Target ChatGPT App Not Going to Save Them
Why is Target launching a ChatGPT app now?
Why Launch a ChatGPT App at All if you're Target? I think the speed in the point. After being a step behind the industry the last few years, Target’s incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke seems to be trying to prove a point. Let’s try to get ahead of things rather than stay behind them. It’s not lost on me that Amazon is making noises about a deeper retail partnership with OpenAI, and Walmart announced their support for Agentic Commerce Protocol (ACP) over a month ago.
What key features are included in Target's new ChatGPT app?
Here are a few of the callouts in Target’s press release.
The ability to purchase multiple items in one basket. Be still my heart.
Shop Fresh Food products. OK.
Use Omnichannel Fulfillment Options. This one I like. Will the location-aware functionality work as well as a native iOS app for instance?
ChatGPT Enterprise for Employees. This is an OpenAI app announced buried in an OpenAI sales call. OpenAI selling a lot of seats out there — Walmart announced the same thing.
Why won't the ChatGPT app save Target?
On the roadmap is the ability to request personalized recommendations. Wait, what?! I thought personalization was the whole point. Isn’t that what agentic is supposed to be all about? What is this “roadmap” you speak of? Adding a retailer with declining fundamentals (Target) to a new distribution channel (ChatGPT) doesn’t make it more attractive. It just means your poop has shown up in a new place. Perhaps it’s time to upgrade the offer? In a world where Walmart can offer better price, convenience, and is better at grocery, Target needs to rediscover why it exists at all.
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