The notion of selling online has mutated often since the birth of Internet commerce. First the Web was a brochure, then a billboard and finally a shopping mall. Target has figured out its next incarnation: the Web as gift shop. Stores are for buying yourself something, but Web sites are better for buying for someone else. Last fall Target.com sold thousands of exclusive "Student Survival Kits," including a $24.99 Movie Night package containing popcorn in a bucket, candy, soda, and a blank VCR tape. A Cold Comfort get-well box included a decongestant and a teddy bear. Some 22% of the site's sales comes from its bridal and baby registries. "We realized early that registry would be the killer app," says Cathy David, a vice president and general manager of the Target.direct unit.
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