Target Aims for iPhone

by erica ~ December 4, 2008

After seeing some major traffic coming from iPhones, Target has created an application that makes it easy for consumers to visit their site.

Although it wasn’t originally intended to be a marketing concept, this Brandweek article discusses Target’s new iPhone application, which is a great example of unintentional internet marketing gone right (at least for Target, that is).

They’ve attracted customers through a unique approach that works well during the holiday season. Users shake their iPhones, producing an on-screen snowfall that clears to reveal a gift idea from the retailer. Users can tap through to visit Target’s site and buy the item or find a store nearby. If anyone has seen the UrbanSpoon commercial for iPhone, it’s along the same lines.

If you think you’ve run out of applications to download, search for 10,000 other applications that are available for download at the iPhone App Store, including a similar retail application from the GAP that lets users mix and match clothing. That program uses the iPhone’s location technology to find a Gap store nearby.

I’m sure we’ll see more and more retailers hopping onto the iPhone bandwagon in the near future especially since major shopping activities are done online now. Although I do not have an iPhone, I can see how this application can be useful since it cuts major time having to go through the Internet. On the other hand, this is just one more place that marketers can bombard you with their offerings.