Digital sales grew almost 9% year over year in November 2024 and December combined at Target Corp., the company recently reported.
That's about triple its total sales growth during the 2024 holiday shopping season from Nov. 1 through Dec. 31 (2.8%). It's also more than quadruple its year-over-year comparable sales growth of 2%.
"Compared with its third quarter sales trends, the company saw a meaningful acceleration in discretionary categories during the holiday timeframe, most notably in apparel and toys, and saw continued strength in beauty and frequency categories," Target said in a statement.
Target is No. 5 in the Top 1000. The database is Digital Commerce 360's ranking of North America's online retailers by web sales. Target is also No. 80 in the Global Online Marketplaces Database, which ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV). Digital Commerce 360 categorizes Target as a Mass Merchant.
The 9% growth in Target digital sales during the holiday season reflects more than 30% growth in same-day delivery, the retailer reported. It also saw "nearly 50%" growth in Target Plus, the company's third-party marketplace.
In its physical stores and digital channels, Target traffic increased nearly 3% year over year, the retailer said. Additionally, from Nov. 1, 2024, through Dec. 31, Target fulfilled more than 97% of its sales via stores.
Target had record-high sales during its Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotional periods, it said without quantifying the Cyber 5 period's sales or their year-over-year growth. The Cyber 5 refers to the five-day period starting on Thanksgiving.
"Our team delivered continued traffic growth and better-than-expected holiday-season performance ... our team continues to make Target a destination for consumers, both during important seasonal moments like the holidays and in the everyday moments in between," said Brian Cornell, chair and CEO at Target, in a statement.
Mark Schindele, executive vice president and chief stores officer, will be retiring after 25 years with Target, the company said. It announced Adrienne Costanzo, its senior vice president of store operations, as its next chief stores officer. Schindele will move into a strategic advisor role Feb. 2 and retire effective March 29, Target said. Costanzo will report directly to Michael Fiddelke, executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Brett Craig, executive vice president and chief information officer, will retire after 15 years at Target, the company said. It announced Prat Vemana, executive vice president and chief digital and product officer, will take on the role of chief information and product officer.
Target is also promoting Sarah Travis, its senior vice president of Roundel and social commerce, to executive vice president and chief digital and revenue officer. Roundel is the name of Target's retail media network. It delivered "mid-teen growth in Q3," Cornell said in an earnings call at the time. That benefited both Target total revenue and gross margin rate in the quarter, Cornell told investors at the time.
Travis' new role "brings together the growing power of Target's ecommerce business with other revenue drivers -- including Roundel and the company's social commerce efforts that inspire consumers to shop Target on new platforms -- to fuel each other's success and growth," the company said.