An absolute treat for the young ones and the young at heart: Target and Nintendo are teaming up to spread the iconic Super Mario fever nationwide, just in time for the launch of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for the Nintendo Switch on April 28.
Super Target Karts
Dubbed as the Super Target Karts, over 650 Target superstores will be decked with the Mario Kart-inspired shopping carts featuring favorite characters from the classic video game, such as the famous Italian plumbing duo, Mario and Luigi, and Princess Peach.
Target is turning shopping carts into Mario karts and there's no way this ends well https://t.co/Zr9se5K9P9 pic.twitter.com/lxhZOz8NQC
— Mashable (@mashable) April 21, 2017
All-Out Super Mario Promotion
Going all out and somehow giving shoppers the go signal to drag and race around the store as they please, Target welcomes everyone with black-and-white checker decorations, flashing lights, and the upbeat sounds of Super Mario's theme song once they walk into the store's motion sensors.
#MarioKart #Come and jump in at 1049!! @JayYezzi @rschafer76 pic.twitter.com/agzxnaB0l2 — Vesna Vijatov (@VVijatov) April 21, 2017
"Experience counts — it's what keeps guests coming in and coming back to our stores," Scott Nygaard, senior vice president of Target merchandising, stated.
"So we're delivering the fun like only Target can, giving generations of Mario fans a shopping trip they won't soon forget."
Target's infamous bollards, the giant red ball on its logo, will get a major makeover to make them look like heads of Mario and Luigi.
It's not the first time Target ventured into something like this. Target did a similar promotion in 2016 for the release of Pokémon GO, painting the bollards like giant Poké Balls.
A post shared by Matthew Dill (@unlikelycatalyst) on Apr 21, 2017 at 2:54pm PDT
Safety Concerns
Target's announcement of its Super Mario-themed shopping carts has drawn mixed reactions. Most people were airing their concerns about safety in the event the cart racing gets out of hand and becomes chaotic.
Last year, Target launched its cute child-sized shopping carts and nipped it in the bud shortly after a month after receiving a deluge of complaints on social media about customers getting bruised ankles and shins, unruly children who often got carried away, and kids throwing the worst tantrums when parents refused to buy all of the items they put in the carts.
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
So far it's raining good reviews for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which is a new and improved version of the 2014 Mario Kart 8.
Aside from Mario and Luigi, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe also features popular Nintendo characters, such as Link from The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong.
