Target Cartwheel

[tnd]

Can someone explain Target Cartwheel program? Does it save you money? I just don't seem to understand how it works.

TIA!

It's essentially just digital coupons. I always check before I plan a Target trip. I have saved about $550 since 2013. I can usually find 5% off on food staples that I am buying anyway, like eggs, milk, cheese, and bread. I also buy most of my three kids' clothes at Target, so when there are are Cartwheel coupons on kids' clothes, it really adds up for me. They will also do extra deals on clearance clothes, which really helps. I do have the Red Card too, so that is another 5% on top of everything.

 

[MinnieSweetheart]

I had the same question. I was looking in the clothes section awhile back and a store associate mentioned it. While I had heard of it I didn't really know what it was. I don't think I really buy enough to make it worth it. Why do you have to go through hoops to get a better deal?

That's the entire point of coupons actually that is taught in Marketing classes. It's that some consumers are more price sensitive than others and will do the work to save money. If you offer a "jump through hoops" deal, some people will jump through the hoops and pay the lower price, but the ones who feel it isn't worth it will pay the higher price. So instead of selling 40 items at a lower price, you sell 30 items at normal price and keep the 10 customers who want the lower price.

 

[dalmatian7]

Scan as you shop is a great way to keep a kiddo occupied as you shop. My DD loves that it is her job.
It does temp you to buy something that may not be on your list. But any sale does that.

 

[KarenAylwood]

I LOVE the Cartwheel app but I also love shopping at Target. I've saved $208 since 2014. I started couponing in 2014 so I started downloading all of the savings apps. Ibotta, Savingstar, MobiSave, Checkout51, etc. I am a "jump through hoops" kind of girl. I buy things that I normally buy on sale. I like that you can combine the Cartwheel app with the 5% redcard discount, manufacturer coupons, Target only coupons (which I rarely print) and even sometimes clearance sales. They also recently started putting up manufacturer coupons which are essentially digital coupons. I buy up & up brand diapers anyway and will pick up food deals at Target if there's a good one. I've gotten cereal, pasta, soup, cake mix, eggs and a bunch of other stuff for super cheap. There was a sale on a dozen eggs recently but also a 30% off cartwheel deal and 25 cents back on ibotta. After all that I spent less than a dollar. When I'm going to a kids birthday party I check the app for toy sales. Last year during their July toy clearance sale they had a cartwheel deal for another 10 or 20% off your clearance toy purchase. got a bunch of stuff for my son for xmas. I usually check for certain things that I need before going, or I scan in the store. It's worth it for me but isn't for everyone.

 

[Disneyfor8]

I LOVE the Cartwheel app but I also love shopping at Target. I've saved $208 since 2014. I started couponing in 2014 so I started downloading all of the savings apps. Ibotta, Savingstar, MobiSave, Checkout51, etc. I am a "jump through hoops" kind of girl. I buy things that I normally buy on sale. I like that you can combine the Cartwheel app with the 5% redcard discount, manufacturer coupons, Target only coupons (which I rarely print) and even sometimes clearance sales. They also recently started putting up manufacturer coupons which are essentially digital coupons. I buy up & up brand diapers anyway and will pick up food deals at Target if there's a good one. I've gotten cereal, pasta, soup, cake mix, eggs and a bunch of other stuff for super cheap. There was a sale on a dozen eggs recently but also a 30% off cartwheel deal and 25 cents back on ibotta. After all that I spent less than a dollar. When I'm going to a kids birthday party I check the app for toy sales. Last year during their July toy clearance sale they had a cartwheel deal for another 10 or 20% off your clearance toy purchase. got a bunch of stuff for my son for xmas. I usually check for certain things that I need before going, or I scan in the store. It's worth it for me but isn't for everyone.

