Hi!! hope y'all enjoy this little dive into the cultural obsession with Target in the US! 1) captions coming asap, sorry for the wait! and 2) I filmed this over a month ago; we had just moved and all I had in this room was this mini coffee table and this plant that was gifted to us. apologies if the sound isn't ideal -- this room was literally empty lmao
Love the video! And as for Walmart, I have had some, um.. experiences there that I have never even come close to have at target. Like needles in bathrooms and pee cups in the isles. Can I even say that in a comment?
In case you didn’t know, your video has a transcript feature (at the bottom of the description). I found it was pretty accurate and a good substitute for captions!
Hi Tiffany! I loved this video! Something else I'd love to see from you is an analysis of attitudes toward the division of money between men and women who date. I've seen an increase of people on tiktok vouching for this idea that men should always be paying in dating contexts + relationship contexts & tying that into another idea of "divine feminine energy". I find it to be a super interesting attitude held by the hetero woman dating community. I also find it super interesting that when we apply this conversation to lgbt couples it suddenly makes absolutely no sense + becomes impossible! I want to know what you think about it!
The stereotype of “women love shopping” really annoys me, considering that historically it was women who needed to buy EVERYTHING for the household. All the food, clothes, cleaning supplies, home decor, toiletries… all the household necessity shopping fell to them. God forbid that women get side tracked and enjoy the shopping experience in the meantime. When you give men a list to go shopping, they fall into the same damn trap. Moreover, if husbands don’t want their wives to “spend all the money” then the men can haul their ass to the store on sale day.
@@benjamindover4337 I have no particular interest in preserving the institution of marriage (I tried it and didn’t like it). I’m not here to pair anyone up or get involved in someone’s pursuit of a spouse. If you don’t want a wife, that is neither my business nor my problem.
@@benjamindover4337 Maybe men should start doing the shopping, then :) And actually become worth marrying for the women who might be interested in finding a suitable husband :)
@@lisechristensen4714 I think you are misunderstanding. Men are not having trouble finding wives. They're just not interested in what American women are offering. So, your demands are not really relevant.
as a non-american this is absolutely the kind of cultural phenomenon i’m interested in learning more about (especially after target’s catastrophic failure at expanding into canada). thank you for yet another fascinating deep dive that i didn’t know i needed
@@kyra6744 they didn't really carry much stock! of anything haha. we were excited but it was a bust 😫 also - i think i remember prices being somewhat higher than expected.
They opened target for a few years and since the prices were too high (i think it was US prices converted to CAD), then ended up closing after a couple of years.
They opened too many stores at once and couldn’t keep up with inventory. I remember the first time going into target in Canada and there was hardly anything on the shelves! So disappointing! Also the prices weren’t that great either.
Target and Ikea to me are associated with new beginnings like any huge life changing event such as moving to college or decorating your first apartment, so whenever I feel like I need to get my life together, a trip to one of the two makes me feel accomplished in a way.
I literally got lost in Target my first 2 times being there - we just don't get stores that big here in Scotland and i needed to ask for directions to find my way out.
@@Hiforest don’t feel bad, I’ve had to do that at a big box store in South Korea. While can be frustrating at the moment, makes for a good laugh in the future.
I worked at Target for 5+ years and the amount of women who would come in and split their total with cash and card was depressing. they did it just to hide the totals from their husbands and it happened constantly. Half of the time they were buying essentials for their kids but still felt the need to hide it all
@@pissip i know you did not just say that it’s due to terrible spending habits……. you really have zero idea what the economy looks like for the working class right now
NO WAY..... have you looked at the price of essentials for living (not even a good life) it’s not cuz of bad spending habits it’s cuz the rich make everything so expensive that the poor can’t even afford to live anymore
@@goopbunieven with the economy, people can still have terrible shopping habits. Both can be true. And most people spend way more than they need to create a certain lifestyle or illusion of it. Happens all the time, whether rich or poor or in between.
I use target to curb my hyper-consumerist impulses. I get a cart and a coffee. I wander the store and pick up anything and everything that attracts me. While I’m adding things to my cart I ponder each item; what is the utility, what is the quality, is the aesthetic really the best for me, is this the best price or value, where would I put it, if I brought it home what 2 things would I get rid of, etc? At this point I’m roaming the store in random patterns as I put things back. I’m getting exhausted physically and mentally. I usually leave w just the thing I came in for or nothing at all but I’m sated. I’ve “owned” the item for as long as it is useful to me and I’m no longer yearning for the new or novelty.
I have moderate - severe major depressive disorder and anxiety and borderline personality disorder due to genetics and trauma. I suffer from periodic, excess shopping which can be a symptom of each of these. This method has helped me reduce damage from the symptom.
no but i love just walking around and holding an item before putting it away. i subconsciously go thru a lot of these questions, and i do usually feel tired after going shopping even if it's just to one store. for me, i think it's a combo of my anxiety disorder and that my parents grew up poor and instilled strong financial mentality into me
no for real there's so many things I've avoided spending money on because it turned out that i didn't actually want to OWN the item, I just wanted to have it around me for a while!
The Target vs. Walmart dynamic is so real - I live in a mid-sized city with both stores and I have been really fighting through my own internalized classism and realize that I can meet my family’s budget needs better by shopping at Walmart, even though we can “afford” to shop at Target. And when I go to Target I do fall into the “came in for 1 thing and spent $137” trap which even further hurts our budget. I’m a stay at home mom and the “mama needs Target!” memes are very prevalent so this video was quite fascinating!
Same in all ways. I’ve found myself at Walmart lately to save some coin. Target gets you literally as you walk in with that dang dollar section. Plus the service is better by far but in the end I prefer to pay less for the same items.
@@Vikrum_ mid-sized in the US would be a couple lakh in population. That’s majority of American cities with national recognition, not counting the exceptional big cities
I usually just go to target for clothes. Walmart is really hit or miss in that department. Usually miss. Something is always off lol. Good for basics though. Tank tops, t-shirts, probably underwear and socks. Most of my necessesties i get from Walmart. Cleaning supplies, toiletries, shower supplies, makeup etc. A lot of that is usually cheaper. If I can't find what I'm looking for style wise if it's like an appliance or decoration, I try target
I’ve caught smack from friends about preferring Walmart to Target throughout my 20s , which is insane to me because we worked at the same place and were all being paid poverty wages. Anyways in recent years (around 2018) I have noticed a significant change in Walmart clothing, home decor, even kitchen and beauty sections. They have some of the same products and even dupes as Target usually cheaper. Kudos to the buyers they hired because I honestly think Walmart’s trendy new offerings are on par with a TJ Maxx or Home Goods where many of these same loyal Target Shoppers go “bargain hunting”. Idk
i can't help but feel like the massive success of target here and the isolating layout of american suburbia *have* to share a common thread here. like would we cherish a one-stop shop as much as we do if we had more small town spaces where every store is right next door to one another? incidentally that's also a part of ikea's design - they don't just buy out the warehouse space, they buy out acres of land around it so it's the only thing you will probably drive out to that day. reject society embrace djungelskog, if you will (edit: turns out the ikea anecdote is also a us-exclusive thing! makes sense given it's not uncommon for essentials to be in the middle of nowhere here in general, but just wanted to acknowledge it
Yess!! I filmed this a few weeks before the suburbs vid but there’s 1000% a connection. I think after people drive 5-10 miles to a big shopping center like a Target they do crave that convenience, but obviously superstore corporations (and Amazon) are killing small businesses. Note to self to try to go out of my way to find some more local spots instead of automatically heading to a superstore!
That's interesting. I'm German and the IKEAs that I have been to always have at least one other store basically right next to it. Maybe the phenomenon you're seeing happens more in the US? Or maybe in Germany it doesn't work with Germany laws, after all our government should be interested in trying to minimize how much people drive around.
@@tiffanyferg 100%, and yet even supporting local is increasingly becoming a privilege in and of itself, as massive corporations are always going to be able to undercut small business prices by a wide margin…anyway, the world is burning, God bless your channel and the well-researched, clearly presented attention you’re bringing to these issues 👏🏼
I actually work at Target, and I'm fascinated by this. I hear "I just came in for one thing" or "I found way more than I came in for" from people (predominantly women) with full carts dozens of times each day. I worked at Target first in San Diego, and now here in Utah, and shopping habits are wildly different, which I've come to think is because of the massive population of stay-at-home moms in this area. To some extent, a Target trip seems like the only entertainment some of these women have on the days they come in (at least based on what they say) and they 100% are the Target moms and wives in their own eyes. It happens frequently where I'm having a difficult time scanning something because of a barcode/system issue, etc., and the women will say, sometimes regarding an item that's $50+, "Oh hey, come to think of it, I actually shouldn't buy that." A twenty second delay is all it takes sometimes to realize they're buying something just to buy it and reconsider. Editing to say: I don't take issue with the trips to target for entertainment for stay-at-home-moms, I take issue with the overconsumption this results in, and also the weird mix of pride/shame that results from the heteronormative roles in this culture like mentioned in the video ("Don't tell dad about this one!" "My husband doesn't need to know about this trip.") I hear this stuff daily and it makes me sad.
from what I have seen of the the 'mommy' bloggers or yotuber vloggers I think you're right. it seems like they use it as a way to get out the house...which is pretty depressing to me. they don't take a nice walk or visit a park, they just go buy fast fashion or crap at target. it seems sad. *edit I meant this more as a social commentary that American work culture has made people so bored or tired or overworked that shopping is an escape and an activity. Not the individual person.
@@noahatlas5240 crazy lead-up, with a ton of calls, but not too bad on launch day. a small line outside the door--all of the bags are gone at this point, but there's a few accessories and quite a few bikinis (lol) left
I work at one in the Mojave desert of California and I 100% agree that they shop as entertainment here. There's like 10 things you can do here and 3 that you can bring your kids to so they don't have many options sadly.
We are immigrants to the US and my mum has always been super confused about the way ppl joke about “accidentally” spending $150 at target when they only meant to go in for a couple things. She’s like “how can ppl just afford that and it’s a joke to them?”
It's funny cause those people think they're being relatable when they brag and joke about impulse buying, when all that shows is that they have no self control and are financially irresponsible.
I’ve been on both sides of it. My parents weekly grocery budget when I was a kid was less than my weekly pet care budget. There have been times in my life where I’m waiting for my next paycheck to clear so I can buy dish soap or that I’ve had to ration insulin because of a speeding ticket (I’m still mad about that one because another car was passing me at the time I was pulled over). I can totally see how laughing off a $150 dollar mistake would be unthinkable (how a $150 mismanagement of money could literally be life threatening). For some of these videos I think they are purchases planned for the future that were just moved up because of a good deal on a desired item. I could have made one of those videos when I purchased my kitchen aid mixer. That was a time in my life where I had the least money to throw around. I saw it on sale and I had just been paid so I went for it. In the long run the durability and quality saved me money and I’m still using that mixer 10 years later. I don’t know that it’s fair to label all impulse purchases (even expensive ones) as out of touch and irresponsible
Also, can we talk about how Targets have PREDOMINANTLY female customers?? I went to Target the other day and counted maybe 5 men. Total. In the whole store. That might be a subconscious reason women prefer shopping there too--less men equals a safer, more comfortable space. I certainly feel way more at ease shopping alone at target than I ever do at literally any other store.
Now that you mention it I do feel safer at Target! I like that the aisles of Target are smaller because it makes me feel like I'm not "on display" as much.
As a man, I never noticed. My go to market is usually Target and I also appreciate how mines have their own department of men’s grooming products. Makes things easier for me.
as a european, i was growing up as a young girl watching all the american „high saturation” youtubers (mylifeaseva, alisha etc.). They were always recording Target hauls (for example school supply) or even just their trips to the store and for me and my friends at the time Target always seemed enormous, amazing and SO american. We honestly were dreamjng about coming to the USA just to visit Target, as if it was a literal attraction.
omg, i come from an Asian country (Singapore to be exact) and me and our friends (even at our current adult age haha!) would jokingly say lets go to America for Target. we loved watching Target haul videos on tiktok/youtube. it was so mindblowing to see how America arranges their commercial spaces bc in my country, we don't ever have a place where it's only ONE store in one place so that's why we were so bizarrely attracted to it.
It's so interesting to see the dialogue about Target because growing up in ultra christian conservative circles, we boycotted target because of their open Pride LGBTQ+ support in the mid-2000s. Heck, my parents still boycott target cause of it's advertising using Gay couples. when I came out and moved out, going to target was a symbol of freedom and acceptance.
I haven't seen anyone mention a difference I notice at my local Walmart vs. Target, so I'm going to put it here. When I go to Walmart, way more items are locked up/have anti-theft tags (e.g. $5 charging cables, some shampoos, etc), and some areas of the store (e.g. beauty) have their own separate checkouts that you have to use to buy items in that section. Not only does this make shopping in the store less convenient, it also makes me feel like the company/store assumes I'm a thief just for shopping there. It makes the shopping experience feel generally more hostile compared to Target where less things are locked/tagged. I think a lot of this is probably wrapped up in class prejudice and assumptions about the kinds of people who shop at each store, and it really bothers me. I do still shop at both stores regardless.
I remember going through the toy section and I've seen some boxes or sets either torn open or clearly tampered with and having parts or pieces of a set missing with clear signs of theft. I remember seeing like action figure playsets with one or more of the figures missing, torn/opened packets of trading cards with the pack missing, etc. (My speculation is probably some kid wanted a toy, their parent said no, and so the kid shoplifted.)
It’s quite the opposite in my experience. I feel like Target stores are way more intense on their security measures, just in a way that isn’t so physical. The employees eye you like a hawk and it’s such an uncomfortable experience. Walmart is, to me, less focused on image or experience based consumerism strategies so they just are doing what makes things easier for their own profit. I’m not a corporate whore but I’d much rather have to have something unlocked for me because Walmart wants to be a bit lazier on preventing pilferage than Target that makes me feel like CONSTANTLY being watched. It’s so stressful and I don’t even steal.
This depends in which part of town said Walmart is located. In Austin, this only happens at the Walmart's that are in the east part of Austin. The west side Walmart's don't do this.
It’s not based on assumptions. It’s based on each store’s theft analytics. Walmarts vary from one part of town to another with this type of thing, as do Targets.
really it just depends on the store. i work at target and the one i work at has little to no items spider wrapped because we dont have enough people to focus on multiple things at once in any section. employees in toys and electronics often have lots of tasks to deal with in one day and ultimately security tags end up being an afterthought. we recently implemented tags on clothing too. those are pretty haphazardly thrown on. stores in a more high theft area may care more about security but knowing target its mostly just understaffing when theres nothing wrapped.
I think Target has become the societal replacement for Department Stores. It's more comfortable and better organized than a Pennies or a Kohl's, it's more affordable than a Macy's, it's more limited selection makes it a lot more accessible for neurodivergent people who tend to get sensory overload in "traditional" department stores, and it covers a lot of the same categories (clothing, makeup, accessories, shoes, decor, toys, books, electronics, even some appliances) and even expands into everyday essentials (groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet food)
Yeah, the layout of target is more like a museum, where you walk around and everything is accessible to the eye, and unlike a warehouse, you don't have to physically move things around to see something.
Oh man... I miss Department Stores. Purely for the childhood nostalgia. I miss playing the demos at the PlayStation display while my parents looked for important items they need.
I’d love to hear you cover the cult of Costco. My family rarely shops at Target or Walmart but we swear by Costco. I’ve noticed that many of our family friends also prioritize Costco (because we pay membership fees) over other grocery / superstores.
Costco is my nightmares come to life. So bright and loud 😔 with rushing annoyed people zooming past and their kids screaming and crying... I've had 3 full on anxiety attacks at Costco and had to hide out in the bathroom until they passed. Not hating on anyone's love for Costco. Its just not it for me. They do have good churros though (lol).
@@briberrymuffin same. I have so many friends and family who LOVE Costco, but every time I go I get serious anxiety and am exhausted by the time I leave. It's not worth it to me.
Costco is great for bulk buying. I have had negative experiences because my room-mates always pressured me to pool in with them and buy stuff together, and it ended up getting wasted. Also, another negative is that once you get a membership, you feel "locked in" - like now, you will only start buying a limited set of brands and products from costco and feel guilty about shopping elsewhere.
