WalMart vs Target: Why I pay more than I have to
My beautiful wife is now four months pregnant and her clothes no longer fit. The problem is Target, our preferred retailer, has discontinued its maternity section (at least at our store). That leaves few options for some of the more ‘fundamental’ pieces of wardrobe.
Alright, let me quit screwing around - she needs underwear. Getting maternity clothes at one of the many maternity-themed stores is outrageously overpriced. Lots of other places (Target included now) don’t carry the stuff. Underwear’s not something you want to pick up at the secondhand store. That leaves the final option - WalMart.
I hate everything about WalMart. I know some people like WalMart, but I’m not one of them. I don’t know what I hate most - the customers, the employees, the filthy stores, or the parking lot. WalMart has exactly one thing going for it - prices. Now if their prices were much lower, then I’d…no I wouldn’t. I will not walk into WalMart.
On the other hand there’s Target. Target is the anti-WalMart. The stores are spotless and open. The employees are plentiful and helpful. You never wait behind more than one person at checkout without another line opening up. And I swear I’m not imagining this - have you noticed that the other customers are nicer and more polite, too? Target probably charges from one to ten percent more for stuff. I don’t care. I’ll pay it gladly; I’d pay even more. I will happily pay more than I have to pay.
After I wrote this post, I didn’t publish it right away. In the meantime, my wife has washed her WalMart undies twice. One pair now has a hole in it at the waistband. See what I mean?
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:38 am
CHEERS TO THIS POST! You hit the nail on the head. I wish I had written this!
Whenever I’m in Wal-Mart, there’s always some lady yellin at her kids, calling them stupid. The parking lot is trashy (and sometimes somewhat dangerous - I’ve witnessed a fight at Wal-Mart before). The people that work at Wal-Mart look like they’re about to turn to dust. A new Wal-Mart opened up near our house a little over a year ago. Within two days of being opened, the place was trashed. They can’t even keep their stores clean! I took my daughter up to Target last night (a 30 sec drive from our house) to blow off some steam. My 2.5 year old daughter was just jacked up - I had to get out of the house. So we went up to Target, ran around the aisles, and I ended up buying a water lounge chair (can’t wait to sit in the lake and drink beer). We had a wonderful time.
Here’s why you pay more at Target - you at least get to keep your dignity.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:41 pm
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:25 pm
Yes, but when I need a bottle of Ny-quil (or generic) price trumps all for me. I end up saving hundreds of dollars a year this way. I’ll put up with the rest for the savings.
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:47 pm
If quality does not matter, like with generic brands, then I might go to WalMart, but when I think of WalMart, quality does not come to mind. However, I absolutely agree with this post. If I can avoid it, I’ll go somewhere else. Although with a new SuperTarget opening up close to my house, I’ll have to show some restraint.
May 3rd, 2007 at 6:30 am
Oh the luxuries of civilization…
When it’s Wal-Mart or not getting it at all, you learn to realize what the conveniences of the box stores are all about. But I can guarantee you that your Wal-Mart’s are nicer, have nicer stuff, have better employees, and have more selection than the Wal-Mart where I live. Sometimes, though, things can cost half what they are other places.
Target has some nice stuff, for sure. That being said, I freaking hate Target on the whole. This whole “fashion for everyone” deal is exactly why this country has the personal financial problems that it does. The fact that everything at Target is nice, but not boutique-y, makes us think that it’s what we should all have. I wanted to buy everything in the store the last time I went (the closest one is hundreds of miles from me). You might end up with $1 Million to your name, but it’ll be about 20 years after the guy that goes, “I’ll decide I want a water lounge chair before I go to the store to look for one instead of just buying it because it looks cool and the kids were stressing me out so I went to Target to kill time”. We’ve killed many a Sunday afternoon in Target and Petsmart (just looking), but my wife has also rolled into Target to get “some stuff” and rolled home with a $200 receipt that included matching soap dishes (we already had some) and new towels (we have 20 of those).
Paying $1.59 for a 2-liter of Coke at Target when you know that it’ll be $.89 over at the Wal-Mart that’s across the street may only be $.70 more, but if you’re buying all your groceries, most of your household cleaning supplies, consumer electronics, books, or most toys, you’re probably paying 30% too much at Target for what amounts to fancy packaging. Sure, buy furniture, kitchen/bath decorations, and clothes (even underwear) at Target, it’s great for stuff that requires fashion and quality.
Target is a successful and profitable business…and here’s their business model: “Bring in middle class consumers that actually want to think they’re higher end than they really are and sell them slightly nicer stuff at good prices but then gouge the heck out of them for commodities. It’s Target snobs that are willing to pay for the atmosphere (walking around flauting themselves to all the other snobby Target shoppers) that keep that store in business.
