Case Study: Target mobile web redesign

Overview

In 2010, Target was modernizing its digital experience while transitioning infrastructure from Amazon to a proprietary platform. At the same time, the rise of large-screen smartphones created an opportunity to reimagine Target’s mobile web experience as a fast, visually rich, and fully functional shopping platform. Target partnered with Ubermind to design a next-generation mobile experience that combined high-quality imagery, performance, and desktop-like functionality with location-aware and in-store utility.

The opportunity: rebuilding for a new mobile era

This project represented a foundational shift in Target’s mobile strategy.

  • Platform transition: Moving away from legacy infrastructure toward a fully owned web experience

  • Mobile inflection point: Designing for the first wave of large-screen smartphones

  • Experience parity goal: Bringing desktop-level shopping functionality to mobile without sacrificing speed

  • Omnichannel intent: Introducing location-aware features and in-store support to bridge digital and physical retail

The challenge was not just redesigning pages, but defining what modern mobile commerce should feel like for a major retailer.

The process: iterative, cross-functional delivery

The work spanned multiple designers and teams across several releases, in close partnership with Target stakeholders.

  • Weekly design reviews with Target leadership enabled fast alignment and decision-making

  • Tight feedback loops supported rapid iteration toward launch

  • Collaboration across product, engineering, and design ensured consistency across evolving requirements

My focus areas included:

  • My Account and account management experience

  • Shopping cart design

  • End-to-end checkout flow

We leveraged emerging capabilities in HTML5 and device-specific inputs (such as data-type optimized keyboards) to reduce friction and streamline purchase flows on mobile devices.

Results & Impact

While formal performance metrics were not shared due to the agency relationship, the redesign was highly successful internally and externally.

  • Delivered a modernized mobile shopping experience aligned with Target’s new digital direction

  • Improved usability and streamlined checkout through mobile-first interaction patterns

  • Recognized with a Webby Award (2011) for Target’s mobile experience, including work across web and native applications

  • Helped establish early best practices for large-scale retail mobile web design