I’m a former Target employee, and classism aside (😅) I can tell you why Target feels “classier” compared to Walmart solely due to our training and how we treat our customers (Target says “guests”). For some reason no matter which Walmart you’re at, it always feels like there’s no employees; making the place feel “lawless” in a sense. There’s never anyone to help you, never any lanes open, etc. However at Target, we were trained to engage with guests if they look lost or see if they’ve been helped yet and we even have thing called “make it right for the guest”. That alone elevates the experience because the employees are always on top of EVERYTHING. By no means is this a Target d*ck riding comment lol. I left for a reason and Target is not perfect
It always strikes me as fake though. You invite guests over, you share with and provide for your guests. Target and other stores only welcome people as long as they're there to buy something. That's not a guest, that's a customer and the relationship is not friendly, it's transactional. I'm not saying that wherever we work, we shouldn't be polite and helpful to the people coming in to do business- I think we should strive to be polite and helpful anywhere! But the charade of a corporation putting on the pretense of being anything but a business that cares only about its bottom line is deceitful.
@@thinkfirst1989 I mean if you took yourself to a place that sells things obviously you’re there with the intent to buy something that’s how capitalism works and employees are just doing their job but at Target the employees are just as helpful when someone is returning something or price matching or making a price change if a customer saw a different label (even if they’re wrong) and at least I know I did everything to make sure people got their money back or got the correct price. But I’m from the south so I have hospitality naturally without a corporation telling me to do so. If you feel it’s fake that’s your perspective, like I said it is capitalism after all
I agree! Ex team member here too! Remember the old "can I help you find something" phrase? Honestly the amount of elderly people I helped was amazing. Totally agree, not perfect and I definitely had to quit... But they definitely make shopping there easier compared to other stores
@@thinkfirst1989 The abuse of corporate power happens when bad cultural work practices influence the decisions made in the home. To call it fake when in actuality it is what influences healthy models of communication in a community, is bringing shame to something that should be celebrated and encouraged But this influence also starts with the community coming in to set a higher expectation for how employees engage with guests and vice versa for employees to set a higher expectation for how customers/guests engage with employees as they are often apart of one whole community together : ) Hopefully I worded that okay, this comes from the critical theory of communication in organizations where specialized researchers with a lot of courage call out issues that occur in corporations that impact the community.
The “target wives” section where you mention that men spend on things they like too, but it’s rarely the butt of a joke… this is so true. Men’s spending decisions are rarely scrutinized, but women’s always are. “Oh me gosh, these women and their expensive purses?! It’s just a bag that holds your stuff. You could just buy a purse at Walmart!” - and the man saying this doesn’t see the irony that he’s wearing a Rolex and driving a corvette. Sexism in online finance content… there’s a video topic right there.
I grew up in a small, rural town in Minnesota where there was both a Walmart (where I worked at as a teen) AND a Target (where my friend worked but closed a couple of years ago) in addition to me growing up extremely Christian and the town being quite religious. There almost seemed to be this Noble Utility in going to Walmart to get the items you needed for your family and saving money on more expensive goods, whereas Target seemed kind of indulgent. I also notice that with the whole “Women be buying all sorts of stuff” includes them buying a bunch of stuff for the house and/or groceries that both husbands/partners/ADHD women like myself don’t notice something’s gone or running low until the *very last* moment. I’d really like to see them go through the $200 shopping trips and break down what was being spent on and see how often the (usually) woman or mom bought something (or somethings) that were worth $50…
I think women's hobbies and consumption habits come under far more scrutiny than men's for two reasons: 1) because feminine habits and products are not taken seriously by society and 2) because there's an outdated assumption that women are spending *men's* money to fund their shopping habit. In the era of stay-at-home moms who never worked, many women didn't have their own money: so if a woman went on a shopping spree, people assumed she was 'wasting' her husband's money (or her father's, if she was unmarried). And even though most women work now, I feel like that stereotype still lives in the back of some people's heads.
I agree that womens habits are seeing differently to men's.. but I did find a bit of a woke jump to label certain pattern behaviour heteronormative.. ok it might be a thing in the trad wife community (their choice anyway) but I witnessed it way too much with my older sister, her friends and parents i worked for ( working or not working mothers) having the WEEKLY habit of overspending every time at target and passing the bills as needs and not wants to their husbands. We dont have to say its ok just because it comes from women. And yes man have their bad habits too but it was not included on the video and maybe it doesnt involve target? Due to health issues im currently home and im grateful my partner financially cares for while i care for the house and us... I always tell him how much im about to spend on what out of respect, the same way he respects my work around the house.
@@crystallewis5902 I agree that womens habits are seeing differently to men's.. but I did find a bit of a woke jump to label certain pattern behaviour heteronormative.. ok it might be a thing in the trad wife community (their choice anyway) but I witnessed it way too much with my older sister, her friends and parents i worked for ( working or not working mothers) having the WEEKLY habit of overspending every time at target and passing the bills as needs and not wants to their husbands. We dont have to say its ok just because it comes from women. And yes man have their bad habits too but it was not included on the video and maybe it doesnt involve target? Due to health issues im currently home and im grateful my partner financially cares for while i care for the house and us... I always tell him how much im about to spend on what out of respect, the same way he respects my work around the house.
I highly doubt a man wearing a Rolex and driving a corvette is going to suggest his woman buy a purse at Walmart. That kind of guy is trying to portray that he is high class and knows brands matter when trying to appear high class.
I think 20:55 is something I would tattoo on my forehead if I could. I will never shut up about the fact that if women become interested in something it loses social value, but once men become interested, suddenly it's cool and valuable. Gaming is cool but only games men play. Beatles weren't cool when women loved them, now that 36 year old men are into them suddenly they are. It really extends to all areas not just leisure and entertainment. Growing up I was really encouraged to go into STEM and that's obviously great but when I went to college and was feeling like I wanted to go into graphic design (I was living in the honors dorm) I feel really insecure about transfering into an "art" major because I thought it made me less valuable as a person. All my peers were in engineering or biology and I did lose some respect from some of them. Especially after joining a sorority (I hated it but that's beside the point). I literally had a guy tell me he didn't think I was vapid enough to be interested in that. Like??? And looking back while teachers meant well, they praised me when I used my intellegence to act more like a man. And if I acted like a girl that wasn't priased. Why can't I be a woman, like feminine things, and still be a smart valuable person worthy of praise? I'm really thankful I had people in my life who reminded me that other people's opinions don't matter and I should do what I love because I think I would have stuck with STEM and been MISERABLE.
Oh my gosh, this. I had the very challenging experience of entering college thinking I had to do STEM or else I'd end up like Fantine in Les Miserables. So I was scared into attending university (even though my parents weren't paying for it) and also into STEM. There was a definite fear of winding up homeless and unable to secure my own safety. It's so irrational now looking back. What was worse, was I did okay in AP math and science classes in high school, so I entered college thinking I'd be fine. But then I'd apparently reached my threshold and failed my way through three different STEM majors for three years, and was at a serious risk of not graduating until I switched to humanities. I finished my degree in a year because I for once wasn't stressed, I enjoyed my classes and actually had fun doing the work. And of course I then had to work food service jobs even with a degree. It's all about whether you have support. It wasn't until I got married that I was finally able to breathe and know that having two people as an economic unit instead of one meant that I'd somehow always be okay.
I definitely relate. I went to a high school that valued STEM above all else, at least in the classes I was in (AP science, calculus, etc.). So when I decided in my junior year of high school that I wanted to major in graphic design, I felt sort of insecure because everyone else around me was going into science and math majors. I’m glad I stuck with graphic design because it’s much more aligned with my passions and interests. But it’s true that STEM careers are valued much higher in our culture.
When I was in middle school my mom's prescription was switched over to the local Target's pharmacy. First time me and my brother were ever in a Target we were absolutely blown away by how nice it was compared to Walmart. We actually said, out loud btw "Wow Dad! This is where the rich people shop-!" And dad QUICKLY hushed us because we were telling all the fellow shoppers how poor we were 😂
Even as an adult I have thought that you have to be richer to go to target, I still go to Walmart mostly when I probably could go to target, will be switching tho lol.
The "women shopping, lol" trope is pretty telling about how we historically views women/femme relationship to money. We/they are seen as the consummate consumer and not the earner. It perpetuates a narrative that we aren't capable of understanding the responsibilities of finance since we're still not understood or taken seriously as automous money makers.
Well, most of the women I have known have enjoyed shopping, while all of the men I have known have not, so it may be one of those stereotypes rooted in a general truth.
@@AleTitan I understand the OP.. I just was noting the strange reality i have observed, that many women I have known have enjoyed shopping, while no man I have known has. Thus the "women shopping trope" may not be simply an imposition of a sexist stereotype. There may be more to it than that. I don't think the stereotype of the female homemaker who only spends and does not earn the money is at play in the current generations' worldview. It has been several decades since women were typically homemakers.
@@heidih3048it is a stereotype. men are simply just too lazy and think it’s other people’s job to shop for them since they were young. people who are smarter and understand what they are doing like shopping more especially if it’s for themselves. besides most companies try to gear towards women anyways
@moyinoluwaseriki7324my husband is always working so idk if your husband sits around and does nothing is all other wives experiences. I’m sorry if that’s your life…
Simple reason I don't go into Walmart: I always get catcalled no matter which one I go to or what I'm wearing. One time it was 7 times in a 55 min span and I was in a sweatshirt. That has NEVER happened to me in a Target. And I truly mean never thus far.
@@bowenarrows7819 everyone can say everything about it being classist elitist but I have the right to shop in peace and not constantly have my skin crawl.
I had a man pull me aside in Walmart and tell me I “looked too good to be shopping at Walmart” 🥴 and trust me - I was wearing leggings and a t shirt, nothing fancy, no makeup and hair back. Made my skin crawl!
Working at the Target HQ in the mid 2000's cured me of any rose-colored glasses view of it. For the first few months, my "office" was a cubicle in the attic of a downtown building (back when Marshall Fields was the same company) that I shared with another person. Neither could get up and leave the cubicle without the other person standing up as well. A few months later, they moved us to a better building, but added a jacket/tie dress code. Even for we software people who never met with anyone outside the company. Add in the fact that the application I worked on measured "productivity" in the warehouses and I now look back on that time as having contributed to the rise of the kind of warehouse worker abuses Amazon is in the news constantly for now. All-in-all, not a great part of my career and an era I regret now.
I'll say this: when I used to do more crafting projects, I would *never* go to Target, at least the one near me. Target often has crafting kits, but rarely the individual components of those kits. It's a very curated experience. Walmart, while more chaotic, actually had the crafting supplies I was looking for (individually!) and for a decent price.
"This speaks to the desperation of women in domestic role." YES, oh this is so true. Speaking from a nearly 60-year old woman who had special needs children and no help, was forced to stay at home because I had no childcare, and husband was burnt out working and supporting a family on his income. Target was my escape and gave me the momentary illusion that a better life was around the corner. In the end, it was an opiate that just numbed the pain. I feel scared for the young tradwives of today who aren't building their own credit and thinking a man will always be there to support them. Burnt out husbands drink too much, die, or as in my case run off to be a ski bum. My kids are grown and luckily living independently and happily (partly due to massive sacrifice) but I still get that little hit of excitement when I enter Target and just smell the Target.
Everyone should take your advice. Women NEED to have their own money. A fantasy of the perfect male provider who will never leave is often a bitter disappointment. Do not gamble with your life. Get money.
@@MaialeenThe problem here is that every dude I know will find a good job, not even in their field if they are a family guy. Women, in contrast, aren’t given good career jobs because moms will get help from their husbands and should only have a part time job because they should take care of kids. Or the women are just not paid as much as men for the same work or are regulated to “women’s fields”. It’s far from equal out there, even now.
I work at Target and the hours are still being cut like crazy. I’m expected to not only work in my area, but also help others in their areas, All in a 4 hour shift. “Guests” complain about how messy and under stocked the store is, always bringing up saying “isn’t this your job?” Some people are being scheduled 8 hours a week, we are drowning in the workload we are expected to complete. I love working at Target, but the blatant disregard of the average team member is disgusting.
exactly! i wish this stuff was talked about more when discussing the grip target has on america. metrics are forced down our throats, we’re expected to do the work of 4 people in only 5-6 hours, and upper management refuses to step in and help. coupled with the blatant anti-union training team leads have been receiving, its become a storm of abuse from leadership. meanwhile we have to sit here feeling degraded as “guests” say “the walmart people are coming to target” because of how messy and unkempt our store is. its humiliating and dehumanizing to work for this company
"If YouRe PoOr DoNt ShOp" It's odd that we still villanize people with low incomes for wanting normal things, like clothing you like, beyond bare necessity clothing, etc. Poor people should not do without because that's what we deem the 'poor experience' @_@
They expect the poor to continue to ive like feudal serfs when they are being advertsized and marketed to as if they were wealthy and could/should have it all.
Especially because, when low-income individuals don´t shop and wear trendy clothes, people somehow think they can exploit them for trashfire content like "People of Wallmart," so they're damned if they do and damned if they don't! The worst picture I've seen was gentleman on a scooter that tipped as he tried to reach a shelf... like someone took a picture instead of helping the poor man O_o
@@TheNickleChick ive heard it a lot. The whole "if they're so poor why do they have an iPhone" as if you shouldn't be allowed to have a phone? as if having one doesn't it make it even more difficult to live??
Anybody remember when Target had popcorn and pretzels at the entrance instead of Starbucks? This was a very thorough and interesting breakdown, I really enjoyed it!
So actually I’m living in South Korea this year and I noticed the same phenomenon with a shop named Daiso. I got trapped in their tactics as well as my friends. It’s cheap, convenient and very practical for students. A great part of the shop is only 1-2$.
There was a Daiso in Dallas, Texas, while I was visiting, and not only was the stuff so aesthetically pleasing to look at, there was also just a generally nice, gentle vibe in the store that made me want to take a nap in the ceramic mug section
I heard daiso (or stores similar to daiso) is also pretty popular on most east/southeast Asian countries, or at least it's pretty well known here in my country
muji is another japanese retailer that's genuinely pleasant to shop in. ive only been to the one in boston, but it's fairly quiet and the lighting is warm-toned and it always smells like essential oil. not the cheapest, but sometimes i'd go in for stationary that i didn't really need. i guess to experience the ambiance?
Someone in my city posted a video of some girls fighting in a Walmart on a Facebook group for the city and someone commented “this wouldn’t happen at Target” and I think that’s a really good example of the perceived difference between Walmart and target
I have a Walmart and Target right next to each other in my neighborhood. A while back, my boyfriend and I wanted to see if there really was a difference in the environment and honestly there really is. Even when they're right next to each other. At Target everyone seemed more relaxed and happy (laughter, people talking quietly among each other, clean shelves and a lot of workers helping out) while at Walmart it was like "go, go, go". No one wants to be in there longer than they have to be (people walking fast, a lot of background noise, music from the speakers or someone's phone, we saw fake Elvis, messy aisles, and not that many workers). This was a great video! Thank you for posting!
There's a similar setup in a nearby city for me. The Walmarts during the peak of the pre-vaccine times of the pandemic felt particularly "go, go, go" as the local anti-maskers figured that Walmart didn't have adequate staffing for mask mandate enforcement.
It feels incredibly stressful inside a walmart, I was even physically assaulted once by a strange man who physically grabbed my arm and yelled at me, unprovoked. Scared me shitless. Have been pushed, shoved and knocked over. Even if it is cheaper, there is a vibe from walmart that I just do not feel comfortable shopping in because I have only ever had negative interactions with customers shopping there and there is ZERO employees to help you when something does go down!
Re: Starbucks inside Target - it’s been proven that the smell of coffee makes us want to spend more time in the store. Even if you don’t get a coffee it’s very effective!
I’m my town the Kroger has a Starbucks but our Target doesn’t. frankly wish it did but I’m good without it, I don’t need another reason to linger in Target. In fact my closest Target doesn’t even have a functioning food court anymore, just a wall of grab and go drinks, lunches and snacks where the food court used to be.
"No corporation deserves uncritical, unconditional love" - yes! I really hope we can bring this energy out more in 2022, along with straight up writing letters to management to get transparency reports and more sustainability and equity for workers, both in stores and in their supply chains. I get that not everyone can afford to boycott an unsustainable brand, there might not be cheaper options even available, but we definitely need to start getting these brands to act and treat their staff with far, far more dignity.
The idea that target is "classy" or "expensive" is so weird to me. I grew up on the east coast always thinking that, but now I live in the twin cities where target is king and it is by far the cheapest option for groceries (aside from Aldi). The regular grocery store is so much more expensive but initially I never price compared and just assumed the ugly old grocery store was the cheapest option. Once I did eventually price compare I realized target was so much cheaper, plus it's easier to use coupons since you just scan your circle bar code.
how weird target is so much more expensive for groceries in my area! aldi, grocery outlet, vons, ralph’s are all way cheaper. the grocery section is also really small. i just go there for snacks for food, not real groceries lol.
