Target to spend $5 billion on remodels, new stores and technology updates

Target is putting $5 billion behind a broad reset of its stores, and the move sharpens the competition for every grocery trip Trader Joe’s crew members see on the floor. The Minneapolis retailer said on May 11 that it plans more than 130 remodels, 30 new stores, technology updates and supply-chain improvements, a scale of investment that will reach directly into checkout speed, store layout and the way shoppers move through the building.

The remodels are not cosmetic. Target said the work will include redesigned checkout areas, updated layouts and expanded grocery sections in some locations. Some stores will get larger dry-grocery areas, bigger fresh and frozen food departments, better lighting and signage, and renovations to restrooms and nursing areas. That matters to anyone working a sales floor or front end because it reflects where the battle is being fought now: less on broad brand claims, more on whether a store feels quick, clean and worth an extra stop.

Target is also leaning harder into the digital side of the business. The company said its stores fulfill 95% of digital orders, and same-day fulfillment services account for two-thirds of its digital sales. In other words, the store is no longer just a place to browse aisles. It is also a pickup point, a returns desk and a fulfillment hub, which raises the stakes for labor, stocking and store flow when volume spikes.

For Trader Joe’s, the message is straightforward. The chain’s advantage has long rested on a tightly edited assortment, above-market pay, a loyal crew culture and a shopping experience built around discovery and fun since 1967. But Target’s plan shows that the chains around it are not standing still. Shoppers who already split their basket between stores will keep comparing not just price, but whether a run feels easier, faster and more complete.

That pressure is real in the grocery lanes Trader Joe’s knows best: quick meal solutions, snacks, beverages and household basics. Placer.ai’s 2024 analysis found Trader Joe’s outpaced the broader grocery category in year-over-year visit growth, with foot traffic up 6.2% and visits per location up 3.2%. It also found fewer shoppers pairing a Trader Joe’s trip with another grocery stop, a sign that more customers were treating it as a primary destination. Target’s latest move suggests that fight over the one-stop trip is only getting more intense.

Target said its 2026 strategy also includes more payroll and training, faster fulfillment and more use of technology and AI, alongside plans to open more than 30 new stores and reach its 2,000th location in Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. It has set a goal of 300 new stores by 2035. For Trader Joe’s, that means the pressure is coming from a competitor that wants to make the whole store feel more trip-worthy, not just the grocery aisle.