Do we really need another excuse to go to Target? As if the convenience, great prices and irresistible dollar bin weren’t enough, you may soon be able to get a manicure along with your cat food and laundry detergent. The retail giant is teaming up with Clockwork, a company that designs AI-powered robots to provide beauty services on the go, to make express manicures available to busy customers.
The San Francisco-based company has worked with Target to offer robot-powered “manicures” in six locations across the country in states including California, Texas and Minnesota. And while you won’t get the filing, cuticle removal or a relaxing hand massage you would normally get at a spa during your appointment, you can get a fresh coat of polish in a variety of shades in less than ten minutes. Customers can book appointments on the Clockwork website to coincide with their next Target run. And once you arrive, you simply stick your hands inside a machine and let the robots do their thing in the time it takes to have a prescription filled at the pharmacy. Your first manicure appointment will run you eight dollars. Every one after that is 10.
And while the service is limited now, the reaction on social media has been overwhelming. Tiktok user @izzrmz wrote, “So cool. I 100% recommend for those of us who hate wasting time at the nail salon and prefer long walks down the target aisles.” And @jaschacan called it, “A must try if your in a hurry and in Target Fort Worth Tx.”
According to data on the Clockwork website, most people spend 60 minutes per week and 3,120 minutes a year caring for their nails, time that Clockwork CEO and Founder Renuka Apte says can be spent doing other things. “I feel like most people who want to do beauty on a regular basis don’t always have time for it,” Apte said in an interview with CNN Business. While some people may miss chatting it up with their nail artist, Clockwork’s technology has the potential to be a huge time saver. If Target can find a way to offer express robot blowouts, it’s over for me.