Target tweaks the app to reduce the ‘Double Tap’ chaos.

• Target has released an update to its app to curb shopper behavior that workers call “double-tapping.”
• Workers said customers at the drive-thru caused chaos by waiting until they arrived to say they were on their way.
• Shoppers are now being asked to wait an extra minute to trigger the order fulfillment process.

Target is rolling out a much-requested app fix for a shopper behavior that has been a frequent source of frustration for some of its fulfillment workers.

Either by accident or on purpose, hundreds of Target drive-up customers using the retailer’s mobile app arrive at store parking lots every day before you hit the ‘I’m on my way’ button.

Upon arrival, they press the button and the continue button “I’m here” in rapid succession – a move that has become known as the “double tap”.

Now, after a mobile app launched last week, shoppers won’t be able to double tap their driving controls. Instead, they’ll have to wait a minute after tapping “I’m on my way” before declaring their arrival.

“We need some extra time,” the app now says. “Next time, avoid this delay by letting us know you’re on your way before you go to the store.”

The company confirmed the change to Business Insider and said it continues to look for ways to improve the app for both workers and customers.

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Last year, workers told BI that the “I’m here” signal triggered a three-minute timer during which they had to load a customer’s order from various shelves or coolers onto a cart and roll it into the parking lot.

Orders that took more than three minutes could put a worker’s grades in the red and attract the attention of managers, workers previously said. “Double-tappers” were particularly problematic when orders had dozens of items or contained large or heavy products, which could trigger a cascade of delays, they said.

The impact of the update wasn’t instant though, as several have pointed out comments on social mediaas it may take time for a significant number of customers to download the new version of the application. The update also began amid a surge in Halloween shopping.

“It’s already been a very busy week to begin with, so it’s hard to gauge if the double-tap delay has had any noticeable change,” a Target worker in New York told BI, describing the app update as a welcome The worker asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The worker said her store received between 1,000 and 1,500 carry-out orders a day, estimating that about a quarter of those were duplicates. She added that some were “recidivists” who she and her colleagues recognized by name.

“There was nothing we could do to stop them from doing this, apart from letting the customer know directly that they should tell us they were on their way, which was discouraged by management,” she said. “We hope this new change will alleviate this problem.”

A Wisconsin worker told BI that the change hasn’t had a major effect so far, but that every bit of extra time helps.