Target hits sales growth record
Target delivered blowout results Wednesday.
The retailer posted its strongest quarterly comparable sales growth ever, rising 24%. That was roughly triple what Wall Street had expected.
The biggest driver: its online operations.
Digital revenue nearly tripled as shoppers snapped up video games, kitchenware and clothes using its same-day delivery and in-store pick up services.
Target said brick-and-mortar was key to its record growth, saying physical stores enabled more than three-fourths of those online sales. In-store traffic was strong, and comparable sales jumped nearly 11%.
Big box stores like Target, Walmart and Home Depot were all deemed essential amid the pandemic and Americans are using their stimulus checks to buy non-essential items like tablets and beauty products.
Like Walmart, Target characterized the start of the back-to-school season as slow because of the uncertainty over when students would return to the classrooms. But unlike its bigger rival, it said sales remained strong even as the effect of the stimulus checks waned. It managed to post double-digit growth in August.
Target shares shot up sharply higher in early trading Wednesday.
