Target Adds Services for New Parents on Its Digital Site
Target has long provided parents and caregivers with products for infants, toddlers and children. Now, the retailer is adding services to its offerings by teaming up with tech platform Tot Squad.
Based on Los Angeles, Tot Squad aims to support parents with tips on topics ranging from sleeping to feeding to car seat installation. Target shoppers can find the resources on Target.com and also add the services to their baby registries.
"We are thrilled to collaborate with Target so that new and expecting parents now have access to our new parent support and services during one of the most important times in their lives," said Tot Squad CEO Jennifer Saxton. "By offering expecting parents the option to register for services and experiences, we serve as the proverbial 'village' - or 'squad' - for new parents."
The process for parents and caregivers is fairly straightforward. They can go onto Target’s site and choose and buy services from Tot Squad. Later, they can make an appointment with an expert on a particular service and then connect with a professional via a virtual session.
In a recent conversation with Progressive Grocer, Saxton said that the partnership with Target has been years in the making. “It really started when they first formed their services group in the summer of 2019,” she explained, adding that the pandemic slowed down the process a bit, but it got back on track in the past year.
The registry is a unique part of the arrangement. “I’m proud to be innovating in this space and to supply parents with support. Sixty percent of Millennials live away from their hometown and we no longer have grandma and mom living in the same house or area, so these new generations of parents are turning to outside support to help fill that gap. I applaud Target, as they are already known as a destination for parents,” Saxton said.
She got the idea for Tot Squad based on her own experience as a young mom, when she realized there was no easy way to find answers to many common parent questions and problems. “I was looking at the landscape and saw 60 types of services and no national brand in any of them. What if I could bring together a place where you could read reviews, compare pricing, and get answers? We did market research that showed two-thirds of expecting moms would probably or definitely add at least one service to their baby registry.”
Tot Squad vets its providers to help ensure that services are on par with child care services, like night nannies and lactation consultants. “All of that is crucial if you are trying to partner with retailers like Target,” Saxton noted.
In addition to Target, Tot Squad’s new parent support and services are also available on Amazon.
Minneapolis-based Target Corp. is No. 6 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America, with nearly 2,000 locations. PG also included the company on its Retailers of the Century list.
