I used to be a die-hard Walmart shopper because they have the best prices and a huge selection. But now that there’s a Super Target across the street from the local Walmart, we shop there a lot more.
My biggest complaint about Walmart is that they cannot handle the amount of shoppers that typically frequent their store. The aisles are super narrow and it just feels overwhelmingly crowded inside unless you go shopping before 9 am. Not only that, but there’s never enough registers open and the lines seem endless. The entire Walmart shopping experience is very stressful.
Shopping at Target is always an enjoyable experience. They have very wide aisles, their store is brightly lit, and there are always enough registers open that the wait is minimal, if at all.
I wish Walmart would learn a thing or three from Target and redesign their stores because I’d hate them a lot less. But as it stands now, I’d rather pay the (slightly) higher price to enjoy my shopping experience. If I go to Walmart only twice a month these days, it’s two times too many. I can’t tell you how many times I attempted to shop there (like this afternoon) only to drive by without stopping after seeing how full the parking lot was. It’s just not worth the aggravation.
Which store do you prefer and why?
I’ve always been a target girl…when we were in the US a few weeks back I went mad at Target buying t-shirts and purses and everything, it’s just all too cheap to pass up…and the same things would sell here in Australia for 3 times as much.
There’s nothing worse than not having enough registers open. That’s like our local supermarket, if you go after 6 pm they only have 2 registers open and NEVER a 12 item or less lane. They don’t seem to understand that most people who shop during the week would be doing it after 6 because that is when they’ll be out of work but they just won’t open more registers, it just makes us walk to the supermarket down the road when we can’t be bothered waiting.
Well, I *prefer* to shop at Target for the reasons you stated (brighter, bigger aisles, etc., plus they got some cool stuff), but I usually go to Walmart because we need to be frugal. However, they are building a new Target not even five minutes from my house, and I expect to shop there often unless the prices are high (Target’s prices seem to have gotten quite a bit higher lately unfortunately). Having said that, the Walmart by me is scummy and cramped, I hate it. People are just rude, and there’s a sense of desperation in the air, especially on the weekends, which is why I try to go during the week on my days off.
There’s rumors of a Walmart going up within walking distance of my house (SO thrilled about that, except not), so I’ll certainly have lots of choices.
I vastly prefer Target over Walmart for all the reasons you described. Not only are the aisles narrow in Walmart, but for some reason they insist on putting “islands” of merchandise and even unopened stock in the middle of major aisles. It’s always a nightmare to get around people in that store, not to mention the lines. Plus I think most walmart stuff is just crappy. I have no qualms about shopping for clothes at Target, but Walmart is the last place I would shop for clothes.
It’s interesting to see that Walmart apparently has the same problem nationwide… not just at our local store in Pleasanton, California. They really need to get a clue and change some things before Target wipes them out. I still probably wouldn’t shop at Walmart, but if Walmart shut down all those people would be clogging up my Target instead.
Totally agree about Wal-mart’s store designs vs. Target’s. We’ve always been huge Target fans. The Wal-mart aisles ARE all narrow and cramped, they DO stack stuff in the middle of them, and there are always too many people milling about. It’s stressful and unpleasant. As much as possible, we go to Target. Not only is the store experience much better, but Target for many years has had a focus on the design of the products they carry as a differentiating factor. They really care about design and believe design makes a big difference in people’s lives (which it does).
We still go to Wal-mart for very specific items that we know are significantly cheaper. It’s always just staples and basics, though, and sometimes Target is actually cheaper for the same things. We dislike Wal-mart so much that when we do have to go there it’s very concentrated shopping – get in, get the things we need, get the hell out. We never just look around at stuff in Wal-mart, so I guess we never really “shop” at Wal-mart so much as we just purchase new stock of basic household products.
Wal-mart will never change their stores because they’ve hit on a winning formula – they pack more inventory per square foot and that helps them keep prices down, and Wal-mart is all about low prices.