Comments

Daniel would suggest exactly what the title declares; it's all about design...

..I have the same problem. It's even harder to spend less as I start decorating my new house. ;-)

Posted by Devin Reams at June 14, 2005 12:45 PM

Target's marketing is just downright brillant. They get those of us who love "cool" and still sell a ton of low-priced bulk items (where they actually make their profit - including baby diapers). It's fun to shop there - and I like that nobody is constantly try to "help" me. I know I can always find something that makes me smile and it won't break my wallet, or make me feel guilty because I should really be giving the money to Habitat or other worthy cause. $ 1.00 pair of neon green flip-flops and a new lamp shade makes my day!

(And, no, I never get out for less than $50 - even if I just go to buy those flip-flops...and OH BOY, they're building a SUPER Target right down the road from me...that'll be at least $200 trip.)

Posted by Mary Schmidt at June 14, 2005 12:53 PM

Well...yeah. I do like shopping at Target a lot better than WM, one of the reasons being it just seems...cleaner. Shelves are stocked, and half the stuff isn't on the floor by midday. I don't think you need service to shop either store, really, though it would be nice to find an English-speaker at WM once in a while. My only gripe is that our Targets in Northern California are getting more home-specific and dropping everyday products like toilet paper and napkins, stuff I still have to go to WM for.

Posted by Tig Wallis at June 14, 2005 2:17 PM

Target is ALL about the design. When they released their "Design for All" (http://designforall.target.com/ ) campaign, they released flash animation and television commercials all themed to match it. I've been watching other retailers "borrow" from the campaign with a lot of amusement.

Posted by Greg Burton at June 14, 2005 2:24 PM

Unfortunately Target is not consistent - some stores are great, well organized, well laid out and hard to leave without purchases.

But other stores they have (at least here in Chicago - specifically the store at the Harlem & Irving Plaza Mall) are terribly organized, poorly laid out, uninspiring, hard to shop, and frankly slightly depressing to shop at and in - I walkd out quickly with just a few dollars in snack items - having had little reason or desire to shop more seriously.

What this tells me as a consumer is that they need to spend some time making sure that their message is constant across all of their stores - currently I know that it is not. (simple example, at a mall which is all on one level, they had their food items on the upper floor, located such that you had to walk through woman's underwear to get to the food - which was not visible at nearly anypoint in the store) even the clerks there commented on how poorly laid out the store was - a sure sign of bad design when the people working there comment on the bad design unprompted.)

As an urban dweller (Chicago) - I have almost never in my life shopped at a Walmart, and only very rarely at a Sam's Club (which there are some in Chicago - but no Walmarts). Even were a store to open in Chicago, I suspect I would only very rarely shop there as shopping at that scale would require a car - and we've sold our cars a few years back. (If Walmart or other "superstores" were to design a store located near to public transportation and/or with great delivery services this would likely change)

Shannon

Posted by Shannon Clark at June 14, 2005 2:57 PM

Good point. I had thought about this many times before, but not come to your exact conclusion. I think that "design" encompasses everything though. The isles are bright and well thought out and I've never been lost in a Target. In Wal-Mart, on the other-hand, I've been so angry at not being able to find what I'm looking for that I've since vowed to never step foot in there again.

Design is crucial from the store layout down to the products on the shelf. I'll spend an extra $2.00 to buy something that looks "cool" over even the most mainstream brands.

Posted by Matt Dickman at June 14, 2005 2:59 PM

Darci, welcome!

I would rephrase one of your statements -
The service isn't irrelevant. It's just that 95% of it happens - and aparently happens very well - while you're NOT THERE.

Ideally this should always be the case. Most often, truly memorable service comes in the form of a really great response to a mistake. "I've never given it one iota of thought," is truly rare.

A truly valuable brand needn't call attention to its people in order to have excellent service. Truly excellent service should only leave you thinking how much you love Target.

Can more be done while you're there? Maybe. Do you particularly feel that it's lacking?

