Major Retailer Launches Circular Returns & Recommerce App

Target Debuts First-of-Its-Kind “Target ReLoop” Circular Returns Service and Companion Recommerce App

Minneapolis, November 25, 2025 — Target Corporation today unveiled Target ReLoop, a fully-integrated circular returns program that instantly resells, refurbishes or recycles every eligible product returned to its 1 900 U.S. stores, and a new mobile app that lets guests buy the reclaimed items in as little as 72 hours. The retailer says the dual launch will cut landfill waste by an estimated 120 million pounds annually while unlocking a projected $1.4 billion in recovered merchandise value over the next five years.

Introduced ahead of the holiday peak, Target ReLoop reroutes returned apparel, electronics, home décor and baby gear through a 12-node “ReLoop Center” network where proprietary AI grades condition, assigns a resale price and lists the item on Target’s existing website or the stand-alone ReLoop app. Products not suitable for resale are routed to certified refurbishers, textile-to-fiber recyclers or secondary commodity markets, eliminating the traditional “returns-to-landfill” pipeline that costs U.S. retailers $62 billion a year in lost profits and fees.

“Returns have always been a pain point for retailers and a pain point for the planet,” said Christina Hennington, Target’s executive vice president and chief growth officer. “With ReLoop we convert that pain into value—lower prices for families, faster inventory turns for Target and measurable progress toward our Target Forward goal of zero waste to landfill by 2030.”

Early pilots in Minnesota and Texas show guest satisfaction with the returns experience up 28 percent and average resale prices 18 percent below comparable new items, widening access to premium brands without margin dilution for Target. The company will roll the service nationwide by Super Bowl Sunday and expand categories to outdoor gear and small appliances in 2026.

Market timing is favorable: second-hand and refurbished goods are projected to grow 10.6 percent annually through 2029, four times faster than overall retail, as inflation-conscious shoppers prioritize value and sustainability.

Target’s move also anticipates tightening state regulations—California’s Senate Bill 54 and New York’s proposed Extended Producer Responsibility law both set minimum reuse targets for large retailers beginning in 2026.

The ReLoop app, built on Target’s Roundel digital platform, offers one-tap trade-in estimates, instant shipping labels and same-day curbside drop-off at any Target store. AI-driven dynamic pricing updates every four hours, ensuring resale listings remain at least 5 percent below Amazon Renewed and 10 percent below T.J. Maxx on identical items. Guests earn Target Circle loyalty points on every recommerce purchase, redeemable for new or reclaimed merchandise—a closed-loop incentive the company says will deepen membership in its 110-million-household loyalty base.

“We’re not entering the resale arena to follow—we’re there to lead,” Hennington added. “ReLoop turns the 2.3 billion pounds of U.S. returns that normally become waste into a curated, carbon-negative aisle that only Target can deliver at this scale.”

Corporate sustainability watchdog GreenBiz ranks circular returns among the top five levers for retail Scope-3 emission reductions, noting that every pound of merchandise diverted from landfill avoids 3.3 pounds of CO₂-equivalent greenhouse gases. If ReLoop meets its 120-million-pound landfill-diversion target, the climate benefit would equal removing 21 000 passenger cars from the road for a year.

Target will publish audited diversion and financial metrics in its 2025 Corporate Responsibility Report due next May.

About Target Corporation

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation serves guests at more than 1 900 stores and at Target.com. Since 1946 the company has given 5 percent of its profits to communities; today that giving equals millions of dollars a week in food, education and safety grants. For sustainability targets, visit target.com/corporateresponsibility.