Target Takes On ‘Double Tappers’ With Its Latest App Update

While convenient for shoppers, drive-up and curbside orders can become headaches for the employees tasked with fulfilling them. And at Target, an added nuisance has come in the form of something known as the “double tap.”

Coining the term

Target employees have been flummoxed by the behavior of a relatively small number of shoppers who use the chain’s mobile app to arrange a parking lot pickup. These folks either don’t bother or forget to select the “I’m on the way” option before heading to the store. Instead, they wait until they arrive at the designated pickup location and tap both that button and the “I’m here” option.

This action has become so common and caused so much frustration among workers that it’s earned an official designation. And now the Target app is capable of addressing the “double tap” before it becomes a problem.

Finding a solution

Instead of forcing workers to rush through an order because of a double-tapping customer, the app now offers a kind but firm reminder to those who engage in the problematic behavior.

Anyone who attempts to click the “I’m here” icon within one minute of tapping “I’m on the way” will encounter this message: “We need some extra time. Next time, avoid this delay by letting us know you’re on the way before going to the store.”

As it stands, Target employees are expected to load all of a customer’s items onto a cart and take it out to the waiting vehicle within three minutes of receiving the “I’m here” alert.

One New York Target worker said her store receives as many as 1,500 drive-up orders each day with as many as 1 in 4 resulting in double taps, adding: “We are hoping that this new change alleviates that issue.”

Chris Agee November 6th, 2024

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