Is Target's In-Store Discount Enough of an Apology for the Credit Card Hack?
Target made waves earlier this week when it announced that as many as 40 million credit and debit card numbers had been compromised via in-store purchases made between November 27 and December 15. While the store is taking more serious measures to remedy the situation, CEO Gregg Steinhafel announced in a video message that on December 21 and December 22, in-store shoppers would receive 10% off all purchases, as an apology for the ordeal.
According to the DealNews archives, this discount is in fact the best percent-off in-store discount we've seen from Target, since it applies to everything from a pack of gum to a big-screen TV. For some people, this might rank as only a second-best though, since the retailer also gave customers 20% off a future purchase when they spent $75 or more on Black Friday. Either way, it's extremely rare for Target to offer such a promo.
That said, not everyone thinks this 10% off discount is up to snuff. While there were plenty of retweets and "woots!" accompanying the news on Twitter, there was also skepticism in equal measure.
"@CNNMoney: Target offers shoppers 10% discount this weekend after 40 million accounts possibly hacked. " Just 10%, really? @Target #Lame
— Erika E (@evesbk) December 20, 2013
@StarTribune @Target clever way of getting even more people in stores spending. 10% doesn't seem to match the magnitude of the situation.
— B (@labatanga) December 20, 2013
@DealNews @CNBC Ought to be 100%. These companies and colleges need to get hit the same way their customers/students: in the money bags.
— Celesta's Art (@CelestasArt) December 20, 2013
According to the retailer, the size of the discount has significance because it's what Target "team members" (aka, employees) receive. "We want to extend that team member discount to all of the guests that come and shop with us this weekend as a small way to just say thank you for being a great guest at Target," said Steinhafel. Meanwhile, there are reports that the financial information that was stolen is now "flooding the black market" with cards going for $20 to $100 each.
Readers, what do you think of the olive branch that Target has extended? Do you think it's enough? And even if you don't, will you shop anyway?

Obviously, 10% wasn't enough. Customers aren't happy and are avoiding Target. Target is going to take a financial beating.
So don't worry folks, Target is probably going to have a horrible December sales season (and probably well on into next year). They've been punished where it hurts.
And let's hope other large retailers have paid attention as well.
I received an apology email with a discount coupon from both companies. Starbucks gave me 20% off my next order. Kohls a flat $25 off any purchase through the end of December.
Is the 10% off anything costing Target a lot? No doubt.
What's my reaction? meh. I've (obviously) seen better.
1. A full explanation as to why credit card data from in-store transactions (including the 3-digit CCV number) were stored. This is unnecessary and ought to be unlawful. Additionally, these data were stored in an online-accessible database -- not simply at the store level. For what purpose?!
2. Federal prosecution and/or fines against Target for doing this.
3. Assurances that this data will not be stored again.
I am not "blowing this out of proportion" as some other commenters here seem to think. No merchant should be storing this data. At a minimum, this should result in a lawsuit brought by the credit card companies themselves against Target. This practice should not continue.
Note that the Star Tribune's tweet mentions monitoring.
@spikedlorelei
Debit cards don't have the same legally mandated protections that credit cards do. And when Chase and American Express noticed possibly fraudulent use of my credit card and I confirmed it was fraudulent, they sent me a replacement card via first class mail, not something faster.
@everybody
Read http://krebsonsecurity.com/ long enough and you'll facepalm at some of the vulnerabilities that people who should have known better allowed to remain unpatched.
Offer cannot be combined with other storewide or category/department coupons.
People have to just understand that Target did not "let this happen". And did anyone of you complainers even have a problem with fraud after this?! I didn't and I shopped there a few times during the affected time period. If this were the 2nd time it happened to them, then yes, they should be boycotted.
If anything, Target should be even safer to shop at now. I'd rather take my chances there now than go to Walmart and deal with their lousy cheap selection and ghetto environment.
I don't blame Target for this. I blame Target for high shipping prices, shoddy merchandise (albeit of high design), and inferior logistics — both slow online delivery and depleted in-store stock of items I want.
And let's not forget that "team" originally refers to a group of draft animals.