I go to Target frequently (once or twice a month). I also shop at Walmart, and I have Amazon Prime.

Target offers the most pleasant experience of the three. The store feels comfortable and the website is easy to navigate and find what I need.

When I go to Walmart, I often find better prices, which I appreciate. I also spend the entire time looking forward to leaving. I hate it there. It's physically unpleasant. The lighting is upsetting. It's overstuffed. It's messy. The layout is often inconvenient. I still go, I need to save money. But it sucks. The website is better though not as good as the Target website.

Amazon doesn't offer an in person buying experience, which for certain things (kid's clothes and toys especially) I really prefer. The website can offer good deals but it's unpredictable. Instead of brands or lines I'm familiar with and feel like I can rely on, most stuff on Amazon is from some unpronounceable Chinese company and you have to hunt through the reviews to find out if it's trash or not.

They all have their place but I think Target's biggest selling point over Walmart and Amazon (as well as grocery stores, Dollar Tree, TJ Maxx, Nordstrom Rack, and boutiques) is that it is generally a pleasant sensory experience to be there. It doesn't stress me out. When I go to Target, I often treat myself to a drink so I can sip it while I walk around. I don't feel hurried and when I walk out I feel normal and not like "ugh, so glad to put that chore behind me." Sometimes it's worth paying an extra 50 cents for toothpaste or an extra $4 for kids' leggings to feel that way, even as someone on a budget.

Anonymous wrote:I also agree with PP that we don’t want a treasure hunt. I hate that it’s much harder to find things now.

THIS. SO much of this. Not only do they have things scattered throughout the store, sometimes the same item is in two or three different places. And then they continually rearrange things. Drives me batty.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:No busy mom wants a treasure hunt!
Yes, I want an everything store. An everything store with a nicer curated selection. It’s supposed to be a more upscale Walmart. This is what mothers everywhere want.

+1

+2 "busy families" and "treasure hunt" are oxymoronic! Target seems to be having more and more misses lately - I largely stopped shopping there in 2024, but will still do an online pickup order now and then out of convenience for stuff like laundry detergent, toothpaste, holiday candy, etc. Their girls' clothes have been mostly atrocious style- and color-wise since before Covid, but now even their basics are Walmart quality for twice the price.

Anonymous wrote:I hate target. I got sick of shopping there with their pricing "games." The online price, the shelf price and the check out price is 3 different prices. Then on top of that the same items same packaging and everything ring up differently depending on which part of the store you picked it up in, sponges in cleaning supplies verses sponges somewhere else in the store are two different prices. Same packaging. If you're going to take advantage of me Target do a better job of hiding it. I never shop there and don't miss it at all. They're on my black list.

+1
I absolutely don't play with merchandisers who try to game us. Even for larger purchases online you need to check from VPN/incognito browsers for different prices.

So weird! I don't want it to be a TJMaxx/Marshalls/Homegoods. I want it to be a nice place to buy everything. Where I don't have to deal with the disaster that's Walmart.

I hate target. I got sick of shopping there with their pricing "games." The online price, the shelf price and the check out price is 3 different prices. Then on top of that the same items same packaging and everything ring up differently depending on which part of the store you picked it up in, sponges in cleaning supplies verses sponges somewhere else in the store are two different prices. Same packaging. If you're going to take advantage of me Target do a better job of hiding it. I never shop there and don't miss it at all. They're on my black list.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I miss the Circo (mentioned by a PP) and Merona clothing brands for nice quality, affordable basics. Nothing like that exists at Target anymore.

The brands at Target are all just Target. The brands are just a game they play with us (and we with them). It's all just Target brand.

Yes, but those brands use to be thick, 100% cotton. Now it's think poly blend or 20% cotton and recycled plastic.

+1 I want to cry! I still have one 100% cotton Merona long sleeve that I wear but can't find any replacements for it. Poly is too hot and too cheap looking! I HATE it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I miss shopping at stores where they restocked over night. Whenever I run into Target or Wegmans in the morning, either nothing has been restocked yet, or huge dollies are blocking the aisles, and I can't get to the bread, or there is no bread. This is a post-Covid problem.

Target used to have cute kids clothes that were nice quality for the price. Now its trash.

totally agree on the restocking. I want to walk into a store at 8 am and be able to grab strawberries, toilet paper and a pack of socks. Nothing is restocked!

+100,000,000
I can't anymore with shopping in person anywhere, they no longer use overnight stockers and make the customers suffer with no products or even worse stepping over pallets of packed merchandise. Business 101 you can't sell what you don't have on the shelf!

Anonymous wrote:Haven't stepped foot in Target in over a year.

Same.

Anonymous wrote:Remember when Mizzoni designed clothing for Target?

Good times.

My daughter is pretty excited about the Roller Rabbit/Target collaboration dropping this Saturday.

OMG i totally agree about the restocking overnight vs. during the day. Its terrible.

Target is just nice Walmart. It has always been this way--that's the allure. What does he think it's going to be if not an everything store?

Frankly, lately I can find the same or better stuff at Walmart for less money. But sometimes I go to Target because it's way more pleasant to shop at. They need to keep being that store, or they're going to lose business.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I miss the Circo (mentioned by a PP) and Merona clothing brands for nice quality, affordable basics. Nothing like that exists at Target anymore.

The brands at Target are all just Target. The brands are just a game they play with us (and we with them). It's all just Target brand.

I know they were in-house Target brands, but they were better quality than the in-house Target brands they sell today.

For baby clothes who cares?

I care. It was nice to be able to reuse play clothes for multiple kids, both from a budget and eco standpoint.

I don’t think enough people care to make it a business priority

Well, Target did have 70% off leftover Valentine’s candy a few days after the holiday. That was my treasure hunt.

The store is very near where I live, so I still go there regularly in hopes it can be my everything store and often I find what I need. I never bought many clothes from there, though.

Anonymous wrote:NP but I found a longer excerpt:

The company is trying to bring back what’s worked in the past: selling affordable, trendy fashion and furnishings that helped it earn its “Tarzhay” reputation.

Unlike Walmart, which is known for the best prices, or Amazon, which has stood out with convenience, Target wants to create a fun, treasure hunt atmosphere in stores where shoppers come in to find what’s new.

“Target is not an everything store,” said Fiddelke, who took over as Target’s chief executive last month. He said Target would focus on winning “busy families” as its primary customer base.

But the "everything store" is what busy families want. I want to be able to make one stop and pick up a loaf of bread, a laundry basket, toothpaste, and a birthday card.