Target opens 2,000th store, expands role as digital fulfillment hub

Target’s 2,000th store is a staffing story as much as a retail milestone. The new 148,000-square-foot location in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina, adds another place where store teams have to sell, pick, pack and hand off orders at the same time, with Target saying its stores now fulfill 95% of digital orders.

That shift matters because Target is pairing expansion with more labor investment. The company said in March that it planned more than 30 new stores in 2026, with the first seven openings in March, and it said it would raise capital investment by more than $1 billion this year to about $5 billion. That spending includes more payroll and training, plus changes to in-store floor plans, displays and technology. For store leaders, that points to more cross-training, more scheduling pressure and more work for roles that bridge guest service and digital fulfillment.

The operational load is already heavy. Target said same-day fulfillment accounts for two-thirds of its digital sales, and same-day delivery through Target Circle 360 reaches 80% of the U.S. population. In practice, that means the fastest-growing headcount needs are likely to sit on the sales floor and in back-of-store operations, where team members move inventory, stage pickup orders and keep shelves full while online demand keeps rising.

The Fuquay-Varina opening also expands Target’s footprint in a state where it already has scale. The company said the store is its 55th in North Carolina. More broadly, Target’s current network stretches from its first store in Roseville, Minnesota, which opened on May 1, 1962, to a chain that has grown long past its Dayton Hudson Corporation roots, renamed Target Corporation in 2000.

The labor backdrop is especially important because Target is trying to restart sales growth after three years of declines. Michael Fiddelke has projected 2% net sales growth in 2026, and the company is leaning on store openings, remodels and faster fulfillment as part of that push. Target’s own staffing message says it is opening several new stores this year and recruiting new team members, while its locations page says the company has nearly 60,000 team members in 66 supply chain facilities across 25 states, plus more than 14,000 corporate team members.

For store teams, the 2,000-store mark is not just about footprint. It is a sign that the modern Target store is becoming a hybrid operation, where the people on the floor are also carrying part of the company’s digital business.