers because Cartwheel is more popular than the main Target app, TechCrunch reports.

Those who use Cartwheel have saved more than $1 billion during in-store visits, and the app has been downloaded about 40 million times.

“Guests can now access everything they love about Cartwheel – like the ability to find deals at their store, redeem savings with one barcode scan and watch their lifetime savings soar – plus so much more,” said Andrew Weisbecker, Target’s senior director of apps and digital strategy, on the company’s A Bullseye View blog. “Once guests are set up, the streamlined experience means the best of Target all in one place,” he added.

The  move is the latest in Target’s quest to boost its innovation strategy. Just last week, the company announced that Minsok Pak would be joining the firm as executive vice president of chief strategy and innovation officer, to drive enterprise strategy development and retail innovation to enhance the guest experience and drive growth.