I’m from Europe, and from what I had seen in videos and pictures, I always thought that Target was a cheaper, more affordable store that people from all walks of life go to. I didn’t think such a super store would be considered classy.
Twin city resident as well! The target near me was nowhere near classy as a child - it’s surprising how many here aren’t lol. But way out in the suburbs - those super targets were magic lmao
Target has done a revamp in the past few years and many of it's sections are not at all reasonably priced. The lighting and the layout is also different now. I definitely think some of the things people like about target have declined but it built up enough good will between 2005-2015 that it can afford to raise prices and change the experience without losing fans.
Shopping at my local Walmart is always a stressful experience that can sometimes ruin my day. Shopping at my local Target is something I would do for fun, like I’ve actually gone on Target dates before.
Same. When I shop at Target, I'm calm and relaxed for reasons Tiffany discussed in the video, but when I go to Walmart, I'm quite stressed out, though I'm not quite sure why; it just stresses me out when I shop at Walmart.
I respect Walmart for being accessible to literally everyone but it results in stores being messy, items being opened/shoplifted, people yelling and being disruptive. As someone with social anxiety, Walmart is a big no go. I do love doing the curbside pickup to avoid entering the store but the service is hit or miss with that.
@@mizzbelle97 Walmart pick-up always leaves things out of my order, switches out items for things that are not a good substitute, and “upgrades” items to something of objectively worse value :(( and now it's even more awful to shop inside because of the employees running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to fulfill pick-up orders and being very rude to in-store shoppers.
@@johnwalker1058 Without fail every time I go to Walmart at least one of these things are happening: A fight outside, screaming for whatever reason, security dragging someone out, child abuse, a literal armed robbery, or someone being loudly racist.
@@sophieoril I saw a woman screaming at an employee that she couldn’t open the locked jewelry section on her own for like 20 minutes last time I was there.
I worked at Target for just over a year. Worst job I've ever had, the workplace culture and management was HORRIFIC at both of my locations. And because the customers were often "treating themselves", we (the staff) were often treated poorly. It was the customer's nice trip out, who cares about the people making minimum wage keeping those shelves stocked? (No one, but especially not our higher-ups.)
That's so interesting to hear, because my friends have told me the SAME THING! But, Target does a great job with SEO/scrubbing bad experiences from the internet, because when you look it up they are very "Sunshine and RAINBOWS! Working at Target is THE BEST!"
i worked there for two weeks a couple years ago and i was making double the min wage (they were hiring at $15) and it still wasn’t worth it (hence the two weeks lmao)
I had an interview there and I was maybe 7-10 minutes late because there was traffic. I live 10 minutes away, I left 20 minutes early. The first thing he asked was "why are you late" and I knew they wouldn't treat me like a human so I just 🤷🏾♂️ thru the rest of the interview. Dated a dude who absolutely hated working there but the money was good enough to compensate. I pray for those who have no choice but to work there, I send out my extra patience, I hope they can move on or continue to tolerate or accept their circumstances.
same! my fiancé got hit by a car and the first question they asked was “well you’re still coming in. right? unless you already got coverage.” it was more of a veiled threat, really.
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Damn!!! All my mom friends truly think y’all are getting paid well and treated well. I feel like it’s just a nice looking Walmart
Amazing topic! As a sociology major I’m fascinated by these kinds of things lol. Without even watching 5 minutes yet, I would say that Target & other “super stores” really reflects American culture and car dependability. It’s just so hard to get around by walking, and traffic floods the streets so much that it just makes sense for people to want everything they can possibly buy in 1 single store. It may come at a higher cost, but those who shop at target, already know that so they will spend a couple extra dollars because they have the means to and have already accepted the reality around them. Edit: Jesus Christ you said everything I did already 1 min in 💀 This is gonna be a good one Further edit: Let’s keep it civil guys. I’m one for instigating but let’s remember who the real villains & oppressors are here: CEO’s and their greedy corporations/businesses. As the working class we’ve gotta stick together!!!
Very true!! In NY I had a city target nearby so I’d pick up a few things once in a while, but now that I’m in the suburbs and driving again, I find myself buying way too much at stores like Target. It’s so much easier to buy a lot when you can stuff it in a car versus carrying it all home. I need to be more conscious of this bc it’s so easy to fall into the habit!
@@nestorv7627 “aS a uSeLeSs mAjOr” stfu. If you ever wanted to understand society, how it works, what keeps it moving, and theorizing then yeah I guess it’s useless. Probably coming from a business major I would imagine 🙄
This video called me OUT 😭 I am a Target girl! My home decor, half my clothes, my pantry, everything is Target. And yes, i do follow those Target accounts. And honestly this video kinda did help me realize while I loved it. going to Target was something we just didn’t do when i was little, we weren’t poor but if I asked to go my mom would say “we’re not going to that expensive ass store” so of course when i got a job I was curious and I wanted to see what that expensive store was all about and then I learned wait this isn’t that expensive and i became hooked.
the mall-like appeal of walking around target with friends is very real. there's just not a whole lot of places that's affordable enough to not be intimidating but still somewhat nice and you're not being watched like a hawk and expected to actually buy something.
hey tiffany! great vid as always : ) an interesting thing I just recently noticed: in Brazil there's a store chain that seems to mimick Target's general branding and layout, it's called "Lojas Americanas" (literally translates to American Store LOL). funny how Target is so tightly associated with the "American way of life" that it manages to spawn other brands that are somewhat copycats : P
I used to work at Target and was the worst job I have ever had. I broke my finger and found a dead body in the bathroom (in the same week) and both times was expected to continue working my shift. I put in my immediate resignation. I refuse to step foot in another one.
I never thought about the no music thing but you’re totally right! I have anxiety and I can get overwhelmed in stores really easily. I’m not sure I’ll ever be calm in a store post-2020 but I think I remember how comforting it used to be. When I was in my 20s I really couldn’t afford Starbucks or target but if I had a really bad day I’d go to target, get a Starbucks, and just window shop to feel better. Im a mental health therapist and when I did group therapy in an intensive outpatient program, I was a little taken aback at how many patients said that they’d abandoned a cart full of items at Walmart because they became too overwhelmed and/or had a panic attack. Something about Walmart seems to heighten anxiety.
Mmmmm hm. Totally tracks. Shitty lighting, tight aisles, generally crowded, the LIGHTING ugh. And don’t get me started on the parking lot 😂. I haven’t been inside my local Walmart since before the pandemic- if they miss me they’ll have to watch me in my car doing grocery pick up ✋🏼
My mom used to get so mad every time we went to Walmart because she always heard a beeping noise, lol. She made the switch to Target after a particularly overstimulating day.
The more I hear about Herero couples, the more I appreciate my wife. I’ve been unemployed since the beginning of the pandemic and I can tend to feel really shitty about my lack of contributions to the house. There’s just the two of us so my wife’s income is thankfully enough to support us, but I still tend to panic about finances. My wife is so much better than me about understanding that the work I do for and around the house is work even if it’s not paid. I do feel exhausted after my Monday shopping trip[s] and she is so understanding and encourages me to buy things just for fun. I really love her.
That is how it is with my husband too. He works a paid job and I work as a housewife. He is very appreciative of the work I do, even though it's not paid. He loves going shopping with me when he can because he loves finding new products to try together. He has never complained about expenses, except to say everything is so much more expensive than before the pandemic times (but don't we all complain about that?). I love him for all of that and so much more
The "Walmart is for lower class" mindset in the US is interesting for me as a Mexican because here Walmart is considered as upper middle class store lol
You should cover Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I had never stepped into them until I went with my white woman boss when I was younger. The reason why I mentioned it, I had never been in such an atmosphere especially with an attractive blond white woman so people were more willing to help us. It was odd. They probably thought I was her adopted child. Lol.
Trader Joe's is great though! Their products are relatively cheap and many stores are smaller in size which makes it easier to buy what you need and not over-spend. At least in my opinion lol
@@salami7677 mine is a 10 min walk (compared to a regular grocery store next door), which is a perfect little walk and it’s a great experience. Also helps me to not spend too much since I have to carry it back. I’m excited for the flowers as it gets warmer out. The only grocery store I go to without a list.
Plus Size shopping is MISERABLE in target. The section at my store keeps getting SMALLER and smaller with a nice sign "extended sizes 14-28 online!!" yippee. SO inaccessible. Thank you for including Tiffany. Please don't stop talking about this issue! Being plus size/low income, I can't afford to front money to online orders, hope something fits (I'm 5'11) and then struggle to return --
@@CherryScout couldn't agree more! Walmart has the best selection in person!! If they could streamline their in-store brands to a more *pleasant* online shopping experience... they have amazon style-oversaturation-third-party seller-confusion with a lot of the XXXL being juniors or just plain weird. I make sure to sort by "retailer: Walmart"
i work at target, and i used to try finding clothes to wear there since it was cheap and it was already there. needless to say as someone who wears XL i refuse to do it anymore because it runs so small. an XL wild fable sweater looks like a damn crop top on me
I used to work at Target right before they switched from having a cafe to having a Starbucks. When they used to sell basic handheld foods (hot dogs, pizza, popcorn, etc.) and soda, Icees, or water. They had a blower thing on top of the popcorn maker so when they made fresh batches it would blow the smell out into the store to entice people to come buy food from the cafe. Just a fun tidbit I thought would be interesting to share.
Walmart is anxiety inducing, ive seen actual fights in Walmarts, dirty stores,rude employees and this has been across tons of Walmarts over my life. I don't have anxiety at target, I go to Walmart and I'm in and out.
Something else about target is it’s supply of “greener” products while still being fast production. I fall constantly into the trap of feeling less guilty because I bought vegan food items, “sustainable” deodorant or shaving cream and so many other things even though I know target is not sustainable. I think this is where the elitist attitude comes from as well. By supplying products that feel higher end such as vegan and sustainable options, people feel more righteous than if they had gone to Walmart and bought a normal toothpaste or 5 in 1.
Target has a huge fast fashion clothing section that is worse quality and come in uglier styles than Walmart tho. If they truly cared about sustainability, they wouldn’t have so much clothing.
I personally use target as an Amazon replacement - the free curbside pickup is nice (especially in a pandemic), free shipping for the items they might not have in stock, it's right by where I live, and while employee treatment isn't perfect, its many times better than Walmart and Amazon so it's the lesser of evils while still fitting into my budget
In Australia we have this same obsession with Kmart. Maybe 5+ years ago, the store really started focusing on home decor. They follow the trends and will sell all these pink things, marble things, gold things, etc. This led to everyone thinking themselves an interior designer and buying up this cheap stuff to fill their homes. Then came the 'hack' Facebook groups to share tips and DIY ideas for Kmart items, but mostly descended into buying things for unsustainable or pointless reasons. I love that they offer affordable, trendy decor items and dupes, but it seems to have mainly just promoted buying things for the sake of buying things.
As a fan of Target, lol, I think what puts them over the edge for me is their furniture selection. It's more affordable than say, West Elm or Restoration Hardware, but is also good enough quality that it won't fall apart after a year. I did buy a dresser from Wal-Mart and it was......basically garbage. I also worked at Wal-Mart as a teen and will forever be traumatized by that experience.
I lived in a city where literally there was a Target right next to a Walmart. I was always baffled how it could be night and day in terms of the shoppers. I tried going to the walmart but I would get overwhelmed by the fact both times there were people fighting, kids running about and this mom just yanking her crying kid. By contrast the Target right next door had a different clientele. It was always the weirdest thing.
One thing I also want to add as a Latino Walmart is one of the few if the only store that tends to have a diverse set of food selection, and when your a Latino finding the same type of flavored foods you like are rare and can only (mostly) be found in walmart only. Especially if you live in the country side which is even rarer.
Even more regional chains like Martins/Giant has a bigger selection of diverse food. I've been able to find brands like Shim and Sapporo Ichiban there while Target only had very slim pickings of Asian cuisine altogether as an example.
as someone who has never stepped foot in America, this finally helped me understand what's so nice about Target! and also why so many artists have target exclusives
Re: Walmart vs. Target - I once went to buy cosmetic items from Target and thought they were way too expected. I went over to Walmart and turned out they were more expensive. Since then, I’ve decided to shop at Target. Might as well spend the same or less and be in a warmer environment
As a Canadian girl who grew up watching Bethany Mota, I wanted so badly to be able to shop at target. When we would go to the US. I always made sure to go and it was awesome (especially the clothes). But when they opened in Canada, the vibe was just so different, it just felt like an empty and boring walmart. And then they just closed. Target in canada was like a weird fever dream haha
I definitely prefer shopping at a target over a Walmart. My local Walmart is always messy, obviously understaffed (many elderly people working too it makes me sad), and there is a lot of crime. At the target less than a mile down the road it is always super clean (not the clothes they are always a mess), organized, and they have enough staff for the store to run.
I agree. I prefer to shop at target because it's cleaner, there's less trouble, and I find better quality food like fresh fruit/veggies compared to Walmart
My Walmart is the same. I can walk there but the shelves are half-empty and it’s always packed with three people working at the registers so you find 2 of the 6 things you needed and have to wait forever to check out. I would rank Costco far above Target, though. Target lost its sheen when I got a new shirt and my boss told me his wife had picked up the same shirt. Nothing against her but I hate having all the same stuff as everyone else!
I go to target to save my sanity. I almost always have a meltdown in Walmart and end up in tears. I don’t mind spending an extra dollar. Also, target is always so calming and their baskets aren’t loud and there’s almost always no one there, etc etc. sometimes I just window shop when I’m stressed.
I ended up on people of Walmart when I worked there, it was literally right after my dad had passed. Literally nothing was wrong with how I looked, they were dead ass just making fun of how my body is built.
I’m so sorry that happened to you. I always thought that website was trash and so were the people looking at it and laughing. I told everyone as much, too.
I worked at Target as a cashier for a few months last year. I can absolutely attest to the fact that people go in with the intention of buying a couple items and end up buying $200+ worth of items. I’ve had guests tell me this as I was ringing their stuff up.
I'm in the USA and in my area, Target is usually the lowest price (except when it comes to food). It's my fav store due to the "one stop shop" aspect. Stores are organized in an intuitive way. And I feel good vibes due to nostalgia of Target shopping with mom growing up. ☺️
The Target that is near me doesn't have food, but the ones that I have been to that do have much lower food prices than the local grocery stores around here.
Target was generally higher quality when we used to have it in Canada, at least with clothing. But the store Target took over in Canada, Zellers, had a more loyal group because it was Canadian and Walmart was from the US, so supporting more local people seemed like a better idea, but price did a play a role in who shopped where. I guess the nostalgia of it is why I like going to Superstore in Canada, because they used to give out free bakery cookies to kids, and I have good memories of those.
My town only had Target for one year before it left Canada and I remember walking in so confused. I don’t know what I was expecting but since Americans seemed to love it so much I was imagining it would be amazing! It just felt like any other store.
Yes I was just about to mention this!! The reason why Target failed in Canada is so interesting, never mind the higher cost of items and generally able to find the same things at Walmart. In my city, the Target and the Walmart where usually in the same mall/area so it was super easy to compare and find the exact same thing at Walmart for a much cheaper price. Also whenever I went to Target, it always felt really empty, even when it was a weekend and I think in general the most popular shoppers (middle class SAH moms) were not familiar with Target like they are in America so it didn't really pick up among their biggest audience.
literally went to target after dinner, before prom, senior year. just hung out in our prom gowns in the furniture section. love the video, very accurate
target's branding does a good job with diversity. of races and ages. i met a colombian woman who is part of the culture department and she helped create an ad campaign for latino history month. they created a whole youtube video series about it. they changed the website to add spanglish and they had a whole section in the store for that campaign. all the products they sold in store were made by latino artists and professionals. it's called the "mas que" target 2021 campaign. the creator for the campaign was so fun to speak to personally she is charismatic and i learned a lot from her
I will never understand the hype around Target. I only go there for something if I can't find at another store or for something novelty (like gifts, room decor, etc) but never to grocery shop because that store is SO EXPENSIVE. I do understand that prices are rising currently but even before then Target has always been expensive to me 😂😂
yeah i only shop at grocery stores not superstores. the only superstore i'll grocery shop in is meijer but even then i never really leave the grocery or pet section lol. kroger is my go-to.
for me too, and I have a salaried job! Like, why would I buy a mop at Target for $20 when I could buy it at 99Cent City for $7.99? It's all mass produced plastic either way. You know the people that made those mops in some Chinese factory weren't paid properly, so you're literally just paying more for a more neatly printed package, and it's all going to Target' corporate profits.
