Target Gift Cards Made Portable To Cellphones

By Alan Wolf -- TWICE, 2/9/2010

Minneapolis - Target customers can now redeem the company's gift cards using only an Internet-enabled cellphone, thanks to a new service that stores bar codes to the retailer's mobile site.

After saving their gift card information to a PIN-secured account on the Target.com mobile site, the service allows customers to check card balances, access their cards at checkout, and save and label multiple cards to their account.

Target said it is the first major retailer with the ability to scan mobile barcodes in all of its stores. Its point-of-sale scanning technology also makes it possible to view online assortments, check product availability, find store locations, manage gift registries and lists, browse the weekly circular, and receive text and e-mail notifications of sales event via mobile phones.

"The addition of Mobile GiftCards to our suite of mobile shopping solutions further simplifies the Target experience for our guests," said Steve Eastman, president of Target.com. "Consistent with our ‘Expect More. Pay Less.' brand promise, we will continue to surprise and delight our guests with innovative and highly relevant mobile capabilities, enabling access to the Target experience anytime and anywhere."