Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

If Target had such QR codes on a healthy percentage of its offering, would it see a behavioral change that 20 toys wouldn’t deliver? Given that this is a chain-wide effort, it was no small endeavor. And given the extensive logistics involved, wouldn’t there have been some efficiencies in sharply increasing the tested items? Perhaps the 500 hottest items throughout the store?

There’s also a potential downside to this trial. Let’s say a shopper really needs to buy a MEGA Brands HALO 4 Warthog Vehicle or a Hasbro Beyblade: Metal Fury Destroyer Dome. (No kidding. Those are actually two of the 20 hottest toys.) She fights holiday traffic to get to a shopping center with a Target and then stalks shoppers when they leave to steal a parking space. She goes into the Target and sees the desired toy at the endcap.

It’s certainly a plus that she can scan with her phone, tap in her address and payment data, and then leave the store. But is that necessarily good? Clearly there are other items on her holiday lists. Is discouraging that shopper from browsing further a good move? Sure, she could certainly scan that item and then continue to shop. But the fun of this approach is scanning and then running out the door.

Also, Target, are you sure you want to get your shoppers more comfortable with scanning barcodes and QR codes with their phones and then leaving and waiting for their packages to be delivered? If so, Amazon just might be adding Target to its Christmas card list.

To be fair, it does cut both ways. At least this way, Target is showing the ease of having Target.com doing the sending rather than Amazon. But once the shopper’s comfortable with the action, you have no control of who will do the delivering.

Then there’s the delicious touch by Target where it positions this technique as a way to discretely buy an item for a child while shopping with that child. Oddly, the statement Target issued speaks of the easier part of that parental deception: “Rather than hoping the kids won’t notice when a gift is slipped into the cart, guests can scan the QR codes to buy top toys and have them shipped anywhere for free.”

As a parent, I can promise you that slipping the item into the cart unnoticed is relatively easy. It’s the checkout—when everything is placed on the conveyor belt one by one—where the Grinch steals the surprise. This QR approach does have the potential to address that issue nicely. “It’s better than ‘Hey, Junior, look the other way,'” Target’s Baeb said.

The only problem is that Junior is quite likely more mobile-savvy than his parent. So instead of being seen scanning the barcode in front of the desired gift, that parent is still going to have to deploy a distraction. As a New Jersey parent, the most effective and common line is usually, “Doesn’t that woman look just like the murderer who escaped from the jail last night?”

Now, though, many children are likely to just sigh and say, “Daddy, do you need my help in scanning that QR code?” Kids today.