Number Sense is a regular column that uses data to help understand the grocery landscape.
Target has long fashioned itself as a place where people can stock up on everything they need — but when it comes to groceries, the company has made clear that it has little interest in being seen as a supermarket.
When they laid out their ambitious plans to rejuvenate Target to investors earlier this month, the company’s top executives characterized their food and beverage strategy as part of a broader effort to draw in shoppers by leaning into the company’s roots as a style-focused discounter. Rather than seek to convince shoppers to make it a primary destination for essentials — as rival mass retailer Walmart has done so effectively — Target is instead hoping customers will head to its stores to keep up with the latest trends.
Cara Sylvester, Target’s freshly appointed chief merchandising officer, couldn’t have been more direct about her intention to power the company’s growth by positioning it as cool — not as a destination for basic goods: “We are not trying to be an everything grocer or just another grocer down the street,” she told investors. “Instead, we’re building a truly distinctive grocery destination where emerging brands, wellness and owned brands intersect.”
Target is preparing to pour money into doing a better job of “delivering newness” in the food and beverage space. The company is planning this year to direct more than $1 billion in capital spending — a fifth of its entire capital budget for 2026 — to that category, reflecting what it says is its strong success in propelling its food sales by staying ahead of the curve.
On the surface, at least, that emphasis on driving food sales makes sense, especially given that Target’s food sales were up in its latest quarter even as other key categories, including apparel and accessories, saw declines. Still, the company’s path ahead raises an intriguing question: Does Target have what it takes to thrive in grocery as essentially a specialty retailer?
Target’s approach to using groceries to drive sales stands in stark contrast to the playbook rival mass retailer Walmart has pursued as it has solidified its lock as arguably the most powerful grocer in the U.S. While Target has traditionally located the food and beverage aisles in its stores off to the side, Walmart has made its grocery selection the first thing people see when they arrive.
While Target might be taking a different approach to grocery than Walmart, the company is nonetheless leaning heavily on its food and beverage selection to set the pace as new CEO Michael Fiddelke settles into his role and looks to return the retailer to growth mode.
Target has had trouble growing its sales in recent quarters. The retailer’s net sales were down in the fourth quarter of 2025, and its comparable-store sales declined during the period for the fourth consecutive quarter.
In an example of the emphasis Target is placing on the food and beverage category, the company recently pointed out that a new store it plans to open in North Carolina will serve as a “food-forward prototype.” The store, which will be Target’s 2,000th retail location, will have a food and beverage department that is 30% bigger than what its stores typically have.
Target is also looking to amp up its prospects by improving the in-store shopping experience across its fleet. Fiddelke acknowledged to investors earlier this month that Target understands that it needs to make radical changes to get back on its feet, and he said the company intends to make adjustments to all of its stores this year that will include reorganizing the sales floor.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that refreshing its stores will be enough to help Target regain its cachet with shoppers. That will probably depend more on its ability to convince shoppers that it is making truly transformative changes — and is not just another retailer that has gotten a fresher look.
Indeed, as John Mercer, head of global research for Coresight Research, pointed out to me, history shows that retailers that, like Target, have lost share to price-competitive rivals have not been able to right the ship just by putting money into their stores. That’s why Target’s effort to stand out by carefully curating its grocery assortment could be the key to its success going forward — and underscores the importance for the company of finding ways to help shoppers cut their costs even as they seek out trendy goods.
Sylvester made the case to investors that Target’s realignment will benefit the company because it has years of experience connecting with shoppers on style and design. She said the company’s expertise in delivering a differentiated experience built around “newness” has pushed its food sales ahead and will underlie its efforts to make buying food feel less transactional.
According to Sylvester, Target’s focus on newness was responsible for $2 billion in food sales last year. In addition, the company is on pace to double the number of unique goods in its assortment over the next three years.
Still, a central question remains: Does Target have enough cachet to convince shoppers that a “Target run” doesn’t have to mean getting all of your grocery shopping done in one place?