I have watched SO MANY Tiktoks repeating that "men should meet women at Target because hot women shop there and are already looking for things they don't need" That joke has been beaten to the ground but there's definitely some discussions of class that stem from it
Honestly… for me, they’ve got better product selection. They also used to exclusively carry my skincare and it’s very accessible to me as a black person to get my hair care there. They have a bigger and much better selection than WalMart. So when I need hair stuff to keep my afro healthy, it’s readily available at Target and I don’t need to visit the African store as often as I did before.
yeah target is the BEST place for drugstore beauty and hygiene products because they have a mix of budget to high end products. you can only afford cantu? they got cantu. wanna splurge on pattern by tracee ellis ross? they got a whole display full of the stuff. it's great but it does kinda suck that the mainstream store with the best hair care section for black hair is usually located in predominantly white neighborhoods.
I like going for hair supplies and not be followed around like when I go in a beauty supply store. Also, the prices and variety are what I’m looking for. Walmart doesn’t have as much variety for my hair.
ex-target worker here 👋🏻 i found this fascinating! the position i was in functioned perfectly as a transitional job while i was in my undergrad, but a TON of my fellow employees were trying to support children or their whole families on ~$15/hr. they're starting to partner with a program to get some people free or assisted tuition, but it only works with certain schools. from my experience, my bosses were excellent and flexible with anyone who worked hard (i was hired as a seasonal employee and they liked me enough to keep me after the holidays). i'd also like to mention the employees recieve mandatory diversity/inclusion-type training sessions; to me it was standard-fare "don't be an asshole" sorta stuff but to older employees it probably helped them navigate and break down any prejudices they had. we recently got new nametags with lots of pronoun options as well. to me, it all seemed to work; the mean people and careless ones got weeded out pretty quick. idk if it's part of a corporate PR scheme/ulterior motive or if it's genuine, but for what it's worth, i kinda trust it? on a personal level, at least, most individual employees i knew really did care about customer service, so you can at least trust them to be doing their best. any other team members, feel free to add ur thoughts or crazy customer stories :) i know i've got a bunch haha
This may be against the norm but I loved the prairie dress moment at target. It actually helped me build up my closet with items that I wear constantly and make me more comfortable
In the places I've lived, the areas that the Targets were in were always in safer and "nicer" areas than the ones Walmarts were in. When I'm shopping alone as a 21 year old girl, I've gotten harassed and cat-called multiple times at a Walmart but for some reason, never at a Target. Due to that, I usually will shop at Target even though I am a broke college student and it is more budget friendly to go to Walmart. It just got to the point where it wasn't worth the risk anymore. But if I am with someone else, like a male, I will go to Walmart
Even as someone who is male, I relate to feeling more comfortable at Target than at Walmart. It was also a little jarring going from Target that has the big pride display in June to shopping at Walmart the first time I tried going myself and when browsing a shelf, an old lady started conversation with me and at one point asked me "where the world was coming to with everything turning gay now." In my head, I was like "oh, this is a very different place." (I'm not even LGBT, but it still made me quite uncomfortable).
The nearest Target to me is right across the street from the Walmart and it is still wildly different inside. I can't explain it. People don't always come to Walmart with their best behavior.
I just got to the section where you talk about it’s “non-Walmartness” and I had to to chime in that as someone from West Virginia, which is incredibly resource reduced and plagued by food deserts, Target doesn’t just ✨feel✨ upper-middle class it actually is. The number 4 employer in our state is Walmart, but the primary grocery provider is often Dollar General. I have an entire class on WV folklore this semester, and we actually were just discussing today how standard WV small talk involves talking about if your town has more than one Dollar General and bragging points if you have a Walmart. A beloved WV past time is literally just walking around Walmart-like that’s what me and my friends did for fun in high school 😂😂 my folklore professor actually referred to a Walmart on Saturday as “town hall." It gets even more nuanced-I think again bc we’re such a resource reduced area-but like we brag about the quality of our grocery stores on a daily basis…like it was a big deal when a city about 20 min from me got a “Gucci Kroger” and I’ve even heard of a “Gucci Dollar General” which was fancy bc it had a fresh produce section! (I sound sarcastic but that genuinely was very exciting for me to find out haha) So like when you mentioned that people don't typically brag about going to Walmart--that's not the case for most of WV; only the "big" (no cities in WV are really that big) and "rich" cities have Targets, Food Lions, and Krogers. I could talk about it more bc it is genuinely such a major part of Appalachian culture I'm sorry I've spammed your twitter and insta too haha I'm just like genuinely really passionate about this; Walmart and Dollar General are such an integral part of the Appalachian experience--for better and worse...
This is exactly my experience growing up in poor rural areas in the Midwest! Walmart was the only and best option when I was young (with dollar stores now moving in as well). There was nothing shameful about Walmart- it’s just the store where you get literally everything. So much so that we called all plastic grocery bags “Walmart bags.” When I moved to a more middle-class suburb area, the love for Target and disdain for Walmart baffled me. I’m so glad to see this video and hear this topic discussed!
In my part of WV, we have two Wal-Marts, and the one we've had since the 90s is considered to be the "ghetto" Wal-Mart so this rings true . We also have a Target, but those they frequent Target also tend to be the types who'd drive all the way to Tyson's Corner for shopping
There actually is a difference shipping at Walmart or Target where I live. I have gotten physically pushed by people at Walmart, the lighting is very harsh, and it is noisy. I have a lot of sensory issues and always leave Walmart feeling frazzled and anxious. I don’t have that issue at Target.
This! Walmart is hectic for me and drains me. Plus it’s so big and I’m disabled. I get tired and give up on getting things bc I don’t want to circle the entire store. Target is better for my sensory issues
I’m Autistic and have ADHD, and I’ll say that Target is pretty much the embodiment of a sensory friendly store and I love finding clothing that’s comfy and just works for my sensory/fashion occasion needs. But as someone who lives in the city of Targets HQ, has a stressful time even driving and lives in a 600 square foot place, I can’t say that I shop at Target often (once a month). I almost don’t want to move to a bigger place since it’s saving me so much money on NOT buying crap!! 😂 The last time I went shopping at a Walmart (which are even farther outside of the city) was when I first moved to the city. That was 10 years ago and the whole visit was depressing as hell…
@@rachel_sj Hi! I also have ASD. I lived in MPLS for awhile as well. My son wear a lot of their clothing because it is affordable, comfy, and sensory friendly as well.
I think for me, the reason going to target vs. walmart was more of a fun adventure was probably because I grew up in a town where walmart and kroger were pretty much it for your groceries and the closest target was like a half hour away and my parents never shopped there and I personally didn't really have the money to go there until I got my own job. So going to target was like a getaway shopping experience while walmart was where you went with your friends sometimes at night to goof around.
The moment you mentioned City Target (which I had never heard of) it made me think of Monoprix in France. Their branding and what they carry is quite similar, and they even have Monop' which is basically a smaller version of the full thing.
Its super interesting to me as a european, i cant imagine getting excited at a thought of hanging out at a basically big version of Tesco Yet im sure that if i were to visit states i would definitely like to go to target just for the experience
Us Euro's can't relate because I'm assuming the joy of going to Target comes from (the anticipation of) actually taking home those things you want but don't need, which is not what we would do, or 'allow' ourselves. At least not to the (American) extent that it becomes a kind of walk-in lottery that triggers your dopamine!
definitely my thoughts, but it’s kind of like waitrose and tesco combined i guess? and walmart more like lidl or asda. both are like “quick, quick, quick”
Great video. In Canada we briefly had target for a few years in the early 2010’s - their purchase of many Zellers stores, rapid expansion and sudden exit really screwed over A LOT of Canadian workers.
One of the big reasons I participate in "fast fashion" is because as someone who is plus sized AND doesnt have that much money, its SO hard to find clothing that isnt from somewhere like Shein
Really enjoyed this one, Tiff. I've always been a bit mystified by people's love for Target. I'm more of a thrifter so the prices make me panic. But I'm a mom now, and I'm glad you touched on the bit about escapism. I remember walking in but myself to Christmas shop and grabbing a coffee, browsing the dollar spot and being like OH. I GET IT. Very interesting video!
I remember classmates in highschool (mid 2000s) speaking badly of people who shopped at Walmart and said people should shop at small local stores and farmer's markets. I felt defensive because my family shopped at Walmart as a middle class family struggling with employment for several years. But at the same time I also felt a bit ashamed. I'm grown now and now I realize that you have to survive how you can in a capitalist society 🙃 As an adult managing my own household with my partner, Target is cheaper for packaged foods (deli meat, cheese, cereal, etc) than the local chain in my area so I go there and just be amazed at the price difference. Walmart is even cheaper, but it's very chaotic there and I get stressed there post-covid because it's too crowded. I'm pretty good at sticking to a list so I don't walk out spending way more than I planned, but Target gets me with their snacks that I can't find elsewhere near me. Like their brownie madelines???? Life changing and I always need to get a box when I go.
One thing that gets left out of the Target being a treat conversation is that there isn’t much to do in the Midwest and especially in far flung suburbs. There’s only so many park walks, movie theater, and strip malls you can take until you’ve seen it all. Going to Target just to walk around and see what’s out there is a good way to kill a couple few hours
i definitely fall into the comfort/nostalgia aspect as my mom used to work at a Target when i was a child, and she used to always bring me there whenever we went out shopping. my main motivator of wanting to go was in hopes of either getting pokémon cards, pokémon figurines or pokémon red/blue for the game boy. hehe 😌 she definitely flourished in that homey-like environment since she was such a social butterfly and outgoing person. 🥰 while i don’t personally shop there very often, whenever i do shop there it does make me feel a lot more at ease due to that nostalgia/comfort factor. i could spend hours in there, with my spouse and/or my best friend, just looking at things 👹
Most Walmarts I go into are dirty, have beeping cameras and continuous music interrupted by ads. Boxed stuff right in the middle of the aisle. Employees are invisible and sometimes you are forced to use self checkout with no one to ask questions too. Target, in contrast, is clean, no music or ads and I can find an employee to answer a question. 9:51 Angela as a mom figure? Have you watched The Office? 😊
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I went to FIDM and we literally spent a whole semester breaking down Targets rebrand and cult following
Oh that's pretty cool. I remember one time when I was in high school, there was this person from FIDM who gave a presentation to talk about FIDM and potentially get some students interested in going there after graduation.
I really related to what you said about a trip to Target being like a trip to a small mall. That's so true. I have one near my house, and sometimes I go and just chill for a bit. Try on some cute clothes. Read the backs of some books. Touch some soft pillows. Buy a snack. The mall in my town over the years has grown increasingly boogie and almost nothing there is affordable to me except the Macy's sale section, and Forever 21 styles for the last couple years just don't work for me.
Oh, that's interesting. Perhaps as malls are dying thanks largely due to online shopping (and Covid didn't help either), stores like Target are sort of filling part of the spot that used to mainly be filled by malls: places you go to shop that look nice, have a certain comfortable atmosphere, and hang out while shopping or just looking around.
Because of consumerism, shopping has become an “experience”. So Target has capitalized off of that by curating an environment that people find soothing. For the people praising the environment of Target, you are literally falling for their ploy. You’re not there for the “experience” you are there to buy your items and leave. I don’t understand attaching all these feelings to a store.
16:00 honnestly even that "little house in the prairie" flop is a sign that they are accutely awared of trends, cause that was also right as the cottagecore eastetic was booming so i see what they were trying there.
One interesting thing I've noticed about Walmart vs Target is that people in Walmart parking lots always seem to drive crazy and never look when backing up! It feels dangerous being in a Walmart parking lot, to the point that I go out of my way to park farther away and hopefully avoid getting backed into or hit by some person zooming down a lane without paying attention. I never seem to have that problem with Target parking lots. It's still busy, but I swear the people shopping at Target don't drive the same way as people who shop at Walmart.
I never go to target if I'm in a hurry. Target is for leisurely shopping, it's a whole activity. Try on some clothes from the clearence rack even if I don't buy them.
You don't understand this video is everything I needed. I moved to Japan six months ago and found myself homesick for Target of all things. I tried to unpack why and this video helped out immensely. Japan does not have any superstores except Costco, which are typically located on military bases and only accessible by car, which most Japanese people don't have. There are tax-free stores like BIC or Don Quixote (a dollar store equivalent), but they typically do not have clothes or decor, and because Japan is so small, the building is multi-storied, with each floor being one section, thus people only go to the floors they need. Plus, these stores are super tight and dark compared to a Target (think Hot Topic), so it's not an enjoyable experience. It's funny because I never went to Target by myself, spending my own money, so maybe what I really miss is the nostalgia aspect: my mother driving me there, paying for me, and of course, getting the blue raspberry ICEE with a soft pretzel. Also, Target has an incredible variety of seasonal decor that I would never be able to find here, namely the Halloween decor. In closing of this super long comment, I'm not shitting on Japan as a whole because there are pros and cons of living here, but is there anything more nostalgically American than glamorized overconsumption??
13:13 as an american i feel like this is a perfect description of the difference between target and walmart. walking around target feels like walking through pinterest, whereas walmart feels like an aggressively chaotic grocery store. and to me it’s weird bc sam’s club doesn’t feel like that but the regular standard walmarts do.
Aside from the "chaotic" feel of Walmart, Target is considerably safer to shop at. I live near both stores, and the Walmart in my area has the #1 stab rating of all American Walmarts. Even though Target is only 5 minutes away, and in the same community, I don't need to worry about getting harassed or stabbed. It's sad, because the goods from both stores are fairly similar.
The other interesting thing is at one point both stores' credit cards were handled by Synchrony with either Sychrony Bank themselves dropping it or Walmart breaking their contract with them because Synchrony Bank did something against Walmarts business related beliefs, they also did this same thing with Capial One. Sam's still has Sychrony as their partner. (it's interesting since they're owned by the same company [Walmart]/) Yea, I notice the same thing about Sam's Club, too, that it's more quiet than Wal-Mart when it isn't busy.
As someone who grew up in the States in an upper-middle class family that shopped at Target a lot, but then moved abroad in my teen years (I'm currently 26), there is a consensus among my family members that the thing we miss the most about living in the US is the shopping experience specifically at Target. There is just something about it. I remember getting a $5 allowance every week for doing chores and being SO excited to save up for a month (or however long my patience lasted) and spend my money at Target.
The point about Target being the easiest way to buy clothes in person was something I didn't realize until you brought it up. When I need clothes I go to Target now. That's so weird, I had never thought about it until now!
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Hi!! hope y'all enjoy this little dive into the cultural obsession with Target in the US! 1) captions coming asap, sorry for the wait! and 2) I filmed this over a month ago; we had just moved and all I had in this room was this mini coffee table and this plant that was gifted to us. apologies if the sound isn't ideal -- this room was literally empty lmao
Love the video! And as for Walmart, I have had some, um.. experiences there that I have never even come close to have at target. Like needles in bathrooms and pee cups in the isles. Can I even say that in a comment?
In case you didn’t know, your video has a transcript feature (at the bottom of the description). I found it was pretty accurate and a good substitute for captions!
Target is worth 105 Billion @24:25
@@kaylanek1 yup! you see every aspect of humanity in walmart hahaha
Hi Tiffany! I loved this video! Something else I'd love to see from you is an analysis of attitudes toward the division of money between men and women who date. I've seen an increase of people on tiktok vouching for this idea that men should always be paying in dating contexts + relationship contexts & tying that into another idea of "divine feminine energy". I find it to be a super interesting attitude held by the hetero woman dating community. I also find it super interesting that when we apply this conversation to lgbt couples it suddenly makes absolutely no sense + becomes impossible! I want to know what you think about it!
The stereotype of “women love shopping” really annoys me, considering that historically it was women who needed to buy EVERYTHING for the household. All the food, clothes, cleaning supplies, home decor, toiletries… all the household necessity shopping fell to them. God forbid that women get side tracked and enjoy the shopping experience in the meantime. When you give men a list to go shopping, they fall into the same damn trap. Moreover, if husbands don’t want their wives to “spend all the money” then the men can haul their ass to the store on sale day.
Your attitude is the reason American women cannot find husbands anymore.
@@benjamindover4337 I have no particular interest in preserving the institution of marriage (I tried it and didn’t like it). I’m not here to pair anyone up or get involved in someone’s pursuit of a spouse. If you don’t want a wife, that is neither my business nor my problem.
@@benjamindover4337 Maybe men should start doing the shopping, then :) And actually become worth marrying for the women who might be interested in finding a suitable husband :)
@@lisechristensen4714 I think you are misunderstanding. Men are not having trouble finding wives. They're just not interested in what American women are offering. So, your demands are not really relevant.
