Target Tech Radar: Target is deploying AI to accelerate merchandising and operations

Target’s single biggest technology story is its aggressive deployment of generative AI and machine learning tools to drive revenue growth through enhanced merchandising and optimize costs through faster digital fulfillment.

Executives explicitly confirmed the rollout of over 10,000 AI licenses and a proprietary Gen AI "Target Trend Brain" to help headquarters staff forecast consumer preferences, automate manual work, and accelerate speed-to-market for new products. To drive digital revenue growth, leadership highlighted a partnership with OpenAI for a "conversational curation" shopping experience and a Gen AI-powered gift finder. Additionally, Target is betting on machine learning to modernize inventory forecasting and optimize supply chain flow from supplier to shelf, aimed at reducing out-of-stocks and lowering fulfillment costs.

Target's newly formed Enterprise Acceleration Office is focused on streamlining headquarters operations by tackling legacy technology, unclear accountabilities, and siloed data. This major business transformation will logically require IT modernization, including the implementation of enterprise workflow automation and upgraded data architecture to replace manual processes. Furthermore, their ongoing reconfiguration of the "stores-as-hubs" fulfillment model—which shifts specific lower-traffic stores to dedicated brown-box shipping centers—will demand advanced distributed order management (DOM) systems and workforce scheduling software.

All sourced directly from Target's Q1, Q2, and Q3 2025 earnings calls.