Well said KarenAylwood! I agree. It's not for everyone, but it's definitely worth it for me. Since Cartwheel started, in 2013 I believe, I've saved $1500. Yes, I shop at Target a lot, but a lot of those were high value discounts. As a couponer, this is just another layer of discount available when I shop. By combining Target's sale price with a Target printable coupon with a manufacturer coupon and Cartwheel, it's typical that I don't buy something unless I can get it for at least 50% off, and oftentimes much less. It's really what you make of it, though. If you like to coupon and have the time to put into it, you can max out the savings available through Cartwheel. There are multiple blogs out there that do all the work for you, listing out the best deals of the week and pointing you to the right place to print out a target or manufacturer coupon. If time is tight and/or you just aren't the couponing type, it's still worth trying for a few weeks. It only takes a few seconds to scan the items you want to purchase and you may be surprised by how much you can save. All those pennies add up quickly!

One additional tip, my Target's Wifi is spotty and I didn't like the stress of trying to pull up my barcode at checkout. Since your barcode is specific to you and never changes, you can print it out and use that at checkout as well. Happy shopping!

 

[MariMama]

I'm on the fence about whether it's actually worth it, but I use it. I don't go to Target super often, but often enough (once every couple weeks). I've had the app since 2013 (it tells you on the app) and I've saved $36.14. Lol so not great. But I only scan as I shop, I don't look through the offers so sometimes not a single thing in my cart will be discounted. When combined with the Red Card it's not bad though. It's simple to use if you don't look through everything and just scan as you go.

I look at the offers at home and add them to my list, so I have a list in front of me at the store with what is discounted. I don't scan anything in the store, as I feel like that is a waste of time. I saved over $8 just on my last trip, just using Cartwheel. I don't have a Red card.

 

[MariMama]

Two things I intensely dislike about the new cartwheel app ~ all of my savings from previous years were wiped out and I was restarted at $0 savings. Not really a big deal, but irritating none the less. I also sign in through Facebook because when I've tried repeatedly to get Target to send me a reset password link, it never works! So the only way I can get in is through Facebook, which then shows how many of my FB friends are using Cartwheel and how much they've saved. I DON'T CARE! And it is none of their business how much I've saved.

Does anyone know how I can turn off the "friends" feature on the app?

 

[wishinitwas]

I like cartwheel. I have saved $132 since 2013 but I really haven't been going there much for the last few months. It is too hard with my 1 yo to shop much. I like their kids clothes and combining discounts can be great. I just don't have time for it right now but hopefully when my kids get a little bigger/ easier I will get back into it more.

 

[elgerber]

I have saved $846 since 2013. I really don't find it to be a pain. I scroll briefly for high discounts and the grocery category before I shop each week. Anytime I go to the store I also check for the highest discount to see if there are any really great deals that day. Most of the discounts I use, are items I buy every week, cheese, milk, market pantry brand things, etc. Those are always in there, so I don't have to dig for them every week.

 

[aretha30]

The Cartwheel app is great. I keep the scan feature open while I shop and just scan all the bar codes while I shop. If something I'm buying happens to be on the app for a discount great, if not and it suggests a different brand I might go for that. I've saved over $330 since 2013.

 

[MsMamaBear]

I love it as well. It's so easy to use. I've saved $129 since 2013, most within the last year since I go hard with the $5 or $10 gift cards back that I then roll. I love the 50% off or whatever that you get randomly. Also love the manufacturer coupons! I tried to use one, and the cashier said I could because I had already used one. I did not realize they had those on there!! LOL! SO awesome!

 

[AndreaDM]

I've saved $116.65 since 2013, so I think it's worth it! On Sunday they had 30% off ALL apparel so I snagged us some cute shirts to wear for the 4th for just a few bucks.

 

[wdwfan51]

Thanks for the idea to scan items while in the store. That is something I will start doing. I've saved over $93 since 2014. Not too bad for two people.

 

[vratiana]

I scan stuff in the store. The other day I needed to get a birthday present and the little boy wanted a "skylanders". I scanned it and they came up as 75% off! Instead of buying one $14 toy, I got him 3 of them for $9 total! That was my favorite score as of lately. So happy I remembered to scan it!