Posted by Jason Kerr at June 14, 2005 3:39 PM

My Eperience with Target: I shop at a new Target in Houston, which attracts a racially equal mix of white, black and brown customers. Whenever I pay by credit/debit card, I am always asked to show ID. Standard security procedures, I understand. I never gave it a second thought until my room mate noticed that only non-whites are required to show ID on credit/debit purchases. Since a large number of customers in line pay by credit card, it was very easy to test my friend's theory. When I brought the issue to the manager on duty, he summarily dismissed me, saying that everyone must produce ID on credit card purchases, which clearly wasn't the case. Please understand that I am no Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton or Louis Farrakhan reactionary, but what I smell at my Target smells like rotten eggs-its unfair and unjust. Like most of you, I have no time for crusades against corporate America. The best I can hope for is a few lines on a blog to my respected peers. Perhaps you could test my room mate's theory at your Target. It will either be proven true or false. I believe Target will be in the headlines, just as Wal-Mart, enduring its headline bashing. Then Target's marketing, design, and branding will be the subject of an entirely different post. Just remember, you read it first on TP.com.

Posted by don at June 15, 2005 12:43 AM

What about grocery stores like HEB in San Antonio, and other parts of Texas?

I visited the store's headquarters a few years back to understand their business, and the focus was completely on design of the female shopper user experience and supply chain optimisation.

Walmart seems to focus exclusively on supply chain optimisation. Perhaps they might want to reconsider their design issues?

Posted by Arun Sadhashivan at June 15, 2005 2:12 AM

hi darci.

sounds like the typical IKEA phenomenon. read once in an english paper about the "and i only wanted to buy a candle"-effect. to this journalist the whole IKEA experience was very much about "hey, become a better man. just this little thing here. your life will change. everything is so fresh here. so true. so honest. so clean."
fun thing. no sales-talk. no push, push, push.
of course it can happen that you had been so tempted that afterwards you feel a little bad about your weakness and your house slowly fills up with too many stupid little reminders of affluency.
so IKEA introduced this big box at the cashier's desk where you can drop all the stuff that you finally decide not to buy just before you would have to pay for it...
smart move.

and then:
"less is more" to pick up the "design" aspect of this discussion here.
i remember the tv campaign IKEA used when they started business in the us.
phony sales people hunting customers with their slimy talk. furniture-packers sleeping on the back of a truck or smoking cigarettes.
punch line: do you want to pay these people?
we neither.

Posted by jens at June 15, 2005 5:34 AM

Target has found a nice sweet spot of satisfying the desire to be cool at a premium without totally breaking the bank. Wal-Mart is excellent at offering a huge selection of mid-range merchandise to the masses at rock bottom costs, but it definitely lacks the emotional gratification that seems to come from Target - even without extra service. It's a great model if you can sustain it, but you've definitely taken on a new obligation to continue the investment needed to fuel the emotional connections (similar to Apple Computer, Whole Foods Market, Jet Blue, etc.)

Posted by Tom C. at June 15, 2005 8:48 AM

I agree that the Target stores are head-and-shoulders above the Wal-Mart sotres in terms of design (both visual displays and layout of aisles), but for me it is an even bigger issue. how to get viagra sydney

The customer service I get from Target is phenomenal! I have never had to wait longer than 5 minutes to check out, and there is almost always someone around to answer my questions.

At WM, I have never checked out in under 20 minutes. I almost always have trouble finding assistance when I need it (and when I do, it feels like they are doing me the biggest favor in the world by talking to me...), but worst of all, if I am with my wife (who is black - I am white) the service is even worse. And let's not even start talking about the cleanliness of the store...

I guess that's why I shop at Target. I just wish we had a Super Target so I could get my groceries there too! viagra pack best buy

Posted by Tony Brinson at June 15, 2005 9:56 AM

I was running to Target the other day for diapers and my wife asked me to pick up "that cool looking Target brand of shower cleaner". At the store I found that Target did not have a store brand of shower cleaner, but figured out my wife thought Method, the "hip" brand (check out their great online marketing if you haven't already), was Target's.

