OOC, Why do people shop at Target instead of Walmart? For me, the only reason is distance---if there's a Target closer than a Walmart. Otherwise the two are pretty much interchangeable.
They get fashion designers to do collaborations with their clothing line as well, which helps their image. 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target a couple of years ago sold out instantly. In general their clothing is on par with a real clothing store. I have a cardigan/jacket thing I got there in 2011 that has no holes or damage.
Walmart has a "lower class" reputation, and so do the people that go there often.
Don't get me wrong, they are both big box stores. They aren't that different under the hood, but Target managed to present itself with a cleaned-up image that attracts a lot of middle and upper middle class people who don't want to be seen at or go to Walmart.
Also, the staff are much easier to get a hold of.
Target also offers an EFT card that discounts 5% off your total and (up until this spring) kicked 1% of the total to the school of your choice. Our elementary school has earned a few thousand dollars over the life of the program. The card also gives free shipping on online orders.
So, to me, it's not an equivalent.
They intentionally understaff their checkout stations to cut labor costs. A far cry from the 80's and early 90's when Walton still held sway over operations and was able to impose strict waiting limits for customers.
You need to avoid going there at the beginning of the month, after work, Saturday afternoon, Sunday night, after 9 etc. There's either 2/30 lines open, or 15/30 with 300 people waiting.
If you go, they don't merchandise. They cut the top off a box of food and throw it on the shelf. The workers suck because the workplace sucks.
Target, the prices are same or better, selection is different (i.e. You can't get car parts or hunting gear), and the staff is much more useful.
Yes, Walmart is the preferred vendor if you are on EBT and that is why police departments will stake them out at the beginning of the month. Walmart is pretty much the place to get the most food for the buck.
I don't care about that at all, it's just that Walmart doesn't bother to do things like have more staff available.
In seriousness, as others point out, Target is generally nicer. And Wal-Mart has a bit of a "low rent" feel to it, probably more so in the U.S. south than elsewhere. Everything on the shelves seems as if it is the lowest priced item the Wal-Mart buyer could find for that category. And the shoppers, oh, the things I've seen...
I've found that this doesn't seem to broadly apply to the few Canadian Wal-Marts I've been to, though.
Wal-Mart can do as well or better than Target. There's a "flagship" Wal-Mart on the Dallas North Tollway in Plano (Texas) that is everything a Target can be and more. It's even open 24 hours, like seemingly every other Wal-Mart in the region. (That was a little bit of culture shock when I moved to Puget Sound. The Wal-Marts in the top-left corner of the map used to be open 24 hours but stopped in early 2015 for some reason.)
That Walmart has taken a dive tho. I've rarely gone the last 4+ years, but it very much reminds me of the nearby one which is more "ghetto", just with different inside paint job (not industrial white).
I basically can go to Walmart or the local grocery store in the next town or the reservation grocery store. I'm not a fan of the local grocery stores political tactics[1], so its the rez or Walmart. There is a K-mart but they just don't have the variety.
1) zoning to try and screw competitors is not nice
Pay and benefits suck too.
Today, there's a Target within walking / biking distance of my house. That pretty much seals the deal. Also, this may be unique and idealistic, but I don't shop anywhere that sells guns.