Target has a sale for 10 percent off gift cards, but it’s only for one day

Target is offering 10 percent off of gift cards, but if you want to take advantage of that deal, you should act fast. It’s a one-day event: Sunday, Dec. 3.

“On the top of many minds this week? Checking those oh-so-hard-to-buy-for friends and family off the gift list,” Target said last week in a news release. “We’ve got just the thing. This Sunday, Dec. 3, up your gifting game (or treat yourself!) with 10% off all Target GiftCards. It’s the one time of year we discount our GiftCards.

“Plus, saving never looked so good. We’ve got the perfect card for everyone, including nine new designs. LEGO-inspired Bullseye? Yep. A scratch-n-sniff gingerbread train? Of course. Get all the cuteness—and your 10% savings—in Target stores or on Target.com Sunday only.”

Now, here comes the fine print: The gift cards you buy can’t be redeemed until Monday, Dec. 4, at 9 a.m. central time, Money reports. This is fine if you’re giving them as Christmas presents, of course, but it does mean you can’t buy a bunch of gift cards, then immediately turn around and buy a cart full of stuff on Sunday with 10 percent off.

After a disappointing season last year, Target is changing up its holiday playbook.

Target’s bevy of promotions and up-and-down prices confused shoppers last year, Mark Tritton, Target’s chief merchandising officer said. So this year, it is simplifying the approach to have fewer sales that it hopes will have a bigger impact.

At the same time, Target has rolled back prices on thousands of items in a move toward a more everyday low pricing approach similar to Walmart – a strategy that Tritton said has been paying off so far and will continue through the holidays.

“We will have meaningful promotions,” he said. “But priced right daily will be our regular drumbeat.”

As it has the last few years, Target will once again offer free shipping on any size order during the holidays, going through Christmas.

And to better compete with Amazon, Target is also boosting its ship-from-store program to 300 more stores this holiday season, an initiative which helps it get online orders to customers faster. About 1,400 of Target’s 1,800 stores will ship online orders this year, and more than half of those orders arrive within two days. By comparison, Amazon Prime members already receive free two-day shipping on many orders and in some cases can receive same-day delivery through its Prime Now service.

This year, Target will also offer a twist on a gift card where a customer can click a GiftNow button when buying an item on Target.com. The recipient receives it as a digital gift box and can accept it, change the color or size or pick out something else altogether without having to go through the hassle of going to the store to make a return.

“This is a perfect solution for that fussy relative that we all have, and it’s also great for last-minute gifts so you don’t have to worry about whether the product is going to get there in time for Christmas,” McNamara said.

This story was originally published December 3, 2017 at 10:15 AM with the headline "Target has a sale for 10 percent off gift cards, but it’s only for one day."