Place: Target - Winnipeg Southdale
Why: I visited to Target to conduct market research. The following are my findings.
Notes:
It's clear parents with children aged 1-5 are the target audience for Target at 10 AM. My friend has two children aged three and six. The three year old wakes up early and naps by lunch. Parents and Target have realized that 10 AM is the ideal shopping time to correspond with a young child's schedule.
The parents are impressive. It appears the children are actively attempting to disrupt any semblance of a smoothly-planned, organized shopping trip by screaming loudly and repeatedly demanding to be removed from the shopping cart's child seat. The parents's emotional state is best described as impressively unaffected and indifferent. Shopping quickly and buying household products, parents are executing a common routine with little to no emotion. These people are the true heroes.
Judging from the children's distaste with the store, I've reached the conclusion that children do not run Target.
"Hi, do you like working at Target?" I ask the pleasant young woman working the counter as I purchase toothpaste and a pair of winter boots.
"Yes, very much," she replies, as she glances as me, her dark brown eyes weep for a better future, free of a red button up vest.
Kidding. She generally seemed to enjoy her job and greeted me warmly.
What grabbed my eye most? Easy. The display of the new Fast and the Furious movie. Do I like Fast and the Furious? No. Did the display, which featured photos of Vin Diesel, Paul Walker (RIP), and The Rock, make me want to like Fast and the Furious? Absolutely not. But the display was the most prominent feature in the store, for me. That counts. I think.
If I had to describe Target in one sentence, and I will, it would be this: Target is a classier Walmart.
I mean that in the most flattering way possible. I love Walmart. It sells decent products for a cheap price (sounds like a new tagline!), has almost everything and provides for best people watching. Look at how great this site is!
Target is the classy version of Walmart. You'll find nicer, more expensive products, less interesting people (at least at 10 AM on a Monday, anyway) and just as many products that Walmart has. The displays are nicer, the store is cleaner and you just feel better about yourself when you're in Target. Again, this is not a knock on Walmart. It's just that Walmart is like the ugly duckling of the box store family and Target is the prim and proper overachieving sibling that no one at school really likes (evidenced by Target Canada's lacklustre sales).
I think Target will turn it around. It's still a relatively new alternative to Superstore and Walmart in Canada. Visiting the store on Monday was my third visit to the store since it opened in the last couple of years. I bought a pair of boots for $50 that I'm impressed with, and my friend bought a pair of boots for $12 that she was psyched about.
Next time I'm looking for decently-priced clothes I'll shop at Target.
The store will become more popular with Canadians, but it will take time for word of mouth to spread. Then again, an engaging advertising campaign could help too.
Is Target's marketing department hiring?
Target's marketing department is hiring, according to a poster I saw at RRC. Apply!
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