Last night, Target launched a BETA version of their Weekly Ad. Prior to this BETA the weekly ad was viewable in a basic e-mag type format. Anywho. This new “My Target Weekly” experience totally raises the bar in terms of social shopping. You thought it was cool when Levi’s implemented a Like button? Well check this out:

The entire platform is made up of individual, categorized widgets that you are able to move around, customize and interact with. Some of them play video, others display products; but however you feel, you can decide to to pay attention to or forget about completely. I, for example, will consistently display electronics, beauty, and women’s clothing deals. It’s pretty sweet. Oh also – you can sign in with Facebook.

On top of just displaying a plethora of sale items, there are areas within these widgets that allow you to do certain things. They’ve mimicked Facebook functions that feed into a recommendation engine. Ah yes, recommendation engines…. Because I really need to find more things to blow my hard-earned cash on.

Ok, so I haven’t really gotten to train the system yet but here’s an example of their recommendation system (don’t judge me):

I screen grabbed that shot from ze Facebook app. Yes, there is also a Facebook app living on Target’s Facebook page. Same idea here with the arrangement of widgets. Overall, its a pretty nifty experience, I’d say. On top of all the sharing, commenting, and posting  you’re able to do, the app seems to run pretty seamlessly.

Being that this tool is so massive, I’m sure that there are a ton of bugs that I haven’t discovered yet, that they’re still working on. In the mean time, I’d like to commend Target on marking a milestone in both the marketing and internet world. I’m sure we can expect to see a ton of rip-offs, and I’m hoping this will alleviate some of the bashes Target has been getting from certain activists pissed at the events that have recently occurred in regards to something completely unrelated. I love you, bye.