 

[Sagginit]

I think part of this has to do with how familiar you are with Target and how often you shop there in general. I am there at least 3 times a month, sometimes more. They are far closer than my super walmart so I run there for random household items more often than other stores. I often don't scan items as its tedious but find it faster to use the search box to search for item names or general terms like milk or eggs. If I am there anyway I would rather buy store brand organic milk with the 5% off than drive to Trader Joes even if it is cheaper. I also buy brands that tend to have cartwheel deals like GF items (canyon bakehouse, udi's, amy's, evol, luna bars etc) so it makes it worth my time especially when I have paper coupons and there is also a store sale (there is an entire section that shows you cartwheel offers that line up with weekly sale items). I went Saturday just because Luna bars were on cartwheel 20% off so I got 4 boxes as that was the offer max. They also had an offer valid on one type of Luna protein bar and my husband's Lara bars were on sale. Without any paper coupons I saved about 29% off my total with just cartwheel, store sales, and REDcard (we picked up a number of grocery items we needed that weren't on sale too so if I stuck to deals only it would have been higher). I got $8.50 back on Ibotta too, I find that Walmart is the only other store where Ibotta works so well on a consistent basis (having both offers I want to use and the brand/item in stock).

The people I know that have a huge history have used offers on things like electronics and furniture. One bonus is once I log in I get the store Wi Fi connection which I use for Ibotta so I don't have to use my own data. It may feel like a hoop until you get used to the app. My key is I leave regularly purchased items on there and then do what others do, search by highest percentage off so I can decide if there are any major deals.

 

[eyor44]

The more you use the app, the more offers will be available to you. When I started, I could only have about 10 offers at a time, now I am up to about 35 and I have saved over $330 just with the app. I also get offers that are not available to new users. So, the more you use it, then more you will save in the long run. And you can combine it with sales, coupons, Target coupons and the Red Card 5% discount. On one item you can use all discounts combine, if they are available. At first I would go through the list and add what I was going to purchase. Now, I just scan each item as I put it in my cart. That way I don't miss any deals. There are also signs throughout the store letting you know of some that are available. Not all of them, but a couple each week. It is a bit of extra work, but to save money on items I am going to purchase anyway, why not.
FYI - you can only get the discount off of 4 of the same item at a time. Meaning if you have a CartWheel for bread, you can only get the discount off of 4 loaves at one time.

 

[dpswift]

I have saved over $100 this year alone, I like to look through the offers before I go and then scan as I go. The idea of printing out the barcode is good though because of the spotty Wifi

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I love Cartwheel! I've saved $288 in 3 years. I especially love it at school-supply time - combining Cartwheel deals with the Target coupons they mail out adds up fast. My son got a new pair of wireless headphones last year 30% off with Cartwheel. They often add an extra 5-10% off of their big-ticket sale items, like TVs. With their sale prices, plus 10% Cartwheel, plus 5% with Redcard, it could make for a significant discount.

Being able to scan the products is way faster than searching through the lists of items. When I'm done with my shopping I usually pull into an empty aisle, pull up the app and scan all my items. Works great!

 

[Tink-aholic]

I like it because I can "load up" my Cartwheel with different items that I want to save. Am I doing mostly groceries this trip? Load only food items onto that sucker. I also found it works great for my son, who is away at college. I sent him off with about $45 in Target gift cards that I had been saving up, then I create shopping lists for him by loading my Cartwheel (yes, he has his own, but mine has more slots) and then I email him coupons that he prints out to stack. He usually gets more gift cards and rolls them, too. It takes the work of couponing out of it for him and makes it cheaper for me (since he is using my credit card while he away).

 

[fifthdimensiondweller]

Target employee here. One thing to keep in mind with cartwheel is that it can ALMOST always be combined with any other discount. However there are certain "single use offers" (usually these are the ones that are a dollar off amount instead of a percentage) that can't be combined with manufacturer's coupons in some cases. Also, like other have said, the best way to do it is to scan as you shop. so you don't end up buying something just because it was one there. You can usually save the most money on clothing and home goods. Something else to keep in mind- make sure you have all of your offers added before you reach the cashier. I see a lot of people still trying to add offers and then get flustered because they feel like people are waiting and they miss out on money. Finally, remember that the more you use cartwheel the more "offer spots" you will unlock. So for example at first you might only be able to add 8 items at a time but over time you can get up to 20+.