By Teresa Rivas

There was one unexpected sight at the soft launch of a new Target on Wednesday: a line for returns.

Customers were first able to visit the new New Jersey location almost a week before the official grand opening, and Wednesday morning drew a surprisingly large crowd, considering the word-of-mouth nature of the soft launch. Even if suburbia isn't the same stronghold for the retailer as it once was, it's still generating interest.

The store was fully stocked, employees were friendly, and it featured a number of amenities that aren't common at nearby locations, like Target Optical.

However, there was one snafu.

This week Target is running a number of Circle Deal Days, coinciding with Amazon.com's big spring sale and similar promotions from Walmart. While some discounts span the event, others are for one day only. Unfortunately, signs for one of Thursday's single-day promotions for children's clothing were displayed on Wednesday, and many customers didn't notice the next day's date in the fine print.

Hence the returns line. Just before noon, several shoppers were at the customer service desk to ask for price adjustments when the promised discounts didn't show up at the register. One snapped a picture of the sale sign, at which point employees pointed out the date in small font. They all decided to return their items.

At least one customer joked they would return tomorrow to snag the deal. Others looked less amused. Target did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Although Target shares have jumped some 18% year to date, they are still trailing the State Street SPDR S&P Retail exchange-traded fund, rival Walmart, and the S&P 500 over the past year. The shares have lost more than half their value from their post-pandemic 2021 highs.

Target has managed to anger Americans on both the left and the right of the political spectrum, while others have simply moved on after complaints of poor in-store experiences, including messy aisles, stocking issues, and everyday items under lock and key.

Even with a brand new location, Target is coping with some of the same old issues. Goodwill for the brand remains with some, but shopping at its stores can sometimes be more frustrating than many would like.

So much for fresh beginnings.

Write to Teresa Rivas at teresa.rivas@barrons.com

This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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March 25, 2026 16:08 ET (20:08 GMT)

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