Target, Inc.

Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz recently touched down at Target Corp. headquarters in Minneapolis as part of Target’s series of “innovation speakers.” “With Starbucks, I dreamed of building a national brand and different kind of company, achieving balance between profit and conscience, bringing people along on the journey, and impacting the communities we serve,” Schultz said. “The kind of company my parents never got the chance to work for.

Conlego is the name of a new consulting practice established by several former Target executives who hope to leverage their experience to help companies create value through negotiations, partnership and corporate social responsibility.

The name Conlego means “unifying people for a common purpose,” according to the pair of former Target executives who founded the firm on the premise that more value can be created by finding collaborative ways of working together on solving the business and social challenges every organizations faces.

Target Corp. is hoping New Yorkers and tourists alike will come out to help it celebrate the launch of its next limited-edition collection — Marimekko for Target.

Market Track compared retail circular advertising in March 2016 vs. March 2015 and noted trends occurring across top retail chains.

Lowe’s Home Improvement had denser March print circulars with twice the ads per page and nearly 80 additional ads per drop. Lowe’s shifted the Spring Black Friday sale to the 3/31 drop; up from first week of May 2015.

Home depot did not counter this shift through print, but promoted Spring Black Friday on their website.

Shoppers may be using EMV-compliant, chip-enabled payment cards, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they like them.

Business research firm Field Agent recently conducted an audit of 100 chip processing systems at leading retailers Costco, CVS Health, Home Depot, Kroger, Lowes, Target, Walgreens and Walmart. It also undertook a survey of 300 consumers who use chip cards. In the survey, only 37% of the respondents reported a preference for EMV cards over the swiping variety; 63% said they would rather swipe a card than insert a chip card.

Shoppers may be using EMV-compliant, chip-enabled payment cards, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they like them.

Business research firm Field Agent recently conducted an audit of 100 chip processing systems at leading retailers Costco, CVS Health, Home Depot, Kroger, Lowes, Target, Walgreens and Walmart. It also undertook a survey of 300 consumers who use chip cards. In the survey, only 37% of the respondents reported a preference for EMV cards over the swiping variety; 63% said they would rather swipe a card than insert a chip card.

Brian Monahan, VP of marketing for Walmart.com, has left the chain (as of April 1) to go back to a startup he helped found in 2012.

Monahan, who joined Walmart in May 2013, is now serving as chief evangelist of San Francisco-based NewCo Festivals, a media and events platform he co-founded with John Battelle in 2012. NewCo hosts global events it calls “festivals” for start-ups and also publishes editorial content aimed at start-ups. In his new (or old) role, he will oversee brand strategy, sales and marketing, and product development.

Target announced it is testing an expansion of its Cartwheel app, which launched in 2013. The retailer reported that the app has saved users, in total, $475 million (and counting) to date.

The new feature expands the app to allow for digital coupons from manufacturers that offer a dollar amount discount (rather than a percentage discount).

The service is made possible through a partnership with Quotient (formerly Coupons.com), a third-party provider of digital coupons, according to a report by TechCrunch.