Dive Brief:

• Target is winding down its popular Cartwheel app and this summer will move those users to the flagship Target application, according to Target VP of Digital Product Sean Murphy.

• Cartwheel is already accessible through the Target app, and Murphy said on the company's Bullseye blog that the retailer is reaching out to Cartwheel users about the change and inviting them to move.

• Changes include a store map that shows customers their location as they shop and highlights nearby Cartwheel deals. A long anticipated mobile payment tool for Target REDcard holders is also coming to the app that will allow customers to integrate Cartwheel deals, third-party coupons and get an additional 5% if they have a REDcard.

Dive Insight:

Cartwheel has been well received by customers and analysts since its debut in 2013, and has been downloaded more than 27 million times. Target has been steadily testing and/or adding features to Cartwheel, including third-party coupons and loyalty points. RSR Research analyst Nikki Baird last year highlighted Cartwheel as an example of a retailer finally figuring out how to provide the level of personalization and glean the kind of data that have been limited to digital sales.

“I think digital is teaching retailers how to be more targeted and personalized, but they still have to cross the chasm into stores,” she said in an email to Retail Dive. “Target’s Cartwheel is getting them closer, as an example.”

Murphy last week said that Target customers have collectively saved $1 billion, and that merging Cartwheel with the Target app is a matter of furthering convenience. "We’ve heard one thing loud and clear from guests: 'Keep making it easier,'" he wrote. "That’s why we’re moving Cartwheel, our popular savings app, into the main Target app this summer. That means guests will have one place where they can map out their store trips, snag great Cartwheel deals on in-store purchases, check out Target’s store and online assortments and, of course, make online purchases."

Earlier this year Target unveiled a series of initiatives designed to reverse the big box retailer’s same-store sales declines, including an investment of more than $2 billion of capital in 2017, and more than $7 billion over the next three years. The company will use about $1 billion of operating profits this year to improve brick-and-mortar and digital operations, according to a conference call transcript from Thomson Reuters StreetEvents. Target is also making moves to boost the REDcard loyalty program. Those users enjoy 5% off their purchases in stores or online and get free shipping with no minimum. Earlier this year Target also said that it's planning a pilot program for REDcard users this summer in Minneapolis, that includes personalized shopping and next-day delivery of frequently-repurchased convenience items.