When Target launched in Canada, it relied heavily on the fact that many Canadians had already experienced shopping at Target stores across the border and came to expect the same service on home field.
According to a survey of 1,000 Canadian women by Headspace Marketing, residents of Quebec were less familiar with Target than Canadians across the rest of the country. Now, less than a quarter of Quebec women have shopped at Target stores in the U.S. compared to over half of Canadian women in other provinces.
When Target launched in Quebec, it adopted the same formula for its launch as it did in the rest of the country. The company also made an effort to appeal to residents of the province by having local celebrity Mitsou pose next to Bullseye, Target’s mascot. It made deals with local designers and complied with French language laws in the province across its operations.
Meanwhile, another survey by ResearchNow states that nine out of 10 Canadian women have shopped at Target stores at least once in the past year. 61.7 per cent of these women rated their shopping experience as good or very good, while 7.3 per cent rated it as bad or very bad. Women from Quebec are less likely to rate their experience at the store as good, as only 52.1 per cent did so, while 38.4 per cent of Quebec women rated their experience there as neither good nor bad compared to 28.7 in the rest of Canada.
The survey further asked Canadian women which departments they would shop at the store. Most women stated they would buy clothing and accessories there, at 61.8 per cent. Meanwhile, 48.6 per cent of women said they would shop in the home décor section, and 49.9 per cent would purchase everyday items from the retail giant. 44 per cent of women said they would buy their groceries from Target, and 31.5 per cent would pick up beauty essentials from the store. Quebec shoppers, however, do not see the retailer as a place to purchase clothing, accessories, home décor, groceries and everyday items.
If Target wants to appeal to its Quebec shoppers, it will have to make some changes to get on their shopping lists.