@@benjamindover4337 thank god I'm gay, your idea of straight marriage is more a transaction than a loving relationship lmao
as a non-american this is absolutely the kind of cultural phenomenon i’m interested in learning more about (especially after target’s catastrophic failure at expanding into canada). thank you for yet another fascinating deep dive that i didn’t know i needed
Just curious, what happened to Target in Canada? I didn't know they expanded, I'm an american in California, perhaps the most Target-obsessed state...
@@kyra6744 they didn't really carry much stock! of anything haha. we were excited but it was a bust 😫 also - i think i remember prices being somewhat higher than expected.
They opened target for a few years and since the prices were too high (i think it was US prices converted to CAD), then ended up closing after a couple of years.
@@kyra6744 they couldn't compete w walmart and had next to nothing in their stores
They opened too many stores at once and couldn’t keep up with inventory. I remember the first time going into target in Canada and there was hardly anything on the shelves! So disappointing! Also the prices weren’t that great either.
Target and Ikea to me are associated with new beginnings like any huge life changing event such as moving to college or decorating your first apartment, so whenever I feel like I need to get my life together, a trip to one of the two makes me feel accomplished in a way.
IKEA!! We need here in OKC!!
I literally got lost in Target my first 2 times being there - we just don't get stores that big here in Scotland and i needed to ask for directions to find my way out.
@@Hiforest don’t feel bad, I’ve had to do that at a big box store in South Korea. While can be frustrating at the moment, makes for a good laugh in the future.
that's kinda sad, idk why
Same!!! I was telling my bf this the other day he prefers target over Walmart so we go there often
I worked at Target for 5+ years and the amount of women who would come in and split their total with cash and card was depressing. they did it just to hide the totals from their husbands and it happened constantly. Half of the time they were buying essentials for their kids but still felt the need to hide it all
The average American has credit card debt and is living paycheck to paycheck. Usually because of terrible spending habits
@@pissip i know you did not just say that it’s due to terrible spending habits……. you really have zero idea what the economy looks like for the working class right now
Smh that’s a shame
NO WAY..... have you looked at the price of essentials for living (not even a good life) it’s not cuz of bad spending habits it’s cuz the rich make everything so expensive that the poor can’t even afford to live anymore
@@goopbunieven with the economy, people can still have terrible shopping habits. Both can be true. And most people spend way more than they need to create a certain lifestyle or illusion of it. Happens all the time, whether rich or poor or in between.
I use target to curb my hyper-consumerist impulses. I get a cart and a coffee. I wander the store and pick up anything and everything that attracts me. While I’m adding things to my cart I ponder each item; what is the utility, what is the quality, is the aesthetic really the best for me, is this the best price or value, where would I put it, if I brought it home what 2 things would I get rid of, etc? At this point I’m roaming the store in random patterns as I put things back. I’m getting exhausted physically and mentally. I usually leave w just the thing I came in for or nothing at all but I’m sated. I’ve “owned” the item for as long as it is useful to me and I’m no longer yearning for the new or novelty.
are you okay???
I have moderate - severe major depressive disorder and anxiety and borderline personality disorder due to genetics and trauma. I suffer from periodic, excess shopping which can be a symptom of each of these. This method has helped me reduce damage from the symptom.
@@Petty_Mason I do this too for similar reasons, my therapist says it's a healthy coping mechanism and he was impressed I came up with it
no but i love just walking around and holding an item before putting it away. i subconsciously go thru a lot of these questions, and i do usually feel tired after going shopping even if it's just to one store. for me, i think it's a combo of my anxiety disorder and that my parents grew up poor and instilled strong financial mentality into me
no for real there's so many things I've avoided spending money on because it turned out that i didn't actually want to OWN the item, I just wanted to have it around me for a while!
The Target vs. Walmart dynamic is so real - I live in a mid-sized city with both stores and I have been really fighting through my own internalized classism and realize that I can meet my family’s budget needs better by shopping at Walmart, even though we can “afford” to shop at Target. And when I go to Target I do fall into the “came in for 1 thing and spent $137” trap which even further hurts our budget. I’m a stay at home mom and the “mama needs Target!” memes are very prevalent so this video was quite fascinating!
Same in all ways. I’ve found myself at Walmart lately to save some coin. Target gets you literally as you walk in with that dang dollar section. Plus the service is better by far but in the end I prefer to pay less for the same items.
@@Vikrum_ mid-sized in the US would be a couple lakh in population. That’s majority of American cities with national recognition, not counting the exceptional big cities
I usually just go to target for clothes. Walmart is really hit or miss in that department. Usually miss. Something is always off lol. Good for basics though. Tank tops, t-shirts, probably underwear and socks.
Most of my necessesties i get from Walmart. Cleaning supplies, toiletries, shower supplies, makeup etc. A lot of that is usually cheaper. If I can't find what I'm looking for style wise if it's like an appliance or decoration, I try target
I’ve caught smack from friends about preferring Walmart to Target throughout my 20s , which is insane to me because we worked at the same place and were all being paid poverty wages. Anyways in recent years (around 2018) I have noticed a significant change in Walmart clothing, home decor, even kitchen and beauty sections. They have some of the same products and even dupes as Target usually cheaper. Kudos to the buyers they hired because I honestly think Walmart’s trendy new offerings are on par with a TJ Maxx or Home Goods where many of these same loyal Target Shoppers go “bargain hunting”. Idk
@@Vikrum_ like 500,000
i can't help but feel like the massive success of target here and the isolating layout of american suburbia *have* to share a common thread here. like would we cherish a one-stop shop as much as we do if we had more small town spaces where every store is right next door to one another?
incidentally that's also a part of ikea's design - they don't just buy out the warehouse space, they buy out acres of land around it so it's the only thing you will probably drive out to that day. reject society embrace djungelskog, if you will
(edit: turns out the ikea anecdote is also a us-exclusive thing! makes sense given it's not uncommon for essentials to be in the middle of nowhere here in general, but just wanted to acknowledge it
Yess!! I filmed this a few weeks before the suburbs vid but there’s 1000% a connection. I think after people drive 5-10 miles to a big shopping center like a Target they do crave that convenience, but obviously superstore corporations (and Amazon) are killing small businesses. Note to self to try to go out of my way to find some more local spots instead of automatically heading to a superstore!
That's interesting. I'm German and the IKEAs that I have been to always have at least one other store basically right next to it.
Maybe the phenomenon you're seeing happens more in the US? Or maybe in Germany it doesn't work with Germany laws, after all our government should be interested in trying to minimize how much people drive around.
@@tiffanyferg 100%, and yet even supporting local is increasingly becoming a privilege in and of itself, as massive corporations are always going to be able to undercut small business prices by a wide margin…anyway, the world is burning, God bless your channel and the well-researched, clearly presented attention you’re bringing to these issues 👏🏼
I’m in the uk and our local IKEA is in a town centre which is half an hour out of the big city centre! So definitely not true here
The ikea thing must be special to usa because here in turkey they are basically always paired up with many other stores/malls and are pretty central
I actually work at Target, and I'm fascinated by this. I hear "I just came in for one thing" or "I found way more than I came in for" from people (predominantly women) with full carts dozens of times each day. I worked at Target first in San Diego, and now here in Utah, and shopping habits are wildly different, which I've come to think is because of the massive population of stay-at-home moms in this area. To some extent, a Target trip seems like the only entertainment some of these women have on the days they come in (at least based on what they say) and they 100% are the Target moms and wives in their own eyes. It happens frequently where I'm having a difficult time scanning something because of a barcode/system issue, etc., and the women will say, sometimes regarding an item that's $50+, "Oh hey, come to think of it, I actually shouldn't buy that." A twenty second delay is all it takes sometimes to realize they're buying something just to buy it and reconsider.
Editing to say: I don't take issue with the trips to target for entertainment for stay-at-home-moms, I take issue with the overconsumption this results in, and also the weird mix of pride/shame that results from the heteronormative roles in this culture like mentioned in the video ("Don't tell dad about this one!" "My husband doesn't need to know about this trip.") I hear this stuff daily and it makes me sad.
from what I have seen of the the 'mommy' bloggers or yotuber vloggers I think you're right. it seems like they use it as a way to get out the house...which is pretty depressing to me. they don't take a nice walk or visit a park, they just go buy fast fashion or crap at target. it seems sad. *edit I meant this more as a social commentary that American work culture has made people so bored or tired or overworked that shopping is an escape and an activity. Not the individual person.
Yeah Utah mom culture is its own internet analysis LOL.
How did y'all do during the Stoney Clover Lane drop 💀 it was worse than Black Friday for us
@@noahatlas5240 crazy lead-up, with a ton of calls, but not too bad on launch day. a small line outside the door--all of the bags are gone at this point, but there's a few accessories and quite a few bikinis (lol) left
I work at one in the Mojave desert of California and I 100% agree that they shop as entertainment here. There's like 10 things you can do here and 3 that you can bring your kids to so they don't have many options sadly.
We are immigrants to the US and my mum has always been super confused about the way ppl joke about “accidentally” spending $150 at target when they only meant to go in for a couple things. She’s like “how can ppl just afford that and it’s a joke to them?”
It's funny cause those people think they're being relatable when they brag and joke about impulse buying, when all that shows is that they have no self control and are financially irresponsible.
I’ve been on both sides of it. My parents weekly grocery budget when I was a kid was less than my weekly pet care budget. There have been times in my life where I’m waiting for my next paycheck to clear so I can buy dish soap or that I’ve had to ration insulin because of a speeding ticket (I’m still mad about that one because another car was passing me at the time I was pulled over). I can totally see how laughing off a $150 dollar mistake would be unthinkable (how a $150 mismanagement of money could literally be life threatening). For some of these videos I think they are purchases planned for the future that were just moved up because of a good deal on a desired item. I could have made one of those videos when I purchased my kitchen aid mixer. That was a time in my life where I had the least money to throw around. I saw it on sale and I had just been paid so I went for it. In the long run the durability and quality saved me money and I’m still using that mixer 10 years later. I don’t know that it’s fair to label all impulse purchases (even expensive ones) as out of touch and irresponsible
A LOT of americans have consumer credit card debt also. Many people can't actually afford these impulse splurges, unfortunately.
Where are you from because I doubt it is a uniquely American thing
@@KtT-sn8cyCanada has the same problem to a lesser extent, most countries don't
Just look at average household credit card debt by country
Also, can we talk about how Targets have PREDOMINANTLY female customers?? I went to Target the other day and counted maybe 5 men. Total. In the whole store. That might be a subconscious reason women prefer shopping there too--less men equals a safer, more comfortable space. I certainly feel way more at ease shopping alone at target than I ever do at literally any other store.
same! Target feels cleaner and safer than walmart, and since inflation their prices are just as good if not better as well
Now that you mention it I do feel safer at Target! I like that the aisles of Target are smaller because it makes me feel like I'm not "on display" as much.
This is SO true…
i work there, in the clothing department 🥰 mens is so ridiculously slow all the time lol
As a man, I never noticed. My go to market is usually Target and I also appreciate how mines have their own department of men’s grooming products. Makes things easier for me.
as a european, i was growing up as a young girl watching all the american „high saturation” youtubers (mylifeaseva, alisha etc.). They were always recording Target hauls (for example school supply) or even just their trips to the store and for me and my friends at the time Target always seemed enormous, amazing and SO american.
We honestly were dreamjng about coming to the USA just to visit Target, as if it was a literal attraction.
YES! The Target Haul era!!!
yes OMG!!! Ironically now i live in australia and our target is pretty similar to what Tiff described and i have no desire to go in there lol
I did this too!
omg, i come from an Asian country (Singapore to be exact) and me and our friends (even at our current adult age haha!) would jokingly say lets go to America for Target. we loved watching Target haul videos on tiktok/youtube. it was so mindblowing to see how America arranges their commercial spaces bc in my country, we don't ever have a place where it's only ONE store in one place so that's why we were so bizarrely attracted to it.
I fantasize about going to the US so I can go shopping at inane stores, too 🤣
It's so interesting to see the dialogue about Target because growing up in ultra christian conservative circles, we boycotted target because of their open Pride LGBTQ+ support in the mid-2000s. Heck, my parents still boycott target cause of it's advertising using Gay couples.
when I came out and moved out, going to target was a symbol of freedom and acceptance.
I totally forgot about that
I know people who were upset when Target stopped selling Bibles lol
@@Ziaberry kinda weird target sold them in the first place . the thought of australia selling bibles in target is weird as.
america is so religious its wild.
And remember target allowing customers to use whatever the bathroom they wanted? The Christian Right lost their minds.
I haven't seen anyone mention a difference I notice at my local Walmart vs. Target, so I'm going to put it here. When I go to Walmart, way more items are locked up/have anti-theft tags (e.g. $5 charging cables, some shampoos, etc), and some areas of the store (e.g. beauty) have their own separate checkouts that you have to use to buy items in that section. Not only does this make shopping in the store less convenient, it also makes me feel like the company/store assumes I'm a thief just for shopping there. It makes the shopping experience feel generally more hostile compared to Target where less things are locked/tagged. I think a lot of this is probably wrapped up in class prejudice and assumptions about the kinds of people who shop at each store, and it really bothers me. I do still shop at both stores regardless.
I remember going through the toy section and I've seen some boxes or sets either torn open or clearly tampered with and having parts or pieces of a set missing with clear signs of theft. I remember seeing like action figure playsets with one or more of the figures missing, torn/opened packets of trading cards with the pack missing, etc. (My speculation is probably some kid wanted a toy, their parent said no, and so the kid shoplifted.)
It’s quite the opposite in my experience. I feel like Target stores are way more intense on their security measures, just in a way that isn’t so physical. The employees eye you like a hawk and it’s such an uncomfortable experience. Walmart is, to me, less focused on image or experience based consumerism strategies so they just are doing what makes things easier for their own profit. I’m not a corporate whore but I’d much rather have to have something unlocked for me because Walmart wants to be a bit lazier on preventing pilferage than Target that makes me feel like CONSTANTLY being watched. It’s so stressful and I don’t even steal.
This depends in which part of town said Walmart is located. In Austin, this only happens at the Walmart's that are in the east part of Austin. The west side Walmart's don't do this.
It’s not based on assumptions. It’s based on each store’s theft analytics. Walmarts vary from one part of town to another with this type of thing, as do Targets.
really it just depends on the store. i work at target and the one i work at has little to no items spider wrapped because we dont have enough people to focus on multiple things at once in any section. employees in toys and electronics often have lots of tasks to deal with in one day and ultimately security tags end up being an afterthought. we recently implemented tags on clothing too. those are pretty haphazardly thrown on. stores in a more high theft area may care more about security but knowing target its mostly just understaffing when theres nothing wrapped.
I think Target has become the societal replacement for Department Stores. It's more comfortable and better organized than a Pennies or a Kohl's, it's more affordable than a Macy's, it's more limited selection makes it a lot more accessible for neurodivergent people who tend to get sensory overload in "traditional" department stores, and it covers a lot of the same categories (clothing, makeup, accessories, shoes, decor, toys, books, electronics, even some appliances) and even expands into everyday essentials (groceries, toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet food)
This comment is so underrated wow 10/10
Yeah, the layout of target is more like a museum, where you walk around and everything is accessible to the eye, and unlike a warehouse, you don't have to physically move things around to see something.
Oh man... I miss Department Stores. Purely for the childhood nostalgia. I miss playing the demos at the PlayStation display while my parents looked for important items they need.
I’d love to hear you cover the cult of Costco. My family rarely shops at Target or Walmart but we swear by Costco. I’ve noticed that many of our family friends also prioritize Costco (because we pay membership fees) over other grocery / superstores.
@@mio8765 lol same
Plus the pizza and churros are really good
Costco is my nightmares come to life. So bright and loud 😔 with rushing annoyed people zooming past and their kids screaming and crying... I've had 3 full on anxiety attacks at Costco and had to hide out in the bathroom until they passed.
Not hating on anyone's love for Costco. Its just not it for me. They do have good churros though (lol).
@@briberrymuffin same. I have so many friends and family who LOVE Costco, but every time I go I get serious anxiety and am exhausted by the time I leave. It's not worth it to me.
@@thecatandrabbit6988 Yeah, I hate that place. Don't even like waiting in the parking lot lol.
Costco is great for bulk buying. I have had negative experiences because my room-mates always pressured me to pool in with them and buy stuff together, and it ended up getting wasted. Also, another negative is that once you get a membership, you feel "locked in" - like now, you will only start buying a limited set of brands and products from costco and feel guilty about shopping elsewhere.
