Target partnered with Lumenalta to build a “secret” app for 600 members — just 0.002% of Target’s regular shopping demographic. But before writing a single line of code, the Lumenalta and Target developers sat in on guest interviews to hear first-hand from Target’s designers and community members.
“We had an opportunity to facilitate how Target’s community and product designers wanted to create together in deciding what [products and] features were important to them, but ultimately how intentional that co-creation design process felt.”
Stacy Adelmann, former Studio Connect Director and Co-Founder at Target
The Instagram-like app paved a way for designers to directly engage with customers and get rapid consumer opinions on products and potential products. For example, a question to shoppers read, “What accessories are you looking for this fall?”
Target used the responses by the Studio Connect community to develop its upcoming line of fall accessories. While app users weren’t paid for their feedback, they earned points towards discounts and gift cards.
“The goal was always to make the tech invisible — right away, the endless possibilities opened the door for creativity. [Lumenalta] had an appetite to solve a problem with us, not tell us how to do it,” says Adelmann. “They helped us break down walls and barriers when it came to connecting to the humans of Target. We moved faster than we ever had… We could do what real startups do.”