See, Target is very careful about where it places itself demographically. Sometimes they score big and get a “Tar-Jay”, other times it’s just “Target”, but sometimes they whiff and they get a “Targhetto”. If you’ve ever been to a Target that has ended up in a lower income area or unpopular shopping area, the same trends you all have noticed with Wal-Mart begin to occur. And the effect is magnified because the high prices hold down turnover, so it gets worse until the store just folds. It is this three-tier concept that points to their success lying simply (as you pointed out KMC) in the fact that people will spend extra simply to feel like they’re high class or with high class people, when they’re really getting no additional tangible benefit out of the purchase.
And let’s out to eat afterwards and pay $15 for a meal that we can only fit half of into our ever-fattening faces.
May 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 pm
Despite the fact that many try…one store is never the answer to everything.
Target may not be quite as cheap for some basics (if you count Coke as a necessity), but then again the quality of more durable goods like underwear is rarely impressive at WalMart.
My answer? Buy your underwear at Target and your Coke at wherever it’s cheapest that week.
Yes, Target is trying to make people want to buy things when they come into the store…that’s what they do. It’s up to each of us to decide what we really need or want to buy and also what conditions we are willing to put up with in order to get a lower price.
(Personally, I don’t like the WalMart…so I don’t shop there.)
May 7th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
May 7th, 2007 at 2:56 pm
[…]Advanced Personal Finance says he pays more at Target than at Wal-Mart[…]
March 28th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
[…] Advanced Personal Finance calls Target the “anti-Wal-Mart” and hates Wal-Mart. “I don’t know what I hate most — the customers, the employees, the filthy stores, or the parking lot.” One of his readers countered, “It’s Target snobs that are willing to pay for the atmosphere (walking around flaunting themselves to all the other snobby Target shoppers) that keep that store in business.” […]
March 28th, 2008 at 9:47 pm
Wal-Mart sucks! I couldn’t agree more!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:04 am
I just got done reading the comment by Micah and I disagree with some things they wrote.
First, I don’t think the statement ‘you’re probably paying 30% too much at Target’ is correct. My experience shows Target’s prices are either equal to Wal-Mart’s (or within a few pennies) or at most 10% higher for items I buy most frequently (toilet paper, laundry detergent, soap, shampoo, etc.). Yes, there are some items at Target that are priced significantly higher then at Wal-Mart, but I’m sure there are things that are cheaper at Target.
Second, us ‘Target snobs that are willing to pay for the atmosphere’ don’t just agree to pay (very slightly) higher prices for the atmosphere. I also value my time. My time is worth money. I’m sure you’ll agree your time is worth money, too. To me, the extra 13¢ I just spent on some Ivory soap at Target is worth the 30 minutes I’ll save not standing in line at the ONE open check-out register at Wal-Mart. My average ’standing in line at the check-out’ time at Wal-Mart is usually 15 to 20 minutes. At Target, it usually averages 1 minute or less.
Third, I think your statement that ‘people will spend extra simply to feel like they’re high class or with high class people, when they’re really getting no additional tangible benefit out of the purchase’ is inaccurate. You are getting an additional tangible benefit at Target vs Wal-Mart. Buy a shirt at Wal-Mart for $9.97. Wash it 5 times. Buy the same type of shirt at Target for $10.99. Wash it 5 times. Compare the two. You will see the tangible benefit. My wife and I recently purchase a patio set at Target. We did stop at Wal-Mart to look at their selection. Target’s price for a comparable set was about 15% higher than Wal-Mart’s. But, the Target’s quality was 200% higher. The metal was thicker, the wicker was of better quality, the cushions were machine washable instead of just spot clean only. You could tell just by sitting in it that it would last a lot longer. So, we opted to spend a little more at Target for the tangible benefit of not having to buy a new set sooner then if we had purchased it at Wal-Mart.
But, I do agree that some Target shoppers are snobby. But, on the same hand, you have just as many Wal-Mart shoppers that are slummy.
And your last comment … ‘And let’s out to eat afterwards and pay $15 for a meal that we can only fit half of into our ever-fattening faces.’ TRUE TRUE TRUE! That made me laugh!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:07 am
I forgot to mention … as a side note, I have worked at both Wal-Mart and Target. And, I must say that Target seemed to treat their employees infinitely better then Wal-Mart treated theirs. That’s probably why the Target employees are usually nicer, friendlier and more willing to help.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:40 am
Chris, I can’t find the reference, but I recently read that an independent survey showed Target’s prices to be within pennies, on average, of Wal-Mart’s prices. Some think that’s a weakness of Target in this slower economy - people think they’re going to pay more at Target.