I’m a former Target employee, and classism aside (😅) I can tell you why Target feels “classier” compared to Walmart solely due to our training and how we treat our customers (Target says “guests”). For some reason no matter which Walmart you’re at, it always feels like there’s no employees; making the place feel “lawless” in a sense. There’s never anyone to help you, never any lanes open, etc. However at Target, we were trained to engage with guests if they look lost or see if they’ve been helped yet and we even have thing called “make it right for the guest”. That alone elevates the experience because the employees are always on top of EVERYTHING. By no means is this a Target d*ck riding comment lol. I left for a reason and Target is not perfect
It always strikes me as fake though. You invite guests over, you share with and provide for your guests. Target and other stores only welcome people as long as they're there to buy something. That's not a guest, that's a customer and the relationship is not friendly, it's transactional. I'm not saying that wherever we work, we shouldn't be polite and helpful to the people coming in to do business- I think we should strive to be polite and helpful anywhere! But the charade of a corporation putting on the pretense of being anything but a business that cares only about its bottom line is deceitful.
I agree. Whenever I got to Walmart it feels like the employees hate their life and want to be anywhere other than Walmart
@@thinkfirst1989 I mean if you took yourself to a place that sells things obviously you’re there with the intent to buy something that’s how capitalism works and employees are just doing their job but at Target the employees are just as helpful when someone is returning something or price matching or making a price change if a customer saw a different label (even if they’re wrong) and at least I know I did everything to make sure people got their money back or got the correct price. But I’m from the south so I have hospitality naturally without a corporation telling me to do so. If you feel it’s fake that’s your perspective, like I said it is capitalism after all
I agree! Ex team member here too! Remember the old "can I help you find something" phrase? Honestly the amount of elderly people I helped was amazing. Totally agree, not perfect and I definitely had to quit... But they definitely make shopping there easier compared to other stores
@@thinkfirst1989 The abuse of corporate power happens when bad cultural work practices influence the decisions made in the home. To call it fake when in actuality it is what influences healthy models of communication in a community, is bringing shame to something that should be celebrated and encouraged
But this influence also starts with the community coming in to set a higher expectation for how employees engage with guests and vice versa for employees to set a higher expectation for how customers/guests engage with employees as they are often apart of one whole community together : )
Hopefully I worded that okay, this comes from the critical theory of communication in organizations where specialized researchers with a lot of courage call out issues that occur in corporations that impact the community.
The “target wives” section where you mention that men spend on things they like too, but it’s rarely the butt of a joke… this is so true. Men’s spending decisions are rarely scrutinized, but women’s always are.
“Oh me gosh, these women and their expensive purses?! It’s just a bag that holds your stuff. You could just buy a purse at Walmart!” - and the man saying this doesn’t see the irony that he’s wearing a Rolex and driving a corvette.
Sexism in online finance content… there’s a video topic right there.
I grew up in a small, rural town in Minnesota where there was both a Walmart (where I worked at as a teen) AND a Target (where my friend worked but closed a couple of years ago) in addition to me growing up extremely Christian and the town being quite religious.
There almost seemed to be this Noble Utility in going to Walmart to get the items you needed for your family and saving money on more expensive goods, whereas Target seemed kind of indulgent.
I also notice that with the whole “Women be buying all sorts of stuff” includes them buying a bunch of stuff for the house and/or groceries that both husbands/partners/ADHD women like myself don’t notice something’s gone or running low until the *very last* moment.
I’d really like to see them go through the $200 shopping trips and break down what was being spent on and see how often the (usually) woman or mom bought something (or somethings) that were worth $50…
I think women's hobbies and consumption habits come under far more scrutiny than men's for two reasons: 1) because feminine habits and products are not taken seriously by society and 2) because there's an outdated assumption that women are spending *men's* money to fund their shopping habit. In the era of stay-at-home moms who never worked, many women didn't have their own money: so if a woman went on a shopping spree, people assumed she was 'wasting' her husband's money (or her father's, if she was unmarried). And even though most women work now, I feel like that stereotype still lives in the back of some people's heads.
I agree that womens habits are seeing differently to men's.. but I did find a bit of a woke jump to label certain pattern behaviour heteronormative.. ok it might be a thing in the trad wife community (their choice anyway) but I witnessed it way too much with my older sister, her friends and parents i worked for ( working or not working mothers) having the WEEKLY habit of overspending every time at target and passing the bills as needs and not wants to their husbands. We dont have to say its ok just because it comes from women. And yes man have their bad habits too but it was not included on the video and maybe it doesnt involve target? Due to health issues im currently home and im grateful my partner financially cares for while i care for the house and us... I always tell him how much im about to spend on what out of respect, the same way he respects my work around the house.
@@crystallewis5902 I agree that womens habits are seeing differently to men's.. but I did find a bit of a woke jump to label certain pattern behaviour heteronormative.. ok it might be a thing in the trad wife community (their choice anyway) but I witnessed it way too much with my older sister, her friends and parents i worked for ( working or not working mothers) having the WEEKLY habit of overspending every time at target and passing the bills as needs and not wants to their husbands. We dont have to say its ok just because it comes from women. And yes man have their bad habits too but it was not included on the video and maybe it doesnt involve target? Due to health issues im currently home and im grateful my partner financially cares for while i care for the house and us... I always tell him how much im about to spend on what out of respect, the same way he respects my work around the house.
I highly doubt a man wearing a Rolex and driving a corvette is going to suggest his woman buy a purse at Walmart. That kind of guy is trying to portray that he is high class and knows brands matter when trying to appear high class.
I think 20:55 is something I would tattoo on my forehead if I could. I will never shut up about the fact that if women become interested in something it loses social value, but once men become interested, suddenly it's cool and valuable. Gaming is cool but only games men play. Beatles weren't cool when women loved them, now that 36 year old men are into them suddenly they are. It really extends to all areas not just leisure and entertainment. Growing up I was really encouraged to go into STEM and that's obviously great but when I went to college and was feeling like I wanted to go into graphic design (I was living in the honors dorm) I feel really insecure about transfering into an "art" major because I thought it made me less valuable as a person. All my peers were in engineering or biology and I did lose some respect from some of them. Especially after joining a sorority (I hated it but that's beside the point). I literally had a guy tell me he didn't think I was vapid enough to be interested in that. Like??? And looking back while teachers meant well, they praised me when I used my intellegence to act more like a man. And if I acted like a girl that wasn't priased. Why can't I be a woman, like feminine things, and still be a smart valuable person worthy of praise?
I'm really thankful I had people in my life who reminded me that other people's opinions don't matter and I should do what I love because I think I would have stuck with STEM and been MISERABLE.
Oh my gosh, this. I had the very challenging experience of entering college thinking I had to do STEM or else I'd end up like Fantine in Les Miserables. So I was scared into attending university (even though my parents weren't paying for it) and also into STEM. There was a definite fear of winding up homeless and unable to secure my own safety. It's so irrational now looking back.
What was worse, was I did okay in AP math and science classes in high school, so I entered college thinking I'd be fine. But then I'd apparently reached my threshold and failed my way through three different STEM majors for three years, and was at a serious risk of not graduating until I switched to humanities. I finished my degree in a year because I for once wasn't stressed, I enjoyed my classes and actually had fun doing the work.
And of course I then had to work food service jobs even with a degree. It's all about whether you have support. It wasn't until I got married that I was finally able to breathe and know that having two people as an economic unit instead of one meant that I'd somehow always be okay.
Great points! I agree
couldn't have said it better! and I will never shut up about it as well. I'm with you in this fight for equality ♀️
@@sweetembrace6706 wage gaps or earnings gaps? Iron THAT out before continuing...
I definitely relate. I went to a high school that valued STEM above all else, at least in the classes I was in (AP science, calculus, etc.). So when I decided in my junior year of high school that I wanted to major in graphic design, I felt sort of insecure because everyone else around me was going into science and math majors. I’m glad I stuck with graphic design because it’s much more aligned with my passions and interests. But it’s true that STEM careers are valued much higher in our culture.
When I was in middle school my mom's prescription was switched over to the local Target's pharmacy.
First time me and my brother were ever in a Target we were absolutely blown away by how nice it was compared to Walmart.
We actually said, out loud btw "Wow Dad! This is where the rich people shop-!"
And dad QUICKLY hushed us because we were telling all the fellow shoppers how poor we were 😂
Even as an adult I have thought that you have to be richer to go to target, I still go to Walmart mostly when I probably could go to target, will be switching tho lol.
The "women shopping, lol" trope is pretty telling about how we historically views women/femme relationship to money. We/they are seen as the consummate consumer and not the earner. It perpetuates a narrative that we aren't capable of understanding the responsibilities of finance since we're still not understood or taken seriously as automous money makers.
Well, most of the women I have known have enjoyed shopping, while all of the men I have known have not, so it may be one of those stereotypes rooted in a general truth.
@@heidih3048 did you read OP'comment)
@@AleTitan I understand the OP.. I just was noting the strange reality i have observed, that many women I have known have enjoyed shopping, while no man I have known has. Thus the "women shopping trope" may not be simply an imposition of a sexist stereotype. There may be more to it than that.
I don't think the stereotype of the female homemaker who only spends and does not earn the money is at play in the current generations' worldview. It has been several decades since women were typically homemakers.
@@heidih3048it is a stereotype. men are simply just too lazy and think it’s other people’s job to shop for them since they were young. people who are smarter and understand what they are doing like shopping more especially if it’s for themselves. besides most companies try to gear towards women anyways
@moyinoluwaseriki7324my husband is always working so idk if your husband sits around and does nothing is all other wives experiences. I’m sorry if that’s your life…
Simple reason I don't go into Walmart: I always get catcalled no matter which one I go to or what I'm wearing. One time it was 7 times in a 55 min span and I was in a sweatshirt. That has NEVER happened to me in a Target. And I truly mean never thus far.
Now that you mention it, I've also had that experience
i’m european and the very first and only time i stepped foot into walmart i got catcalled right away lmao
@@bowenarrows7819 everyone can say everything about it being classist elitist but I have the right to shop in peace and not constantly have my skin crawl.
@@TimeQuxxn yeah, I really just want to be left alone when I'm out
I had a man pull me aside in Walmart and tell me I “looked too good to be shopping at Walmart” 🥴 and trust me - I was wearing leggings and a t shirt, nothing fancy, no makeup and hair back. Made my skin crawl!
Working at the Target HQ in the mid 2000's cured me of any rose-colored glasses view of it. For the first few months, my "office" was a cubicle in the attic of a downtown building (back when Marshall Fields was the same company) that I shared with another person. Neither could get up and leave the cubicle without the other person standing up as well. A few months later, they moved us to a better building, but added a jacket/tie dress code. Even for we software people who never met with anyone outside the company. Add in the fact that the application I worked on measured "productivity" in the warehouses and I now look back on that time as having contributed to the rise of the kind of warehouse worker abuses Amazon is in the news constantly for now. All-in-all, not a great part of my career and an era I regret now.
i started in the warehouse a couple months back and every night i found myself wondering if i had died and gone to hell
I'll say this: when I used to do more crafting projects, I would *never* go to Target, at least the one near me. Target often has crafting kits, but rarely the individual components of those kits. It's a very curated experience. Walmart, while more chaotic, actually had the crafting supplies I was looking for (individually!) and for a decent price.
"This speaks to the desperation of women in domestic role." YES, oh this is so true. Speaking from a nearly 60-year old woman who had special needs children and no help, was forced to stay at home because I had no childcare, and husband was burnt out working and supporting a family on his income. Target was my escape and gave me the momentary illusion that a better life was around the corner. In the end, it was an opiate that just numbed the pain. I feel scared for the young tradwives of today who aren't building their own credit and thinking a man will always be there to support them. Burnt out husbands drink too much, die, or as in my case run off to be a ski bum. My kids are grown and luckily living independently and happily (partly due to massive sacrifice) but I still get that little hit of excitement when I enter Target and just smell the Target.
What IS that smell? I know exactly what you’re talking about!
Everyone should take your advice. Women NEED to have their own money. A fantasy of the perfect male provider who will never leave is often a bitter disappointment. Do not gamble with your life. Get money.
Ita like cigarettes. Once you smoke they always smell good
What is a ski bum
@@MaialeenThe problem here is that every dude I know will find a good job, not even in their field if they are a family guy. Women, in contrast, aren’t given good career jobs because moms will get help from their husbands and should only have a part time job because they should take care of kids. Or the women are just not paid as much as men for the same work or are regulated to “women’s fields”. It’s far from equal out there, even now.
I work at Target and the hours are still being cut like crazy.
I’m expected to not only work in my area, but also help others in their areas, All in a 4 hour shift.
“Guests” complain about how messy and under stocked the store is, always bringing up saying “isn’t this your job?” Some people are being scheduled 8 hours a week, we are drowning in the workload we are expected to complete.
I love working at Target, but the blatant disregard of the average team member is disgusting.
exactly! i wish this stuff was talked about more when discussing the grip target has on america. metrics are forced down our throats, we’re expected to do the work of 4 people in only 5-6 hours, and upper management refuses to step in and help. coupled with the blatant anti-union training team leads have been receiving, its become a storm of abuse from leadership. meanwhile we have to sit here feeling degraded as “guests” say “the walmart people are coming to target” because of how messy and unkempt our store is. its humiliating and dehumanizing to work for this company
This is happening everywhere.
"If YouRe PoOr DoNt ShOp" It's odd that we still villanize people with low incomes for wanting normal things, like clothing you like, beyond bare necessity clothing, etc. Poor people should not do without because that's what we deem the 'poor experience' @_@
They expect the poor to continue to ive like feudal serfs when they are being advertsized and marketed to as if they were wealthy and could/should have it all.
underrated comment
Especially because, when low-income individuals don´t shop and wear trendy clothes, people somehow think they can exploit them for trashfire content like "People of Wallmart," so they're damned if they do and damned if they don't! The worst picture I've seen was gentleman on a scooter that tipped as he tried to reach a shelf... like someone took a picture instead of helping the poor man O_o
As a poor person: fucking what
@@TheNickleChick ive heard it a lot. The whole "if they're so poor why do they have an iPhone" as if you shouldn't be allowed to have a phone? as if having one doesn't it make it even more difficult to live??
Anybody remember when Target had popcorn and pretzels at the entrance instead of Starbucks?
This was a very thorough and interesting breakdown, I really enjoyed it!
I am pretty sure it had a fun name too.
I was scrolling through to see if anyone else remembered that! I honestly miss the popcorn smell and the neon signs :)
Your comment just activated an old childhood memory buried deep in the folds of my brain that I totally forgot existed until just now.
Or Pizza Hut!
yes. i went to target the other day and i was so disappointed that the cafe was gone. but, they still sold the popcorn in little boxes :(
Target and Whole Foods: my two stops when I'm back in the States (and I am STOKED about them every time).
Yesssss!!!!
In Japan I missed Whole Foods and sprouts so much
You should try a Trader Joe’s.
So actually I’m living in South Korea this year and I noticed the same phenomenon with a shop named Daiso. I got trapped in their tactics as well as my friends. It’s cheap, convenient and very practical for students. A great part of the shop is only 1-2$.
There was a Daiso in Dallas, Texas, while I was visiting, and not only was the stuff so aesthetically pleasing to look at, there was also just a generally nice, gentle vibe in the store that made me want to take a nap in the ceramic mug section
I heard daiso (or stores similar to daiso) is also pretty popular on most east/southeast Asian countries, or at least it's pretty well known here in my country
They have a daiso in Japantown in San Francisco! I got so many things and the bill was like $15 total it's insane
In Malaysia, I think the closest thing we have to Target might be Mr DIY and Daiso. If they started selling clothes, it would be similar.
muji is another japanese retailer that's genuinely pleasant to shop in. ive only been to the one in boston, but it's fairly quiet and the lighting is warm-toned and it always smells like essential oil. not the cheapest, but sometimes i'd go in for stationary that i didn't really need. i guess to experience the ambiance?
Someone in my city posted a video of some girls fighting in a Walmart on a Facebook group for the city and someone commented “this wouldn’t happen at Target” and I think that’s a really good example of the perceived difference between Walmart and target
I have a Walmart and Target right next to each other in my neighborhood. A while back, my boyfriend and I wanted to see if there really was a difference in the environment and honestly there really is. Even when they're right next to each other. At Target everyone seemed more relaxed and happy (laughter, people talking quietly among each other, clean shelves and a lot of workers helping out) while at Walmart it was like "go, go, go". No one wants to be in there longer than they have to be (people walking fast, a lot of background noise, music from the speakers or someone's phone, we saw fake Elvis, messy aisles, and not that many workers).
This was a great video! Thank you for posting!
There's a similar setup in a nearby city for me. The Walmarts during the peak of the pre-vaccine times of the pandemic felt particularly "go, go, go" as the local anti-maskers figured that Walmart didn't have adequate staffing for mask mandate enforcement.
