Target Has A Secret App For Superfans, And It Looks Like Instagram

I’m looking at an app, and I could swear it’s Instagram. I see large square photos in an endless feed. Avatars appear in round circles. You can tap a heart to like something. Inside any post, there are dozens of comments. But while the wireframe looks like Instagram, the intent behind the software couldn’t be more different. This is Studio Connect, an app developed inside Target in 2016. It’s used to connect the Target design team to the customer they’re designing for, informing projects like its ambitious new Made by Design line of housewares. Not just anyone can join the service. Target keeps the group at roughly 600 members (that’s 0.002% of its 30 million weekly shopper base). Each member is personally invited to take part, and they’re recruited via online research and receipt polls. They are not paid for the service, but can earn points toward discounts and gift cards. The larger incentive is that these fans get to be part of a feedback loop, seeing and sometimes trying products early, while encouraging Target to develop products that they will love to buy. They get to help shape Target into the Target they want. Read more at Fast Company.