For better deals and better products, Walmart or Target?
( (CC BY-SA 2.0) )
When asked about the best place to shop for every day needs, most would answer Walmart or Target, but is one store actually superior to the other?
I set out to compare the prices and quality of common household items, food, clothing, and beauty products at both Target and Walmart.
Most people that I have spoken with automatically assume that Walmart always has better sales than Target, which I found to not be true.
Maybe in the past, Walmart was the best place to find great products at low prices, but Target seems to have started offering better products at even lower prices.
Target is known for its quality selection of apparel items offered at each store. The recent release of the high-end designer Missoni collection for Target sparked a nationwide phenomenon among customers.
Although Walmart does offer apparel for a low price, the clothing has never been known for its style or quality.
When I went to both stores to compare the clothing, shoes, and accessories, I found Target’s selection to be much more appealing and current. I actually got a little off track and bought a couple of shirts. I couldn’t resist the low prices.
As I walked into the beauty department of each store, I assumed that Walmart would offer better prices than Target, but I was proven wrong. I compared a couple products, but the price difference and selection at Walmart truly surprised me.
Maybelline Great Lash mascara at Target was $3.49, and a limited edition version of the product was also available for two dollars more. On the other hand, Walmart did not offer the limited edition Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, and the product was priced at $4.24.
This difference in selection continued as I compared the hair products at both stores. Walmart truly lacked in comparison to Target.
Target offers both high-end salon products and affordable ones, while Walmart only offers the lower-end products.
In terms of household items, I came to a surprising revelation. A consumer is better off shopping at a supermarket rather than either one of the juggernaut enterprises.
I compared five common household products: laundry detergent, sponges, paper towels, trash bags, and toilet paper. The supermarket’s prices beat both Target and Walmart’s prices with three out of the five products.
The difference in price is only a couple of cents, but it still does not hide the fact that a supermarket is the better choice when it comes to common household items. Along with generally lower prices, supermarkets have a greater variety in sales that are only concerned with food and household products.
Walmart and Target both offer a store-wide variety of products and sales on electronics, apparel, automotive care, and much more.
It is not likely that Target or Walmart will ever offer more bargains than a supermarket when it comes to food or household items.
If I removed the supermarket out of the equation, Walmart did beat Target when I compared the five common household items.
So, which really is the better store, Walmart or Target?
The truth is that it all depends on the customer. Target’s environment and products of higher quality may draw a certain crowd of people, while Walmart’s reputation for great prices will draw a different crowd of customers.
I tend to prefer the array of higher quality products at great prices offered by Target, but I would much rather go to a supermarket for my every day necessities.
( (CC BY 2.0) Walmart Stores)