It feels incredibly stressful inside a walmart, I was even physically assaulted once by a strange man who physically grabbed my arm and yelled at me, unprovoked. Scared me shitless. Have been pushed, shoved and knocked over. Even if it is cheaper, there is a vibe from walmart that I just do not feel comfortable shopping in because I have only ever had negative interactions with customers shopping there and there is ZERO employees to help you when something does go down!
Re: Starbucks inside Target - it’s been proven that the smell of coffee makes us want to spend more time in the store. Even if you don’t get a coffee it’s very effective!
I miss the icees and pretzels they had pre starbucks :(
@@solarmoth4628 I think a lot of Targets still have them! A few of the ones near me do, and some of them also have Pizza Huts too
I’m my town the Kroger has a Starbucks but our Target doesn’t. frankly wish it did but I’m good without it, I don’t need another reason to linger in Target.
In fact my closest Target doesn’t even have a functioning food court anymore, just a wall of grab and go drinks, lunches and snacks where the food court used to be.
Is this true even if you hate coffee?
@@cassiesevigny I doubt it. Coffee smells so bad to me, it literally makes me nauseous
"No corporation deserves uncritical, unconditional love" - yes! I really hope we can bring this energy out more in 2022, along with straight up writing letters to management to get transparency reports and more sustainability and equity for workers, both in stores and in their supply chains. I get that not everyone can afford to boycott an unsustainable brand, there might not be cheaper options even available, but we definitely need to start getting these brands to act and treat their staff with far, far more dignity.
The idea that target is "classy" or "expensive" is so weird to me. I grew up on the east coast always thinking that, but now I live in the twin cities where target is king and it is by far the cheapest option for groceries (aside from Aldi). The regular grocery store is so much more expensive but initially I never price compared and just assumed the ugly old grocery store was the cheapest option. Once I did eventually price compare I realized target was so much cheaper, plus it's easier to use coupons since you just scan your circle bar code.
fellow twin cities resident heyyyy!!
how weird target is so much more expensive for groceries in my area! aldi, grocery outlet, vons, ralph’s are all way cheaper. the grocery section is also really small. i just go there for snacks for food, not real groceries lol.
Same here. No one goes to target for groceries in my area. All they have are frozen foods. And everything is wayyy over priced.
I’m from Europe, and from what I had seen in videos and pictures, I always thought that Target was a cheaper, more affordable store that people from all walks of life go to. I didn’t think such a super store would be considered classy.
Twin city resident as well! The target near me was nowhere near classy as a child - it’s surprising how many here aren’t lol. But way out in the suburbs - those super targets were magic lmao
Target has done a revamp in the past few years and many of it's sections are not at all reasonably priced. The lighting and the layout is also different now. I definitely think some of the things people like about target have declined but it built up enough good will between 2005-2015 that it can afford to raise prices and change the experience without losing fans.
Shopping at my local Walmart is always a stressful experience that can sometimes ruin my day. Shopping at my local Target is something I would do for fun, like I’ve actually gone on Target dates before.
Same. When I shop at Target, I'm calm and relaxed for reasons Tiffany discussed in the video, but when I go to Walmart, I'm quite stressed out, though I'm not quite sure why; it just stresses me out when I shop at Walmart.
I respect Walmart for being accessible to literally everyone but it results in stores being messy, items being opened/shoplifted, people yelling and being disruptive. As someone with social anxiety, Walmart is a big no go. I do love doing the curbside pickup to avoid entering the store but the service is hit or miss with that.
@@mizzbelle97 Walmart pick-up always leaves things out of my order, switches out items for things that are not a good substitute, and “upgrades” items to something of objectively worse value :(( and now it's even more awful to shop inside because of the employees running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to fulfill pick-up orders and being very rude to in-store shoppers.
@@johnwalker1058 Without fail every time I go to Walmart at least one of these things are happening: A fight outside, screaming for whatever reason, security dragging someone out, child abuse, a literal armed robbery, or someone being loudly racist.
@@sophieoril I saw a woman screaming at an employee that she couldn’t open the locked jewelry section on her own for like 20 minutes last time I was there.
I worked at Target for just over a year. Worst job I've ever had, the workplace culture and management was HORRIFIC at both of my locations. And because the customers were often "treating themselves", we (the staff) were often treated poorly. It was the customer's nice trip out, who cares about the people making minimum wage keeping those shelves stocked? (No one, but especially not our higher-ups.)
That's so interesting to hear, because my friends have told me the SAME THING! But, Target does a great job with SEO/scrubbing bad experiences from the internet, because when you look it up they are very "Sunshine and RAINBOWS! Working at Target is THE BEST!"
i worked there for two weeks a couple years ago and i was making double the min wage (they were hiring at $15) and it still wasn’t worth it (hence the two weeks lmao)
I had an interview there and I was maybe 7-10 minutes late because there was traffic. I live 10 minutes away, I left 20 minutes early. The first thing he asked was "why are you late" and I knew they wouldn't treat me like a human so I just 🤷🏾♂️ thru the rest of the interview.
Dated a dude who absolutely hated working there but the money was good enough to compensate.
I pray for those who have no choice but to work there, I send out my extra patience, I hope they can move on or continue to tolerate or accept their circumstances.
same! my fiancé got hit by a car and the first question they asked was “well you’re still coming in. right? unless you already got coverage.” it was more of a veiled threat, really.
Damn!!! All my mom friends truly think y’all are getting paid well and treated well. I feel like it’s just a nice looking Walmart
Amazing topic! As a sociology major I’m fascinated by these kinds of things lol. Without even watching 5 minutes yet, I would say that Target & other “super stores” really reflects American culture and car dependability. It’s just so hard to get around by walking, and traffic floods the streets so much that it just makes sense for people to want everything they can possibly buy in 1 single store. It may come at a higher cost, but those who shop at target, already know that so they will spend a couple extra dollars because they have the means to and have already accepted the reality around them.
Edit:
Jesus Christ you said everything I did already 1 min in 💀 This is gonna be a good one
Further edit: Let’s keep it civil guys. I’m one for instigating but let’s remember who the real villains & oppressors are here: CEO’s and their greedy corporations/businesses. As the working class we’ve gotta stick together!!!
Very true!! In NY I had a city target nearby so I’d pick up a few things once in a while, but now that I’m in the suburbs and driving again, I find myself buying way too much at stores like Target. It’s so much easier to buy a lot when you can stuff it in a car versus carrying it all home. I need to be more conscious of this bc it’s so easy to fall into the habit!
As a useless major*
@@nestorv7627 get a job
@@nestorv7627 “aS a uSeLeSs mAjOr” stfu. If you ever wanted to understand society, how it works, what keeps it moving, and theorizing then yeah I guess it’s useless. Probably coming from a business major I would imagine 🙄
@@TeeTee2nd I graduate in 3 weeks, so I will, soon
This video called me OUT 😭 I am a Target girl! My home decor, half my clothes, my pantry, everything is Target. And yes, i do follow those Target accounts. And honestly this video kinda did help me realize while I loved it. going to Target was something we just didn’t do when i was little, we weren’t poor but if I asked to go my mom would say “we’re not going to that expensive ass store” so of course when i got a job I was curious and I wanted to see what that expensive store was all about and then I learned wait this isn’t that expensive and i became hooked.
the mall-like appeal of walking around target with friends is very real. there's just not a whole lot of places that's affordable enough to not be intimidating but still somewhat nice and you're not being watched like a hawk and expected to actually buy something.
hey tiffany! great vid as always : ) an interesting thing I just recently noticed: in Brazil there's a store chain that seems to mimick Target's general branding and layout, it's called "Lojas Americanas" (literally translates to American Store LOL). funny how Target is so tightly associated with the "American way of life" that it manages to spawn other brands that are somewhat copycats : P
Hahaha wow that’s wild!
In Uruguay, next door, we have Tienda Inglesa (English store.) It's basically the Whole Foods, very premium supermarket.
@@avgeek707 that’s so interesting because we don’t have any of these brands in England either, they’re all American!
I used to work at Target and was the worst job I have ever had. I broke my finger and found a dead body in the bathroom (in the same week) and both times was expected to continue working my shift. I put in my immediate resignation. I refuse to step foot in another one.
holy shit. I'd quit too.
A D3@D B0DY!?
WHAT??😮
Riweuj
I never thought about the no music thing but you’re totally right! I have anxiety and I can get overwhelmed in stores really easily. I’m not sure I’ll ever be calm in a store post-2020 but I think I remember how comforting it used to be. When I was in my 20s I really couldn’t afford Starbucks or target but if I had a really bad day I’d go to target, get a Starbucks, and just window shop to feel better. Im a mental health therapist and when I did group therapy in an intensive outpatient program, I was a little taken aback at how many patients said that they’d abandoned a cart full of items at Walmart because they became too overwhelmed and/or had a panic attack. Something about Walmart seems to heighten anxiety.
I get overwhelmed when shopping in big stores in general. A lot of times I just hate it.
Mmmmm hm. Totally tracks. Shitty lighting, tight aisles, generally crowded, the LIGHTING ugh. And don’t get me started on the parking lot 😂. I haven’t been inside my local Walmart since before the pandemic- if they miss me they’ll have to watch me in my car doing grocery pick up ✋🏼
My mom used to get so mad every time we went to Walmart because she always heard a beeping noise, lol. She made the switch to Target after a particularly overstimulating day.
The more I hear about Herero couples, the more I appreciate my wife. I’ve been unemployed since the beginning of the pandemic and I can tend to feel really shitty about my lack of contributions to the house. There’s just the two of us so my wife’s income is thankfully enough to support us, but I still tend to panic about finances. My wife is so much better than me about understanding that the work I do for and around the house is work even if it’s not paid. I do feel exhausted after my Monday shopping trip[s] and she is so understanding and encourages me to buy things just for fun. I really love her.
That is how it is with my husband too. He works a paid job and I work as a housewife. He is very appreciative of the work I do, even though it's not paid. He loves going shopping with me when he can because he loves finding new products to try together. He has never complained about expenses, except to say everything is so much more expensive than before the pandemic times (but don't we all complain about that?). I love him for all of that and so much more
The "Walmart is for lower class" mindset in the US is interesting for me as a Mexican because here Walmart is considered as upper middle class store lol
I saw that Target put Kirby costumes on the round red barricades outside the entrance. Very cute.
You should cover Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. I had never stepped into them until I went with my white woman boss when I was younger. The reason why I mentioned it, I had never been in such an atmosphere especially with an attractive blond white woman so people were more willing to help us. It was odd. They probably thought I was her adopted child. Lol.
I’m a white woman and I love Trader Joe’s lol I don’t like Whole Foods though.
Trader Joe's is great though! Their products are relatively cheap and many stores are smaller in size which makes it easier to buy what you need and not over-spend. At least in my opinion lol
@@salami7677 mine is a 10 min walk (compared to a regular grocery store next door), which is a perfect little walk and it’s a great experience. Also helps me to not spend too much since I have to carry it back. I’m excited for the flowers as it gets warmer out. The only grocery store I go to without a list.
Also would be good to discuss too, as I believe it is connected to Trader Joe’s.
Broooo I'm crying 😂 lmao
“Why are Americans so obsessed with Target?”
I have never felt so called out by something so true
Saaameeee
I... Did I miss something because i don't think I know anyone obsessed with target.
Plus Size shopping is MISERABLE in target. The section at my store keeps getting SMALLER and smaller with a nice sign "extended sizes 14-28 online!!" yippee. SO inaccessible. Thank you for including Tiffany. Please don't stop talking about this issue! Being plus size/low income, I can't afford to front money to online orders, hope something fits (I'm 5'11) and then struggle to return --
Walmarts plus size sections are actually far superior to target's and their clothing selection in general has improved so much in recent years.
@@CherryScout couldn't agree more! Walmart has the best selection in person!! If they could streamline their in-store brands to a more *pleasant* online shopping experience... they have amazon style-oversaturation-third-party seller-confusion with a lot of the XXXL being juniors or just plain weird. I make sure to sort by "retailer: Walmart"
@@xginahey so true. I hate the third party retailers.
i work at target, and i used to try finding clothes to wear there since it was cheap and it was already there. needless to say as someone who wears XL i refuse to do it anymore because it runs so small. an XL wild fable sweater looks like a damn crop top on me
@@bug7383 actually I work at target too 😅
I used to work at Target right before they switched from having a cafe to having a Starbucks. When they used to sell basic handheld foods (hot dogs, pizza, popcorn, etc.) and soda, Icees, or water. They had a blower thing on top of the popcorn maker so when they made fresh batches it would blow the smell out into the store to entice people to come buy food from the cafe. Just a fun tidbit I thought would be interesting to share.
Walmart is anxiety inducing, ive seen actual fights in Walmarts, dirty stores,rude employees and this has been across tons of Walmarts over my life. I don't have anxiety at target, I go to Walmart and I'm in and out.
Something else about target is it’s supply of “greener” products while still being fast production. I fall constantly into the trap of feeling less guilty because I bought vegan food items, “sustainable” deodorant or shaving cream and so many other things even though I know target is not sustainable. I think this is where the elitist attitude comes from as well. By supplying products that feel higher end such as vegan and sustainable options, people feel more righteous than if they had gone to Walmart and bought a normal toothpaste or 5 in 1.
exactly. i worked there, and the way some companies/brands package up their "sustainable" products for shipment is just not great
Target has a huge fast fashion clothing section that is worse quality and come in uglier styles than Walmart tho. If they truly cared about sustainability, they wouldn’t have so much clothing.
@@starchannel123 I agree!
I loved the little house on the prairie dresses they were carrying. They pair so well with corsets.
I personally use target as an Amazon replacement - the free curbside pickup is nice (especially in a pandemic), free shipping for the items they might not have in stock, it's right by where I live, and while employee treatment isn't perfect, its many times better than Walmart and Amazon so it's the lesser of evils while still fitting into my budget
In Australia we have this same obsession with Kmart.
Maybe 5+ years ago, the store really started focusing on home decor. They follow the trends and will sell all these pink things, marble things, gold things, etc. This led to everyone thinking themselves an interior designer and buying up this cheap stuff to fill their homes. Then came the 'hack' Facebook groups to share tips and DIY ideas for Kmart items, but mostly descended into buying things for unsustainable or pointless reasons.
I love that they offer affordable, trendy decor items and dupes, but it seems to have mainly just promoted buying things for the sake of buying things.
As a fan of Target, lol, I think what puts them over the edge for me is their furniture selection. It's more affordable than say, West Elm or Restoration Hardware, but is also good enough quality that it won't fall apart after a year. I did buy a dresser from Wal-Mart and it was......basically garbage. I also worked at Wal-Mart as a teen and will forever be traumatized by that experience.
I lived in a city where literally there was a Target right next to a Walmart. I was always baffled how it could be night and day in terms of the shoppers. I tried going to the walmart but I would get overwhelmed by the fact both times there were people fighting, kids running about and this mom just yanking her crying kid. By contrast the Target right next door had a different clientele. It was always the weirdest thing.
One thing I also want to add as a Latino
Walmart is one of the few if the only store that tends to have a diverse set of food selection, and when your a Latino finding the same type of flavored foods you like are rare and can only (mostly) be found in walmart only. Especially if you live in the country side which is even rarer.
Even more regional chains like Martins/Giant has a bigger selection of diverse food. I've been able to find brands like Shim and Sapporo Ichiban there while Target only had very slim pickings of Asian cuisine altogether as an example.
I'm so glad someone pointed this out. Same for me but I'm from a different food culture!
as someone who has never stepped foot in America, this finally helped me understand what's so nice about Target! and also why so many artists have target exclusives
Re: Walmart vs. Target - I once went to buy cosmetic items from Target and thought they were way too expected. I went over to Walmart and turned out they were more expensive. Since then, I’ve decided to shop at Target. Might as well spend the same or less and be in a warmer environment
As a Canadian girl who grew up watching Bethany Mota, I wanted so badly to be able to shop at target. When we would go to the US. I always made sure to go and it was awesome (especially the clothes). But when they opened in Canada, the vibe was just so different, it just felt like an empty and boring walmart. And then they just closed. Target in canada was like a weird fever dream haha
I definitely prefer shopping at a target over a Walmart. My local Walmart is always messy, obviously understaffed (many elderly people working too it makes me sad), and there is a lot of crime. At the target less than a mile down the road it is always super clean (not the clothes they are always a mess), organized, and they have enough staff for the store to run.
Same here and the stores are right next to each other - Walmart makes me have anxiety attacks but target is stress relieving
I agree. I prefer to shop at target because it's cleaner, there's less trouble, and I find better quality food like fresh fruit/veggies compared to Walmart
It's funny, where I live, Target is dirty but not messy and Walmart is clean and not messy as well. Depends on where you go I suppose.
