Target reveals cheapest brand yet — with items starting below $1

Target is rolling out its lowest-priced brand yet, with more than 400 items — some less than $1 — to appeal to inflation-weary customers.

The in-house brand, dubbed “Dealworthy,” features “everyday no-frills basics,” according to Target, including staples like laundry detergent, toothbrushes, undergarments and phone chargers.

Most of the product line will be under $10, the retailer said — 50% lower than any other brand sold at Minneapolis-based Target, which boasts roughly 1,900 stores nationwide.

“We know that value is top of mind for consumers, and Dealworthy, backed by our owned brand promise, will not only appeal to our current guests but position us to attract even more new shoppers to Target,” Rick Gomez, executive vice president and chief food, essentials and beauty officer at Target, said in a press release.

Americans have been dogged by stubbornly high prices in the wake of the pandemic, even as the Federal Reserve has kept interest rates at their current 22-year high as it’s struggled to tamp inflation down to 2%.

The latest Consumer Price Index — which tracks changes in the costs of everyday goods and services — came in a hotter-than-expected 3.1% in January, crushing hopes that the first of three highly-anticipated interest rate cuts could come as early as this spring.

“We know that value is top of mind for consumers, and Dealworthy, backed by our owned brand promise, will not only appeal to our current guests but position us to attract even more new shoppers to Target,” Gomez added.

Dealworthy will replace Target’s Smartly brand, which largely focused on household essentials, personal and skin care products, according to CNN.

The now-discontinued “Smartly was supposed to be Target’s low-price brand, but the assortment was weak and the positioning was odd, so it never really commanded the attention of shoppers,” Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData Retail, told CNN.

Meanwhile, Target’s fellow budget-focused brand, Up&Up — which also includes household and beauty items, as well as baby and pet products — is set to be revamped and available at a price point slightly above Dealworthy products.

The 2,000 items under the Up&Up line have been upgraded to meet “higher quality standards” and cost less than $15, Target announced earlier this week.

Representatives for Target did not immediately respond to noti.group’s request for comment.

The in-house value brand takes aim at competitors like Amazon, which offers its discount Amazon Basics private label.

But even Dollar General has been struggling to rake in the profits. According to its latest quarterly earnings report released in December, the Tennessee-based company reported net income of $276.2 million in the third quarter, a decrease of 47.5% year over year.

Dollar General has also warned Wall Street that profits may plunge because of rising thefts and weak consumer demand at its 19,000 stores nationwide.