Target, I don’t feel welcome

The wife and I are avid Target shoppers. More than likely if we have a choice between Walmart and Target, we choose Target. So given that, I decided to sign up for Target’s email updates program. I fully expected a thank you email to come within a day or two (at most)… not so much.

A WEEK LATER, here’s what I got from Target:

Subject Line: Welcome to Target.com!

Before I harp on the utter lateness of this message, let’s start with what Target did right (in my opinion):

• Whitelisting request at the top and with prominence in the design below the primary message. Definitely a priority in a welcome message (regardless of how late it is)
• Solid use of the red as branding. Use of imagery tying the store designs to the email is great.
• Thanks me for signing up, then sets the expectations upfront. (The Images Off version has all of the copy in that primary box at alt-text, so kudos there)
• Decent use of a nav bar at the top and recovery module at bottom.

Now the bad:

• This message is a week late. I received NOTHING from Target until this message a week later. When I ask for email updates, it’s top of mind folks. Hit me within an hour, and you might get an impulse buy. Much more so than a week later.
• This may be nitpicky, but I would have liked to have seen Daily Deals not just in the recovery module, but as a button.
• The “Shop Target.com” should be a red button or something to draw the eye. It’s a bit too dull. Perhaps a combo with the Daily Deals to spark that impulse buy.
• The fact that this is a do-not-reply email (as indicated in the disclaimers). Target should know better and have at least a central reply-to email box.

Here’s the email in full-size:

If I had received this message in a timely manner, I probably wouldn’t be so negative.

So get to it, Target! You have been put on notice!

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