The boxes of the season may not be the ones under the Christmas tree, but the piles of them stacked on your front stoop.
America's doorsteps are awash in a sea of boring tan or white cardboard, as online shopping intensifies for even the simplest of items.
Target Corp. is now injecting a bit of color and design into its standard shipping fare.
Last month, the Minneapolis-based retailer introduced three sizes of cardboard boxes adorned with playful images of its canine mascot, Bullseye.
The large boxes show a merry mutt romping through a house: listening to music through headphones, snoring on a bed, trotting out the door with a hat in its mouth. The medium-sized boxes show Bullseye driving a truck. In the small ones, the pooch appears to be hiding within.
"We wanted to take a routine interaction, like receiving a shipping box on your doorstep, and turn it into an expression of joy using Target's iconic branding," said Todd Waterbury, Target's chief creative officer, in an e-mail.
Waterbury said the boxes "elevate the everyday."
It's a clever idea that the retailer expects to keep around even after the holidays.
