We don’t know about you, but for BluePromoCode, it’s a little difficult to get out of a Target without spending a lot of money we didn’t intend to. It’s just too hard to resist the call of high-low-end designer collaborations, that cute little accessory we just had to have, and all the lotions we forgot we were out of. To minimize the damage, we’ve looked everywhere to find the best ways to save money at Target.
Save 5% On All Purchases With The Target REDCard
You’d be surprised how few people actually get the Target REDCard, even though it holds many advantages for Target frequent shoppers. You can get either the Target REDCard debit or credit card. You’ll automatically get 5% off most purchases at Target with the REDCard, both in-store and online, qualify for free shipping, and you’ll get an extra 30 days for returns.
If you’re in a giving mood, you can enroll in Target’s Take Charge of Education program and send 1% of your purchases to your kids’ schools. You can also enroll in Target Pharmacy Rewards program, and earn 5% off a day of shopping at Target after filling 5 eligible prescriptions.
The 5% discount does not apply to prescriptions, Target Clinic services, Target Optical eye exams, Target gift cards or prepaid cards, previous purchases, Target credit account payments, Target debit card cash back or Target Visa credit card cash advances, gift wrap or shipping and handling charges online. The Target REDCard credit card does have a fairly high APR interest rate at 22.9%, so if you decide to go the credit card route, be certain you can pay the bills on time, and in full. Otherwise the advantages of getting 5% off will disappear into the APR interest rates you’ll have to pay.
Take Advantage Of Target’s Markdown Schedule
Shop according to Target’s sale and clearance schedule. You can check with your local Target about their markdown schedule, but in general, Target’s markdowns will look like this:
Monday - Electronics, kid’s clothing, stationery
Tuesday - Women’s clothing, domestic items, food, pet supplies
Wednesday - Men’s clothing, toys, lawn & garden, health & beauty
Thursday - Toys, houseware items, decor, luggage, lingerie, shoes, media (music/movies/books), sporting goods
Friday - Cosmetics, jewelry, automotive, hardware
Learn To Read Target’s Clearance Prices For Maximum Savings
Full-price items are most likely to end in a 9, such as $15.99. Clearance items can be priced at 15%, 30%, 70%, 75%, and 90% off. If you’re a fan of Target’s designer collaborations, such as the 2012 Neiman Marcus-Target holiday partnership, you can wait for those items to get marked down. True story: a friend of ours coveted the Marchesa dress, and scored it for 70% off after the holidays. Seasonal items such as Halloween, Easter, and back-to-school fare will always go on sale. The pricing for sale items will hold for about two weeks, and if it still doesn’t sell, will get marked down again. If the last number in the price is an 8, it will likely get marked down again. If the last number in the price is a 4, that indicates the final markdown price. Clearance items are available on what are called the “end-caps” of the aisles. If you really love the item, get it if the remaining inventory is scarce. If there are a lot of the item, it’ll probably still be there next time you go.
Use Target’s Own Deals & Coupons Wisely To Maximize Value
Target has a daily deal site where they sell limited amounts of certain items at a significant discounts for 24 hours, or until the item runs out. You can monitor the webpage, or sign up for Daily Deal alerts via email, mobile, or follow @TargetDeals on Twitter for notifications. On the webpage, you can preview upcoming items. Shipping for Daily Deal items are always free.
Before you head out to Target, check the weekly ad for your location, and print out any coupons you want to use. The best part about using Target coupons is that you’re allowed to stack Target coupons with manufacturer coupons, so if, for example, you print out a coupon for Dannon yogurt from Target, and also have another coupon from Dannon, you can combine them together for extra savings. For Target’s coupon restrictions, check their corporate coupon policy. Sign up for coupon alerts via text or install the mobile app, and you won’t have to even print out the coupons - just show the phone to the clerk, and they can scan the coupon code for you.
Often, Target will provide a gift card incentive to buy certain items. For example, you might see a red sign that says, “Buy 2 packages of Huggies diapers and receive a $5 Target gift card”. The gift card cannot be applied to your current purchase, but it can be applied to your next purchase. There is a minimum $5 purchase requirement to obtain these types of Target gift cards. In the rare case that your purchase doesn’t meet the $5 requirement, check the store to see if other similar deals with gift cards are going on, and add one of those items to your purchase.
Learn The Art Of Price-Matching
You may have heard of the term “showrooming”. Retailers hate it. It’s basically an increasingly common consumer practice of going into a real-life store, checking out a particular item, and then using a price-comparison app on the phone to see if you can find it cheaper elsewhere. Especially on Amazon.
Amazon is notorious for having super-low prices, and they released their own price-scanner app, which makes it very easy for the average customer to walk into a Target store, and order the same item directly from their phone on Amazon if it’s cheaper. To combat the practice of “showrooming”, big box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target often have price-matching policies in place. Familiarize yourself with Target’s price-matching policies. Target will price-match for the following stores: Target.com, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, BestBuy.com, ToysRUs.com, BabiesRUs.com, or a competitors’ printed ads. Target will not price-match for Amazon Marketplace, which consists of third-party retailers selling their wares on Amazon.
Other Useful Money-Saving Tips For Target:
If you see a Target employee with a markdown gun, ask nicely if they’ll be willing to mark your clearance item down further.
If you're a fan of free samples, check out their Sample Spot site. Pick the sample item you want, and click on Request Sample. You'll be prompted to answer a few survey questions. If you don't fit the user demographic for the particular item, you'll be denied the sample. If, however, you do fit the profile they're looking for, you'll be approved for the item, and you'll be asked for your address information so the sample can be sent to you. The item will be sent to you within 8-10 weeks.
If you want to see everything that's on sale in Target, you can check their All The Deals page.
Bring your reusable bags - you’ll save an extra $0.05 for every bag you bring to hold your purchases. Make sure to remind the clerk about it - sometimes they forget to add the discounts.
Don't forget to check BluePromoCode's Target page for deals.
