Target expanding its college store footprint

Target is hitting the books.



The discounter opened four small-format stores on or near college campuses in July, including one in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (University of North Carolina), Los Angeles (University of Southern California), Irvine, California (University of California) and Cincinnati (University of Cincinnati). Three more locations are set to debut this fall. (Click here to take a look inside one of Target's small-format campus stores.)



According to Target, food, especially grab-and-go lunch and snack items, tops the list of what college students shop for the most. Essentials like toothpaste, toothbrushes and body wash are big too, along with dorm décor and apparel. And quick stops for school supplies and tech accessories are popular.



"Going off to college is a new life stage — students are making their own shopping decisions for the first time,” said Mark Schindele, senior VP, Target Properties. “We want to help make students’ experiences fun and easy, serve up products and services they’ll love and show them the best that Target has to offer, so they become lifelong guests.”



The new college stores of part of Target's plan to open nearly 30 new small-format stores by the end of 2017, doubling its presence in dense urban and suburban markets and on college campuses. Currently, the retailer operates 45 small-format stores nationwide. It will operate more than 130 of them by the end of 2019.