Target Australia re-platforms e-commerce on AWS

Target Australia has re-platformed its e-commerce operations to run on AWS cloud infrastructure.

The retailer said in a statement that cloud infrastructure enabled it to remove a scalability bottleneck with its previously on-premises infrastructure that hosted its e-commerce assets.

It said that the backend revamp had also led to front-facing improvements including real-time inventory lookup as customers are shopping.

The retailer also suggested it had containerised its e-commerce platform, such that it could add new features to its online store faster.

In addition, “using Amazon Redshift and AWS Glue, Target built a data platform that analyses consumer insights, like shopping preferences, to help marketing teams tailor product promotions and personalise the shopping experience,” Target Australia and AWS said.

“In e-commerce, every second counts for consumers who want to make purchases quickly,” Target Australia managing director Richard Pearson said in a statement.

“Target is focused on simplifying online shopping, prioritising online growth, and improving our product offering.”

Target - which is part of the Kmart Group - set up a cloud training scheme known as a ‘skills guild’ in 2019 to equip staff with the knowledge to experiment more on cloud infrastructure.