Target (coming to Canada)

[Trixoo]

Target rules. Wal Mart is just gross.

There are 3 Walmarts near my house. Two are relatively new and lovely to shop in, although I still prefer the goods at Target. The third is old, unkempt and depressing...i will not shop there even though it's the one that's closest to my house. I wouldn't say Walmart as a whole is gross, but they really let some of their stores go. OTOH, I've never been in a Target that had that feel of being past it's prime...they do a good job of keeping the stores feeling clean and fresh.

My guess is that the Walmart near you is one of the older stores...

 

[dixiedog6]

We are getting at target in my town too!

 

[JeanneMarie]

There are 3 Walmarts near my house. Two are relatively new and lovely to shop in, although I still prefer the goods at Target. The third is old, unkempt and depressing...i will not shop there even though it's the one that's closest to my house. I wouldn't say Walmart as a whole is gross, but they really let some of their stores go. OTOH, I've never been in a Target that had that feel of being past it's prime...they do a good job of keeping the stores feeling clean and fresh.

My guess is that the Walmart near you is one of the older stores...

Yes, this! I don't get the "Wal-Mart is gross" statement. There may be a store nearby that's older and run down, but that doesn't make the whole chain gross. The Wal-Mart by me is new, clean and great to shop in. I've been in Target stores that were old too, but agree that they are less likely to let their stores deteriorate. That said, I doubt there are nearly as many Targets as there are Wal-Marts to keep up.

 

[mini-natty]

Here in Canada, I have seen the "gross" Wal-Mart's and the "great" ones.

The one by my house is wonderful. The store is clean, the staff is friendly and efficient, the grocery section is amazing. I always look forward to shopping there. I live in a town with 25,000 people (40min north of Toronto). I find all Wal-Mart's in suburban area's to be in top notch condition and lovely to shop in.

When I used to live in Toronto, the Wal-Mart's were horrible! Dirty, rude staff/customer's, overcrowded. I dreaded shopping in one (I hardly ever did). Toronto has approx 3 million people though. The store was a product of it's environment.

I don't think I will ever stop shopping at my local Wal-Mart, as I have become very attached. But I am looking forward to Target. Especially because our Wal-Mart has a very small selection of health/fitness equipment & clothing

 

[fargomom]

A store manager I am not, but IMO Walmart's focus is cheap prices NOT a wonderful shopping experience. If I want a cozy shopping experience I go to Target. While I might get close to that at the newer Walmart (versus the older one), it's not going to be close to what I would experience at Target, because like I said, that's just not Walmart's thing. I shop at both places, equally, but I LOVE Target. I only LIKE Walmart.

My biggest complaint about Walmart is that they have 400 million checkout lanes and it seems during the high traffic times, those lanes are only meagerly staffed. That I don't get. But again ..... their focus is cheap prices ....

 

[JeanneMarie]

A store manager I am not, but IMO Walmart's focus is cheap prices NOT a wonderful shopping experience. If I want a cozy shopping experience I go to Target. While I might get close to that at the newer Walmart (versus the older one), it's not going to be close to what I would experience at Target, because like I said, that's just not Walmart's thing. I shop at both places, equally, but I LOVE Target. I only LIKE Walmart.

Not sure why I'm defending Walmart, but the shopping at the newer Walmart superstores is basically the same as Target. There isn't much difference. I think there may be a "perceived" difference. I think Target's advertising wants to promote that they are higher end, but honestly.... it just isn't so. I would say if you want a super fabulous shopping experience, you need to go somewhere like Nordstrom or Bloomies!

My Walmart has an amazing produce department. People drive from miles around just for their top notch fresh produce.

Like I said before, I go to both for different reasons. I think my Target has a better fitness department, but the Walmart groceries (produce as I mentioned) are way above and beyond Target. As far as clothing... both places have low quality clothing. I buy things like tank tops, but nothing that I expect to last a long time at either place.

 

[MKEMom]

I agree. I like Wal-Mart, too. I drive a little out of my way to get to the "nice" one, but there are some things that I definitely prefer Wal-Mart for.

As far as Target stores being nicer. I think that's maybe true overall, but the one by my house had definitely "gone to seed" before it got a much-needed redo. It was much grosser than the nearest Wal-Mart.

 

[cokonkel]

I love Target's fitness section and I buy my exercise clothes there. They have a great selection of fitness clothes by Champion there!

 

[TRSTACIE]

Love Target

I got to Target way more than Walmart. The super Targets (the ones with groceries) are really nice. Many people still think that Walmart is cheaper than Target but that's not necessarily the case any more.
Wal-Mart vs. Target: Whose prices are lower?- MSN Money

http://www.mommysavers.com/2011/03/target-vs-walmart/

I will say that Walmart does still beat Target on many of the fitness equipment and some office supplies but that's about it from what I have seen.

Where Target really shines is with the RedCard. There are two versions of it: one is a credit card and one is a debit card that does an EFT from your checking account. Both give you 5% off all purchases except for pharmacy items. However, the RedCard program offers pharmacy rewards which means that after you fill five prescriptions, you earn a 5% off coupon that you can stack with the 5% Redcard discount which means you can get 10% off of all your in-store purchases (except for pharmacy items again) for the entire day. Any RedCard purchases made online also qualify for free shipping regardless of the amount of the purchase or what the purchase is. The RedCard also lets you allocate a school of your choice to receive a portion of of the sales proceeds from your purchases made with the RedCard. It's a great program!