Target testing innovation to boost sales

As Target Corp. looks beyond the closing of its Canadian stores, innovations in its U.S. operations will play a bigger role as it aims for a financial rebound this year.

Project managers at the Minneapolis-based retailer are constantly experimenting with store displays, merchandising and the gadgetry of shopping. They often test ideas around the Twin Cities.

After seeing positive results, Target has already been adding mannequins to make clothes pop out, taking iPads and smartphones out from behind the glass so customers can play with them, and installing more attractive backlit shelves in the beauty section. Now they are testing a new layout of the home department that looks more like a furniture store and reimagining what a customer sees when they come through the front entrance.

If an idea works, Target rolls it out to other stores. If it bombs, it quietly goes away.

Here's a rundown of some of Target's recent experiments:

Instead of dishes and cups being stacked up on shelves, Target is testing more of a lifestyle layout. Products are displayed on tables to help customers imagine what they'd look like at home. Chairs might be arranged around a coffee table with a matching rug and throw pillows to give shoppers an idea of how they all look together.

Target began testing the redesigned home department at a Minneapolis-area store in November. It will be rolled out to 15 more stores this spring.

When shoppers walk into a Target, they are usually greeted by a section selling items for $1. But since November, Target has been testing a new front-of-the-store display that highlights an assortment of items from throughout the store.

At one of the test stores, the section recently showcased soup bowls next to oyster crackers, houseplants and scarves from its partnership with Faribault Woolen Mill.

But the early results haven't been great. Customers have been confused by the high dividing walls and often walk right past the section. So it's being retooled.