Target and Wal-Mart Stores may be the biggest mass merchandisers in the country, but both believe business results can be improved by acting small–that is, tailoring what they do to individual communities and shoppers.
In August Target ( TGT – news – people ) announced it would begin delivering its weekly online ad, "My TargetWeekly," in a new, customizable form. The ad, which is seen by 1.2 million visitors to Target.com on a weekly basis, now lets consumers create views customized to their preferences as well as providing alerts to shoppers when their favorite products are on sale. The chain will also add "My TargetWeekly" to its Facebook page.
"Target is doing what smart retailers have to do: go to where the customers are," Rebecca Lieb, vice president at Econsultancy, told USA Today. "You have to engage people on their own terms."
For its part, Wal-Mart ( WMT – news – people ) is actively custom tailoring product offerings to shoppers on a store-by-store basis. While one-size-fits-all may offer some operational efficiencies and associated savings, the chain knows that giving shoppers what they want is the key to selling.\
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