Target Refocuses on Millennials

From Greek Yogurt to Craft Beers, the retail giant is making a Millennial push!

Millennials: the elusive generation that retailers are constantly trying to figure out and win over!  And now, Target is giving it another show. How? They are looking to attract these young shoppers by adjusting their groceries and emphasizing items like, greek yogurt, bagged coffee, and craft beers.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the retail giant has focused in on seven grocery categories—from granola and yogurt to candy and snacks— that it thinks will stand out to urban dwellers, young families and Hispanics. In addition the company has plans to add more organic, natural and gluten-free foods. 

The Wall Street Journal notes that, giving their groceries a makeover – and groceries account for about a fifth of Target’s $73 billion in annual sales —is a priority for Target’s new chief executive, Brian Cornell. 

Millennials’ - those born in the 1980s and 1990s — have been tough for retailers to get a handle on. A group tends to lack in brand loyalty, increasingly prefer a healthy lifestyle and have largely shunned processed foods that the older generation grew up with.  And younger families are making up a greater share of Target’s customer base, rivaling the spending power of baby boomers.

Like Target, all retailers hoping to appeal to this generation, need to be constantly adjusting and rethinking their strategies. An emphasis on healthy, localized products and interesting flavors as well as a strong social media presence will appeal to this consumer base, but more importantly it’s the ability to be fresh and adjust to evolving trends that will keep this elusive generation coming back.