Disclaimer: this is only regarding my experiences at both stores. I’ve not been to every Walmart/Target in the world, but odds are that you’ve never been to my local Walmart/Target either.
I prefer going to Walmart instead of Target every time and for any sort of shopping. Walmart still has the sort of atmosphere of being a classic superstore that carries actual brands and has some image of option or variety. Everything at Target seems to be house brand and overpriced at that.
Most criticism about the Walmart shopping experience seems to be thinly-veiled classism and most pro-Target arguments are just “I don’t have to be around the poors.” Neither of these appeal to me and I find the atmosphere at Target to be overbearing, uncomfortably sanitized, and their security policies are invasive, to say the least.
I don’t care about the politics of either company. If I’m shopping at a fuckhuge superstore anyway, I’m probably in a rush and need whatever I’m there for that day. Neither store is ever my first choice (or second, third, etc.), and if I can, I’ll source whatever I need locally/used/or online, but if my only two options are Walmart or Target, I’ll go to Walmart every time.
When you go to Walmart you’re going to be exposed to/interacting with “Walmart people”. When you go to Target you’re exposed to/interacting with “Walmart people” who think they’re too good for Walmart.
When I go to Target I’m exposed to weird store layouts with boxes of merchandise in the middle of the aisle because most of the other people there are personal shoppers just marking things of a list, higher prices, worse selection for the same items, and “Walmart people” who think they’re too good for Walmart.
The target security is “invasive to say the least”???
I’ve never seen security in any form at target, where the grocery store next door has a guard. Walmart is in a much more “safe” area of town and last time I went there they had “greeters” and “receipt checkers”…
Pardon the source but amongst other things, Target uses facial recognition software on their security cameras to track individuals across stores, track purchases, and recognize known theives.. That’s a lot scarier than any actual security guard, IMO.
“The world”
Like anyone outside the US knows
FWIW I thought for sure that Target had stores in Canada, but you’re right that they only operate in the US. Walmart has stores in 19 countries, though. I think my original statement still applies.
We had Target for just over a year. They opened a bunch of stores and crashed and burned because the prices and experience weren’t even comparable to what they had in the US. It’s now a case study in how not to expand your business.
They just aren’t the same thing, I go more to Walmart - grocery store version not supercenter - because their pharmacy is oddly the absolute best in our area (great pharmacists, good prices, they always check to find what is the cheapest way to pay, can get anything at all within a few days if not hours, offer many vaccinations too, online refill app actually works even if prescription is expired THEY contact the doctor. Really they do everything better.) While I’m there I might pick up some food because they have a pretty good selection, but all the makeup is locked behind plexiglass, other stuff too, and they don’t have enough staff to manage that. Also the goddam self checkout and long lines at self and the couple of cashiers, never ever go there in a hurry.
Target we hardly ever visit but they are better for housewares, for body/haircare, way better clothing and much better checkout process. Their store brand stuff in the categories we would visit them for are fine.
Good point about the pharmacy. That’s not something relevant to me but I have heard their pharmacy be praised over places like CVS or Walgreens before.
I still disagree about Target being better than Walmart for housewares, etc. Both stores sell disposable junk in my experience, but Target’s junk is about 80% more expensive with maybe 10% better quality. Their men’s clothes in particular stand out to me as being very bad, much worse than Walmart’s own house brands.
I just go to Walmart cuz it’s closer, the difference between them isn’t noticeable to me
My walmart has basic necessities behind glass and no employees to open them so target it is.
The Targets in my area have the same problem. The Walmarts are like going into a large room full of the dumbest people you’ve ever seen who also happen to have the loudest children in the world who never stop coughing without covering their mouths.
I used to enjoy shopping at Target more than Walmart. But Target is turning into the dollar store. Boxes piled everywhere. Personal shoppers clogging the aisles with giant carts (they should be pulling from the back of store instead). Displays planted in the middle of the aisles. Most of the merchandise is cheap junk made in China. Some shelves half empty, others looking like a tornado came through. No checkers and long lines at the self check.
I still use the park and pickup options, but I find myself shopping there less and less.
Glad to see I’m not the only one. It seems like most of the foot traffic there are just personal shoppers who are just going where an app tells them to and marking things off a list for other people. There’s not much pressure on them to keep a customer-friendly store anymore.
I’m not sure about Target, but i’d assume it’s similar to the walmart i worked at in that there isnt any stock in the back of the store. The only stuff back there is things that were delivered that day and haven’t been put out yet, not nearly comparable to what’s in the store proper
I truly believe a lot of the motherfuckers who say “I don’t want to be around Walmart people” (meaning "lower-class,’ or simply “poor”) have truly somehow forgotten that Walmart and Kmart were two different things.
Kmart was full of weirdos. Kmart was sketchy. Kmart did have crazy fuckers stalking the aisles.
Walmart, on the other hand, was always just a fucking superstore. It just is what it is. It’s a place where you can buy Totino’s Pizza rolls, heavily discounted DVDs, sweatpants, calligraphy supplies, fancy seashell-shaped soap bars for your bathroom, and ammunition, all in one trip.
And Target is the same fucking store.
And so was Kmart, in truth. BUT IT HAD WEIRD ENERGY. I don’t even know why. And I kinda miss that shit, to be honest. It’s completely fitting that one of its six remaining locations is in fucking Florida.
I lowkey want to make a pilgrimage, there. Just to see how fucking off-the-hook crazy it is. All the remaining Kmart energy, concentrated and combined with Florida people. Best believe I’d be wearing a fucking bulletproof vest the whole trip, though.
Basically, if you never fucked with Kmart, think of it as Waffle House, compared to all the other stores as IHOP. Very different vibe. Very different odds of a fight breaking out. And, again, it wasn’t even that Kmart was for lower-income people. It might have been SLIGHTLY cheaper, overall…but not enough to really be relevant.
It just had scrappy, kooky, sketchy, cracked-out energy to it, for some unexplainable reason.
My Walmart is too far away (20 minutes vs 5 to Target). If it weren’t for the distance, I’d be going to Walmart all day. It’s cheaper, they have a far better tools and auto part selection, some stores do tires, and their Douglas tire line is actually made by Goodyear and pretty decent quality. Their sporting goods, both outdoor stuff like hunting/ fishing, and team sport items and workout equipment, etc. is so much better than Target it’s laughable. As a male, I feel like they actually are trying to get my business with things I might want or need. I still make a journey out to mine here or there, but if there was one closer, it’d be my go to for sure.
I have no preference for Walmart vs Target, but I usually go to target because it’s closer.
