While we in California are still feeling the heat of 90 degree days, it looks like retailers are already looking towards their bottom lines for the holiday season. One retailer looking to make this an extra special winter is Target, who has revealed a plan to boost its workforce by 70,000 over the next few months.
From November through late January, many retailers can make up to 30 percent of their sales and profits for the entire year, according to a report by Fortune. This, in addition to a dramatic increase in store attendance, gives stores the chance to pull out all the stops as far as customer service and help solidify customer loyalty throughout the entire year. During last year’s holiday quarter, Target’s comparable sales rose 1.9 percent, Fortune says.
While 70,000 seems like an impressive amount, some analysts are concerned that this number reflects a shrinking expectation for the retailer's season. 70,000 was also the number of seasonal employees Target hired for its 2015 holiday, showing a lack of growth in general year over year.
But there is one particular area Target is investing in for its end of the year marathon: e-commerce. An increase over last year, the company is hiring 7,500 workers to serve in its order fulfillment centers and distribution centers. With shoppers now increasingly ordering online and picking up in stores, Target has increased the number of locations that will ship online orders from 460 last year to 920 this year.
So how will the holiday season pan out as Target gets ready to take its 70,000 new troops into battle? Stay tuned as we continue to look at the company financials in the coming months.
