Target sales boosted by stimulus checks, economic reopening
By Aishwarya Venugopal
Reuters
(Reuters) -Target Corp beat estimates for quarterly profit and sales on Wednesday as a strong vaccination drive across the country encouraged shoppers to return to its stores and spend their stimulus checks on home goods, clothes and other items.
One of the big beneficiaries of a pandemic-led shopping spree, Target has seen its winning streak spill over into 2021 as the reopening of the economy boosts traffic at its stores, while its e-commerce business continues to draw online shoppers.
Comparable sales at Target stores rose 18% in the first quarter, while digital sales surged 50%, driven largely by same-day delivery services, including Drive up, Shipt and in-store pick ups.
Target reports holiday sales jumped on e-commerce boom
Henry Ren and Jonathan Roeder, Bloomberg News
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Target Corp. said sales jumped during the holiday period, with the big-box retailer appearing to solidify some of the gains it made in a turbulent 2020.
Same-store sales, an important gauge of retail success, rose 17 per cent, the company said in a statement. Thatâs a slight slowdown from the 21 per cent the company reported in the prior three months, but still a brisk pace for a well-established retailer.
The results were underpinned by e-commerce and newer options like ordering online and picking up at the store, with curbside pickup surging 500 per cent. Additionally, customer transactions including in store, online or via an app rose 4.3 per cent despite the pandemic, and the average shopping ticket increased 12 per cent. Chief Executive Officer Brian Cornell said the