A mother who claimed to be working smarter, not harder, has TikTokers pressed after she revealed her ultimate Target hack: returning all of her kids’ Cat & Jack clothing for a full refund after using them all year. The woman revealed the little-known trick to over 3.2 million viewers–and not all of them were impressed.
In a viral clip, Shawna (@keshawnaalexiss) records herself sitting on the carpeted floor in her home surrounded by her kids’ used clothing. Several Cat & Jack tags are strewn about.
“It’s about that time again,” Shawna begins, showing the neatly folded stacks of the Target-branded clothes. She claims all of these will be returned, including some boots and sandals. “How much do y’all think this gonna be?” she asks.
Turns out, a lot.
Shawna’s TikTok transitions to her walking up to the Target store with her toddler in the cart. At the register, the worker keeps ringing up the clothing for a refund. Shawna then reveals the total refund at the end of the clip: a whopping $515.
People couldn’t be more divided
Several folks accused Shawna of taking advantage of Target’s return policy, lambasting her for her choices.
“Yup, this right is here is why many locations have stopped honoring,” one user wrote. Another echoed, “Yeah this isn’t the point of the policy. It’s only supposed to be if the quality falls apart within a year. People abusing the policy like this are why a lot of stores don’t honor the policy at all anymore.”
Others, however, came to her defense. One user pointed out that race had a role to play in how Shawna was being criticized. “I literally saw some white lady do this and the comments were saying how smart this was but these comments girlll !!!” This led the TikToker to reply, “They upset about money that doesn’t even belong to them.”
One user who identified themselves as a Target worker claimed Shawna was doing nothing wrong.
“I work for target and yes we love when you keep all tags and receipts all the cat and jack clothing and shoes can be returned for whatever reason, they donate all the returns to the shelters as a tax write off. no stealing,” they said.
Another added, “You guys Target put out a statement saying that they want this to happen to eliminate waste, they donate all those clothes for a tax write off. So RELAX.” (The Mary Sue was unable to verify whether Target donates Cat & Jack clothing.)
What is Target’s return policy?
While Target has a 90-day return policy for most items, Target-owned brands–like Cat & Jack–can be returned after 365 days with a receipt. Since Shawna had all the tags and receipts saved, it made sense that her return was quick and easy. She isn’t the first mother to make use of this hack, either. In a previous story covered by the Mary Sue, another woman did the same thing.
TikToker Emily Serr returned her children’s uniforms at the end of the school year. Since they were also Cat & Jack, Serr was able to receive $375 back. Serr’s hack was also deemed controversial, but Target in fact takes pride in the generous policy.
In a 2024 article by Business Insider, a retail analyst explained the strategy behind the retailer’s Cat & Jack success story.
“One of the reasons why Target has these very lenient return policies has to do with customer retention,” Hitha Herzog told BI. “They don’t want to lose market share or have any sort of customer attrition when it comes to their private-label brands.”
According to Herzog, the return is already factored into the price, so Target doesn’t really lose revenue.
“In other words, a parent returning a Cat & Jack outfit is highly likely to buy a new one,” or other Target-owned brands, reported the article.
@keshawnaalexiss Targets Cat&Jack return #catandjack #targetreturn #targethaul ♬ original sound – Shawna
The Mary Sue reached out to Shawna via Instagram direct message and to Target via email.
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