There isn’t a Target in my hometown but I do like it and will go there when I’m in a town where they have one.
I’m not fond of Walmart, mostly because it’s dirty and the carts are broken and out in the parking lot. Also they don’t sell some things I buy and I’m not fond of the meat department.
I also have some problems with how Walmart does business.
I shop at Meijer (Michigan chain) or the local grocery chain. I also will go to Aldi’s and in the summer buy at our local produce market which has a meat counter as I don’t want them to go out of business.
No Costco,or Sams Club. No whole foods or any upscale market or Trader Joes. None within a 100 miles of my house.
Wouldn’t set foot in a Walmart unless I absolutely had to. Used to shop a lot at Target but it’s gone downhill fast. Am also starting to get tired of Kohl’s with their new coupon policy.
Mostly shop at grocery stores, Costco, Sam’s, and Amazon. Can’t think of too many things I need that I can’t get there.
Sorry, but Walmart is not my go to store. I can’t stand the dreary lighting, and the highly stacked crap they have piled up all over the store. And really, their help is less than helpful.
Target is less than a 1/4 mile from Walmart. When I need something from that type of store, Target is my choice. Better lighting, and better customer service.
But I don’t frequent Target that much either. No reason to.
Love Target, hate Walmart (I think I’ve been to Walmart three times in the past 20 years). I agree that the Target reputation seems to have dimmed lately, but it’s still one of my go-to stores for home basics. Plus, the pharmacy people in my local Target are awesome.
I much prefer to shop at our local grocery market, and sometimes Stew Leonards (I’m in Connecticut) and I love Whole Foods but it’s not in my normally traveled sphere. I like the local hardware stores, and loathe Walmart with a passion. I miss Caldor a lot, and GFox (most recently Filenes). I enjoy Target but don’t get there often.
I do have to say that the value of the locally owned independent is more than price. It’s the helpful, knowledgable people that own and run the stores. You get what you pay for – information and service as well as the goods themselves. I hate to think what will become of my customers if I close. The boxes will not treat them the way I have taken care of them. (Back to the weekly special orders, and the live food order, neither of which is available at the box across the street. And PS my prices are better if you care to check.)
I hate the parking lot design at all the Walmarts so they lost me. But I love Target and it’s a go-to store for us. We also do a lot of Amazon shopping. For groceries, we also shop BJ’s Club for bulk purchases and Wegmans and local grocery chains. I used to shop at Trader Joes and Whole Foods but the Wegmans is closer and definitely less expensive than Whole Foods. As for clothes, I loathe clothes shopping. I haven’t a clue any more. Old Navy, Ann Taylor (sales only), Lord and Taylor (sales only).
I have never been to a WalMart and plan to keep it that way. I don’t love their business practices, and I do believe strongly in the power of small businesses and supporting them. I also don’t own an iphone 6 or a North Face or have an unlimited budget, but I will allocate more budget money to be able to feel a little more ethical about my buying choices where I can. I tend to buy groceries at a combination of Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, the local coop, and farmers markets. I’ve been buying a lot of clothes from thrift stores recently.
As a small business owner, I generally stay away from box stores, except for BJ’s. And the things I buy there only take away from other large companies . I do buy from Amazon because it is so convenient when it comes to certain items. I do not like shopping in chain stores / malls at all.
Brick and mortar is still very important for some things, but not all things
We do most of our grocery shopping at Walmart. It may be because we live in a small city in the midwest (pop. < 100k), but our Walmart is clean and we do not have “typical Walmart shoppers” (I don’t even know what that means). In fact, I don’t see any difference between Walmart shoppers and shoppers at Target or other department stores.
For groceries, we buy mostly from Wegmans, BJ, Costco, and asian markets. For fresh vegetables, we mostly get them from the asian markets (Lotte, H-Mart, Great Wall, Good Fortune). Walmart and Target for toiletries, though Wegmas prices are about the same so I usually get them when I’m grocery shopping at Wegmans. And Trader Joes for things like nuts, their frozen foods (fish steaks, Indian food, etc.), and honey.
I avoided Walmart until I retired. I do all of the grocery shopping and one day I went to Walmart and compared prices. I saved $20 buying the same exact items that I would buy at two regional grocery chains. So now I try to shop at Walmart first, and then drive to the regional store and buy meats and fish and a few other items. We live in a small town so it’s not bad if you shop at Walmart during the week if you can.
If Wegmans wasn’t so far away I would shop there instead.
I have to say that Walmarts vary by location. We are lucky the one nearby is clean, well-lit, safe. There’s another Walmart not that far away that I avoid.
I went to my local grocery store today to pick up just enough food to make a taco dinner ( by request ) There was an older couple ahead of me in line telling the cashier how they will not shop in the only other store in town because the prices are so high… I wanted to tell her that the things she was buying are cheaper if you shop at Bj’s , but held my tongue…she told the girl that they have been retired for 25 years and their income hasn’t increased. It is hard to save on a fixed income but it can be done. Our Walmarts fall into the category of the negative things you might find on the internet , but I have been to some very nice ones
Whenever I’m back in the States I make a Walmart or Target run for one-stop-shopping to stock up on toiletries, over the counter medicine, cheap knick knacks, & Reeses peanut butter cups (u won’t believe how expensive imported ones are).
Once, Walmart had a close-out sale on dog sweaters & coats. At $1 each, my dog has an entire wardrobe now.
I actually buy lots of clothing at Costco for my boys. They are too lazy to go shopping with me and I refuse to run all over returning things that don’t fit so Costco makes it easy since I’m there probably twice a week. Prices and quality are good and they are usually happy with what I bring home. The main rule now seems to be no logos unless it’s a sports logo, so that almost eliminates shopping at the mall. I mainly shop at Walmart/Target for back to school items and essentials for trips. We are lucky to have Meijer stores for grocery shopping.
My D did say the new “in” winter coat on her campus this year was the Canada Goose brand. It makes North Face look really inexpensive!! Thankfully most of the Midwest is not image conscious so as long as you have clothes on-we’re good!
Walmart is my favorite - I can go there any time of day or night and it’s between home and work. Practically everything I want except for some specialized ethnic foods are available under one roof, and if I need to pick up a few obscure items, I know exactly where to find them. As a bonus I can drop my car off for an oil change and tire rotation while I finish both my groceries and the department store stuff. As an added bonus, my bank has a branch there and when I occasionally get physical checks, I can deposit them there.
I almost never shop at Target or Walmart. Once a year, if that. By coincidence, I have been making a list of things I need from that type of store. So today, I headed to Target. Of the 5 items on my list, 1 was in stock! And these are everyday, not hard to find items. I drove about 3-4 miles further away to a brand new, huge Walmart, open only one year or so. I immediately found all 5 items right away AND their prices were much cheaper than Target! So, although I rarely frequent those places, I’m apt to head directly to the Walmart next time.