Can you imagine going to WM and seeing the coolest packing design on the shelf and assuming that it was the store brand? That is the power of design and the true power behind Target's brand, even if in this case it caused some confusion. I'm impressed.

Is this the retail equivalent of Apple?

BTW, my "diapers" cost me $103.28.

Posted by Chris Wexler at June 15, 2005 12:37 PM

Thanks for the comments. I'm sad to hear not all Target experiences are consistently extraordinary. My greatest fear is that Target blows it - screws up - compromises quality - neglects the small things that make a BIG difference.

Jason, I agree with your comments about service - I was a training consultant in the hospitality industry for over 7 years. Service was my life and I'm a stickler for it!

Chris - very excited you mentioned the Method brand http://www.methodhome.com/ I fell in love with an ad they had in Real Simple magazine and totally dig their products. My house smells of lavendar and grapefruit. Unfortunately, other well known name brands have caught on to their concept and are replicating it.

Jen- love the dumping bin concept at IKEA. I'll have to check it out when they open their first store in Atlanta later this month.

Posted by Darci at June 15, 2005 2:34 PM

Interesting. The local Wal-Mart and Target are directly across the street from each other. Wal-Mart (judging by the parking lot and store traffic) does about 50 times the business Target does. So either most people don't care as much about the "design" as you all think or the Wal-Mart design appeals to them more(and if you are in the design or marketing business--shame on you for not understanding this). Which is it?

Ikea has begun to develop the same resistance from local businesses that Wal-Mart has had to deal with. An afluent Detroit suburb (yes, there is one or two) has had Ikea tell them in plain terms that they are tired of the constant lawsuits and delay tactics from local furniture retailers so they have scrapped their plans for an outlet in that suburb. So from this we learn that if you can't compete by having a better business model--just sue the competition so much they stay out of your market.

Posted by ike at June 16, 2005 6:40 AM

I dunno. For me, design is pretty cool, but my big thing is great quality at a low price. I usually end up at Wal-Mart; its quality of merchandise is good, and the prices are great. And the type of shopper I am, the nosy, fawning salesperson trying to get me to empty my wallet turns me off FAST. Just don't bug me, let me shop! That means three things: (1) I'm a guy; (2) I must be a frustrating interview subject if marketers ask how I like the design I see and service levels I get; (3) no wonder I didn't get married until I was in my late 30s.

When it comes to Target, one thing stands out to me: I can't leave any store without picking up a chocolate bar, one of life's truly great pleasures. And the snack section of the local Target is so heavily perfumed that I gag whenever I walk by it, and I almost suffocate if I walk into that aisle.

But hey, they've got quite a bit of my money. And Chris, those were expensive diapers! viagra pharmacy price canada

Posted by Ron at June 16, 2005 9:54 AM

I too have a stronger preference for Target over WM. It's not that I've had great service from Target, although I've had some good experiences. But the displays, the aisles, the clean look and feel definitely influence how I feel about shopping there. Target is also way ahead of WM on product returns - Target keeps a record of every purchase so you don't need a receipt to return something. Wal-mart for me is too crowded, too hard to find stuff, and frankly I have not had good experiences with the quality of the products they sell. Is it the design? I would say that design accounts for a lot of it, but merchandising and service are better too.

Posted by Darin at June 16, 2005 1:00 PM cheapest canadian viagra

Discount merchandise stores are perfectly designed for the conspicuous consumer. Ever notice there is a standing display for microwave pork rinds in the garden department? While I would agree their emphasis on design sets Target apart from their great-unwashed-Arkansas-cousin Wal-Mart, in the end, Target’s merchandise has a transitory appeal. My dollars are better left in the shops of local artisans and neighborhood retailers.

However, for pure entertainment, you cannot beat the show at 10:30 p.m. at Wally-World on a Friday night after payday. Now that’s a Bargain!

Posted by Heather Fowler at June 21, 2005 2:38 PM