Following a cyberattack that compromised the credit card data of as many as 40 million customers, Target is suddenly feeling pretty generous. The company is offering a 10 percent discount to all U.S. customers who shop at Target stores on Dec. 21 and Dec. 22.
“We recognize this issue has been confusing and disruptive during an already busy holiday season,” CEO Gregg Steinhafel said in a statement. “We want to emphasize that the issue has been addressed and let guests know they can shop with confidence at their local Target stores.”
The company suffered one of the largest cyber crimes ever to hit a retail outlet when a third party accessed credit and debit card data from millions of customers between Nov. 27 and Dec. 15. The attack likely leveraged the point-of-sale software that Target uses to complete transactions at cash registers in its stores.
The sweeping discount will likely take a huge bite out of the company’s revenue during the busiest shopping weekend of the year. But it may also be the only way to convince people spooked by the cybercrime to pick up their final holiday gifts at Target. The company says the issue that led to the security breach has been identified and eliminated.
The deal is valid only in U.S. Target stores and is limited to one transaction per customer.