April 7, 2026
Photo courtesy of Target
Can Target’s Baby Push Bolster its Improving Turnaround Effort?
Target has been engaged in a sustained turnaround effort for some time now, with mixed results. As of late, however, certain data points appear to support the suggestion that this turnaround is finally gaining traction, per Placer.ai’s The Anchor.
Although 2025 was a year termed as difficult for Target by Placer.ai’s Shira Petrack, 2026 may represent a tipping point in the retailer’s favor. Weekly visits between February 2 through March 22 improved by 6.6% to 10.3% YoY, “suggesting that the company’s turnaround strategy – which includes improving its product assortment and in-store experience – is beginning to deliver results,” Petrack wrote.
Target also experienced increased foot traffic during its most recent Circle Days promotion, with visits being up 2.9% and 5.9% versus 2024 and 2025’s comparative figures, respectively.
With Momentum on its Side, Target Makes Play for Market Share in Baby Shopping
Early last month, Target made it clear that it was entering the baby goods market in a big way. Baby Boutique, an in-store department dedicated to serving the needs of newborns, infants, and toddlers, was slated to be deployed to nearly 200 stores throughout March — with brands such as UPPAbaby, Bugaboo, Stokke, and Doona being headlined. In-store events and activations, in addition to a personalized one-on-one Baby Concierge service pilot are also part of the push.
A separate Placer.ai report issued by Elizabeth Lafontaine highlighted that Target could be pushing into the retail white space opportunity left behind by the closure of buybuy Baby.
“Target’s shopper profile looks very similar to that of buybuy Baby during its operation. Specifically, the share of visits by Wealthy Suburban Families, Near Urban Diverse Families and Ultra Wealthy Families are all very closely aligned between the two chains, indicating that Target’s strategy could easily entrench itself with today’s consumer,” Lafontaine wrote.
BrainTrust
Gary Sankary
Retail Industry Strategy, Esri
Carol Spieckerman
President, Spieckerman Retail
Frank Margolis
Executive Director, Growth Marketing & Business Development, Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions
Recent Discussions
Discussion Questions
Will Target’s concerted push into the baby category help to bolster its turnaround effort? Why or why not?
Do you believe the improved foot traffic data will hold? Will it also result in sustained sales growth throughout 2026 and beyond, if so?
What could Target add to its plan to cement interest in the baby category within its stores?
Poll
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In theory, Target should be a destination for baby registries. In practice, their registry interface (which I used today) is clunky, shows out of stock/discontinued products, and does not offer a checklist of necessary items to shop from. As usual, Target’s lack of attention to detail will cost them shoppers in the long run.
Target has some strong institutional DNA in this category. The merchants on Nicolet Ave in Minneapolis owned this category, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t own it again. The collapse of buybuy Baby and others in the segment is real, and new parents, who are highly motivated buyers and forming shopping patterns that, if Target earns their business, will make them lifetime fans of the store, like many parents are.
But to win here, it has to be a full omnichannel effort- store execution, online experiences, registry, supply chain, and marketing need to be in lockstep. The baby concierge is a great way to support these customers because it demonstrates a commitment to the category, not just another Plangoram refresh.
Premium baby is a growth segment driven by dual-income households willing to pay for quality. Target is leaning into exactly that with UPPAbaby and Bugaboo. Nail the experience, protect the in-stock position, and this has real legs — for the category and for the turnaround.
The baby business is evergreen and a category in which Target enjoys built-in credibility. It’s the definition of low-hanging fruit as Target executes the next phase of its turnaround strategy. This time, it seems Target has a multi-pronged plan that builds experiences around brands rather than relying solely on having them.
Target has been engaged in a sustained turnaround effort for some time now, with mixed results
Seldom does a post so quickly answer its own question.
It makes sense to build a premium experience for a high LTV customer. If they can get the registry experience right, they could earn a long-term customer.
Target is already successful in baby, mainly because of its product authority. However, it has lost market share in recent years as online has become more significant and rivals like Walmart have bolstered their offer and service proposition. Renewed investment should help Target to stem the losses and regain some ground – especially as still has a lot of the family and pre-family shopper groups in its customer mix. As usual, all comes down to good execution.
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In theory, Target should be a destination for baby registries. In practice, their registry interface (which I used today) is clunky, shows out of stock/discontinued products, and does not offer a checklist of necessary items to shop from. As usual, Target’s lack of attention to detail will cost them shoppers in the long run.
Target has some strong institutional DNA in this category. The merchants on Nicolet Ave in Minneapolis owned this category, and there’s no reason they shouldn’t own it again. The collapse of buybuy Baby and others in the segment is real, and new parents, who are highly motivated buyers and forming shopping patterns that, if Target earns their business, will make them lifetime fans of the store, like many parents are.
But to win here, it has to be a full omnichannel effort- store execution, online experiences, registry, supply chain, and marketing need to be in lockstep. The baby concierge is a great way to support these customers because it demonstrates a commitment to the category, not just another Plangoram refresh.
Premium baby is a growth segment driven by dual-income households willing to pay for quality. Target is leaning into exactly that with UPPAbaby and Bugaboo. Nail the experience, protect the in-stock position, and this has real legs — for the category and for the turnaround.
The baby business is evergreen and a category in which Target enjoys built-in credibility. It’s the definition of low-hanging fruit as Target executes the next phase of its turnaround strategy. This time, it seems Target has a multi-pronged plan that builds experiences around brands rather than relying solely on having them.
Seldom does a post so quickly answer its own question.
It makes sense to build a premium experience for a high LTV customer. If they can get the registry experience right, they could earn a long-term customer.
Target is already successful in baby, mainly because of its product authority. However, it has lost market share in recent years as online has become more significant and rivals like Walmart have bolstered their offer and service proposition. Renewed investment should help Target to stem the losses and regain some ground – especially as still has a lot of the family and pre-family shopper groups in its customer mix. As usual, all comes down to good execution.