One Small Step...but no giant leap

This week, Target unveiled a new way for customers to redeem their Target gift cards in-store: by scanning a bar code on their mobile phones.

To avoid the my-wallet-is-stuffed-with-50-bajillion-gift-cards syndrome, or the oh-no-I'm-at-the-store-but-left-my-gift-card-at-home problem, Target GiftCard recipients can enter the information from their GiftCard into a secure account on the Target.com mobile site. Then, when the recipient visits one of Target's 1740 store locations, she can retrieve her GiftCard information on her phone, which displays a digital bar code to be scanned at checkout.

Customers can access the Target.com mobile site at any time to check their GiftCard balance(s), and can reload their mobile GiftCards at any Target store register.

This seems like a good step for Target, a company that aims to "surprise and delight [its] guests with innovative and highly relevant mobile capabilities," in the words of Steve Eastman, President of Target.com.

But Target could do much more to make their GiftCard program convenient, accessible, and truly mobile for its customers.

For one thing, it seems that customers must still receive physical, plastic Target GiftCards before they can use those cards on their mobile devices. They must manually input the data from their plastic GiftCards into their mobile phones.

Sure, this is great, reducing wallet clutter and nearly ensuring that the customer will have his GiftCard information with him when he visits the store. But why require a physical, plastic GiftCard at all? Why can't customers exchange mobile GiftCards electronically, eliminating the need for the physical plastic by simply sending the GiftCard information to their friends via email or text message? Then the intended recipient could simply follow a link to retrieve his GiftCard on his mobile phone - saving plastic and saving the time required for a manual input.

At the very least, why can't the purchaser choose to instantly email the GiftCard information to the recipient as soon as the GiftCard is purchased?

Mobile technology can be a great way to create easy access and reduce physical waste. But Target hasn't quite made that leap yet.