My Walmart is the same. I can walk there but the shelves are half-empty and it’s always packed with three people working at the registers so you find 2 of the 6 things you needed and have to wait forever to check out. I would rank Costco far above Target, though. Target lost its sheen when I got a new shirt and my boss told me his wife had picked up the same shirt. Nothing against her but I hate having all the same stuff as everyone else!
I go to target to save my sanity. I almost always have a meltdown in Walmart and end up in tears. I don’t mind spending an extra dollar. Also, target is always so calming and their baskets aren’t loud and there’s almost always no one there, etc etc. sometimes I just window shop when I’m stressed.
I ended up on people of Walmart when I worked there, it was literally right after my dad had passed. Literally nothing was wrong with how I looked, they were dead ass just making fun of how my body is built.
Thats fucked.. people are a bunch of body shaming assholes. sorry to hear about your dad:
That's so awful to hear. I hope you're feeling much better now. ♡
I’m so sorry that happened to you. I always thought that website was trash and so were the people looking at it and laughing. I told everyone as much, too.
I worked at Target as a cashier for a few months last year. I can absolutely attest to the fact that people go in with the intention of buying a couple items and end up buying $200+ worth of items. I’ve had guests tell me this as I was ringing their stuff up.
I'm in the USA and in my area, Target is usually the lowest price (except when it comes to food). It's my fav store due to the "one stop shop" aspect. Stores are organized in an intuitive way. And I feel good vibes due to nostalgia of Target shopping with mom growing up. ☺️
The Target that is near me doesn't have food, but the ones that I have been to that do have much lower food prices than the local grocery stores around here.
Target was generally higher quality when we used to have it in Canada, at least with clothing. But the store Target took over in Canada, Zellers, had a more loyal group because it was Canadian and Walmart was from the US, so supporting more local people seemed like a better idea, but price did a play a role in who shopped where. I guess the nostalgia of it is why I like going to Superstore in Canada, because they used to give out free bakery cookies to kids, and I have good memories of those.
Americans coming to Canada have a little culture shock when they realize that we all go to Walmart even when Target was in Canada for a bit. Wild.
And those superstore prices 😶🌫️ very hard to beat
bro, i freaken love superstore!!!
My town only had Target for one year before it left Canada and I remember walking in so confused. I don’t know what I was expecting but since Americans seemed to love it so much I was imagining it would be amazing! It just felt like any other store.
Yes I was just about to mention this!! The reason why Target failed in Canada is so interesting, never mind the higher cost of items and generally able to find the same things at Walmart. In my city, the Target and the Walmart where usually in the same mall/area so it was super easy to compare and find the exact same thing at Walmart for a much cheaper price. Also whenever I went to Target, it always felt really empty, even when it was a weekend and I think in general the most popular shoppers (middle class SAH moms) were not familiar with Target like they are in America so it didn't really pick up among their biggest audience.
literally went to target after dinner, before prom, senior year. just hung out in our prom gowns in the furniture section. love the video, very accurate
I really appreciate that you don't circulate "People of Walmart" media. I find it sad for lots of reasons, but mostly the otherization.
target's branding does a good job with diversity. of races and ages. i met a colombian woman who is part of the culture department and she helped create an ad campaign for latino history month. they created a whole youtube video series about it. they changed the website to add spanglish and they had a whole section in the store for that campaign. all the products they sold in store were made by latino artists and professionals. it's called the "mas que" target 2021 campaign. the creator for the campaign was so fun to speak to personally she is charismatic and i learned a lot from her
I will never understand the hype around Target. I only go there for something if I can't find at another store or for something novelty (like gifts, room decor, etc) but never to grocery shop because that store is SO EXPENSIVE. I do understand that prices are rising currently but even before then Target has always been expensive to me 😂😂
yeah i only shop at grocery stores not superstores. the only superstore i'll grocery shop in is meijer but even then i never really leave the grocery or pet section lol. kroger is my go-to.
@@saintnicole3209 Kroger, Walmart or HEB (Texas based grocery store) for sure
for me too, and I have a salaried job! Like, why would I buy a mop at Target for $20 when I could buy it at 99Cent City for $7.99? It's all mass produced plastic either way. You know the people that made those mops in some Chinese factory weren't paid properly, so you're literally just paying more for a more neatly printed package, and it's all going to Target' corporate profits.
I have watched SO MANY Tiktoks repeating that "men should meet women at Target because hot women shop there and are already looking for things they don't need" That joke has been beaten to the ground but there's definitely some discussions of class that stem from it
Honestly… for me, they’ve got better product selection. They also used to exclusively carry my skincare and it’s very accessible to me as a black person to get my hair care there. They have a bigger and much better selection than WalMart. So when I need hair stuff to keep my afro healthy, it’s readily available at Target and I don’t need to visit the African store as often as I did before.
yeah target is the BEST place for drugstore beauty and hygiene products because they have a mix of budget to high end products. you can only afford cantu? they got cantu. wanna splurge on pattern by tracee ellis ross? they got a whole display full of the stuff. it's great but it does kinda suck that the mainstream store with the best hair care section for black hair is usually located in predominantly white neighborhoods.
Plus you don’t have to worry about the items being locked up.
Their cosmetics/personal care section is better than Walmart.
Absolutely this. More options for curly hair.
I like going for hair supplies and not be followed around like when I go in a beauty supply store. Also, the prices and variety are what I’m looking for. Walmart doesn’t have as much variety for my hair.
ex-target worker here 👋🏻 i found this fascinating! the position i was in functioned perfectly as a transitional job while i was in my undergrad, but a TON of my fellow employees were trying to support children or their whole families on ~$15/hr. they're starting to partner with a program to get some people free or assisted tuition, but it only works with certain schools. from my experience, my bosses were excellent and flexible with anyone who worked hard (i was hired as a seasonal employee and they liked me enough to keep me after the holidays). i'd also like to mention the employees recieve mandatory diversity/inclusion-type training sessions; to me it was standard-fare "don't be an asshole" sorta stuff but to older employees it probably helped them navigate and break down any prejudices they had. we recently got new nametags with lots of pronoun options as well. to me, it all seemed to work; the mean people and careless ones got weeded out pretty quick. idk if it's part of a corporate PR scheme/ulterior motive or if it's genuine, but for what it's worth, i kinda trust it? on a personal level, at least, most individual employees i knew really did care about customer service, so you can at least trust them to be doing their best.
any other team members, feel free to add ur thoughts or crazy customer stories :) i know i've got a bunch haha
This may be against the norm but I loved the prairie dress moment at target. It actually helped me build up my closet with items that I wear constantly and make me more comfortable
In the places I've lived, the areas that the Targets were in were always in safer and "nicer" areas than the ones Walmarts were in. When I'm shopping alone as a 21 year old girl, I've gotten harassed and cat-called multiple times at a Walmart but for some reason, never at a Target. Due to that, I usually will shop at Target even though I am a broke college student and it is more budget friendly to go to Walmart. It just got to the point where it wasn't worth the risk anymore. But if I am with someone else, like a male, I will go to Walmart
Even as someone who is male, I relate to feeling more comfortable at Target than at Walmart. It was also a little jarring going from Target that has the big pride display in June to shopping at Walmart the first time I tried going myself and when browsing a shelf, an old lady started conversation with me and at one point asked me "where the world was coming to with everything turning gay now." In my head, I was like "oh, this is a very different place." (I'm not even LGBT, but it still made me quite uncomfortable).
The nearest Target to me is right across the street from the Walmart and it is still wildly different inside.
I can't explain it. People don't always come to Walmart with their best behavior.
I just got to the section where you talk about it’s “non-Walmartness” and I had to to chime in that as someone from West Virginia, which is incredibly resource reduced and plagued by food deserts, Target doesn’t just ✨feel✨ upper-middle class it actually is. The number 4 employer in our state is Walmart, but the primary grocery provider is often Dollar General. I have an entire class on WV folklore this semester, and we actually were just discussing today how standard WV small talk involves talking about if your town has more than one Dollar General and bragging points if you have a Walmart. A beloved WV past time is literally just walking around Walmart-like that’s what me and my friends did for fun in high school 😂😂 my folklore professor actually referred to a Walmart on Saturday as “town hall."
It gets even more nuanced-I think again bc we’re such a resource reduced area-but like we brag about the quality of our grocery stores on a daily basis…like it was a big deal when a city about 20 min from me got a “Gucci Kroger” and I’ve even heard of a “Gucci Dollar General” which was fancy bc it had a fresh produce section! (I sound sarcastic but that genuinely was very exciting for me to find out haha) So like when you mentioned that people don't typically brag about going to Walmart--that's not the case for most of WV; only the "big" (no cities in WV are really that big) and "rich" cities have Targets, Food Lions, and Krogers.
I could talk about it more bc it is genuinely such a major part of Appalachian culture
I'm sorry I've spammed your twitter and insta too haha I'm just like genuinely really passionate about this; Walmart and Dollar General are such an integral part of the Appalachian experience--for better and worse...
This is fascinating. Thank you for all this info! That WV folklore class sounds so interesting too
This is exactly my experience growing up in poor rural areas in the Midwest! Walmart was the only and best option when I was young (with dollar stores now moving in as well). There was nothing shameful about Walmart- it’s just the store where you get literally everything. So much so that we called all plastic grocery bags “Walmart bags.”
When I moved to a more middle-class suburb area, the love for Target and disdain for Walmart baffled me.
I’m so glad to see this video and hear this topic discussed!
In my part of WV, we have two Wal-Marts, and the one we've had since the 90s is considered to be the "ghetto" Wal-Mart so this rings true . We also have a Target, but those they frequent Target also tend to be the types who'd drive all the way to Tyson's Corner for shopping
I wish I had taken a folklore class about my state! That sounds cool!
There actually is a difference shipping at Walmart or Target where I live. I have gotten physically pushed by people at Walmart, the lighting is very harsh, and it is noisy. I have a lot of sensory issues and always leave Walmart feeling frazzled and anxious. I don’t have that issue at Target.
This! Walmart is hectic for me and drains me. Plus it’s so big and I’m disabled. I get tired and give up on getting things bc I don’t want to circle the entire store. Target is better for my sensory issues
@@indiefairy09 Plus I can bribe my husband to come along because of the Starbucks!
I’m Autistic and have ADHD, and I’ll say that Target is pretty much the embodiment of a sensory friendly store and I love finding clothing that’s comfy and just works for my sensory/fashion occasion needs.
But as someone who lives in the city of Targets HQ, has a stressful time even driving and lives in a 600 square foot place, I can’t say that I shop at Target often (once a month). I almost don’t want to move to a bigger place since it’s saving me so much money on NOT buying crap!! 😂
The last time I went shopping at a Walmart (which are even farther outside of the city) was when I first moved to the city. That was 10 years ago and the whole visit was depressing as hell…
@@rachel_sj Hi! I also have ASD. I lived in MPLS for awhile as well. My son wear a lot of their clothing because it is affordable, comfy, and sensory friendly as well.
Ugh this! I always get sensory overload in walmart
I think for me, the reason going to target vs. walmart was more of a fun adventure was probably because I grew up in a town where walmart and kroger were pretty much it for your groceries and the closest target was like a half hour away and my parents never shopped there and I personally didn't really have the money to go there until I got my own job. So going to target was like a getaway shopping experience while walmart was where you went with your friends sometimes at night to goof around.
The moment you mentioned City Target (which I had never heard of) it made me think of Monoprix in France. Their branding and what they carry is quite similar, and they even have Monop' which is basically a smaller version of the full thing.
Its super interesting to me as a european, i cant imagine getting excited at a thought of hanging out at a basically big version of Tesco
Yet im sure that if i were to visit states i would definitely like to go to target just for the experience
Haha was thinking exactly the same. I DETEST doing a Tesco 'big shop'
Us Euro's can't relate because I'm assuming the joy of going to Target comes from (the anticipation of) actually taking home those things you want but don't need, which is not what we would do, or 'allow' ourselves. At least not to the (American) extent that it becomes a kind of walk-in lottery that triggers your dopamine!
But it's like shopping at Waitrose, M&S or Sainsbury's. It happens in Europe too
definitely my thoughts, but it’s kind of like waitrose and tesco combined i guess? and walmart more like lidl or asda. both are like “quick, quick, quick”
@@elizabethd7551 Walmart owned ASDA so no surprise there 🤣
Great video. In Canada we briefly had target for a few years in the early 2010’s - their purchase of many Zellers stores, rapid expansion and sudden exit really screwed over A LOT of Canadian workers.
I can heartily agree with the no music part. Sometimes I just want to shop in peace and quiet with my “no noise making” shopping cart.
One of the big reasons I participate in "fast fashion" is because as someone who is plus sized AND doesnt have that much money, its SO hard to find clothing that isnt from somewhere like Shein
Really enjoyed this one, Tiff. I've always been a bit mystified by people's love for Target. I'm more of a thrifter so the prices make me panic. But I'm a mom now, and I'm glad you touched on the bit about escapism. I remember walking in but myself to Christmas shop and grabbing a coffee, browsing the dollar spot and being like OH. I GET IT. Very interesting video!
I remember classmates in highschool (mid 2000s) speaking badly of people who shopped at Walmart and said people should shop at small local stores and farmer's markets. I felt defensive because my family shopped at Walmart as a middle class family struggling with employment for several years. But at the same time I also felt a bit ashamed. I'm grown now and now I realize that you have to survive how you can in a capitalist society 🙃
As an adult managing my own household with my partner, Target is cheaper for packaged foods (deli meat, cheese, cereal, etc) than the local chain in my area so I go there and just be amazed at the price difference. Walmart is even cheaper, but it's very chaotic there and I get stressed there post-covid because it's too crowded.
I'm pretty good at sticking to a list so I don't walk out spending way more than I planned, but Target gets me with their snacks that I can't find elsewhere near me. Like their brownie madelines???? Life changing and I always need to get a box when I go.
One thing that gets left out of the Target being a treat conversation is that there isn’t much to do in the Midwest and especially in far flung suburbs. There’s only so many park walks, movie theater, and strip malls you can take until you’ve seen it all. Going to Target just to walk around and see what’s out there is a good way to kill a couple few hours
i definitely fall into the comfort/nostalgia aspect as my mom used to work at a Target when i was a child, and she used to always bring me there whenever we went out shopping. my main motivator of wanting to go was in hopes of either getting pokémon cards, pokémon figurines or pokémon red/blue for the game boy. hehe 😌
she definitely flourished in that homey-like environment since she was such a social butterfly and outgoing person. 🥰
while i don’t personally shop there very often, whenever i do shop there it does make me feel a lot more at ease due to that nostalgia/comfort factor. i could spend hours in there, with my spouse and/or my best friend, just looking at things 👹
Most Walmarts I go into are dirty, have beeping cameras and continuous music interrupted by ads. Boxed stuff right in the middle of the aisle. Employees are invisible and sometimes you are forced to use self checkout with no one to ask questions too. Target, in contrast, is clean, no music or ads and I can find an employee to answer a question. 9:51 Angela as a mom figure? Have you watched The Office? 😊
I went to FIDM and we literally spent a whole semester breaking down Targets rebrand and cult following
Oh that's pretty cool. I remember one time when I was in high school, there was this person from FIDM who gave a presentation to talk about FIDM and potentially get some students interested in going there after graduation.
I really related to what you said about a trip to Target being like a trip to a small mall. That's so true. I have one near my house, and sometimes I go and just chill for a bit. Try on some cute clothes. Read the backs of some books. Touch some soft pillows. Buy a snack. The mall in my town over the years has grown increasingly boogie and almost nothing there is affordable to me except the Macy's sale section, and Forever 21 styles for the last couple years just don't work for me.
Oh, that's interesting. Perhaps as malls are dying thanks largely due to online shopping (and Covid didn't help either), stores like Target are sort of filling part of the spot that used to mainly be filled by malls: places you go to shop that look nice, have a certain comfortable atmosphere, and hang out while shopping or just looking around.
Because of consumerism, shopping has become an “experience”. So Target has capitalized off of that by curating an environment that people find soothing. For the people praising the environment of Target, you are literally falling for their ploy. You’re not there for the “experience” you are there to buy your items and leave. I don’t understand attaching all these feelings to a store.
👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Because it makes me feel nice
@@mikuenjoyerXD I’m not shaming anyone who finds comfort in going to stores like Target. This is just my personal opinion.
It's the only place moms get any peace and quiet though!
16:00 honnestly even that "little house in the prairie" flop is a sign that they are accutely awared of trends, cause that was also right as the cottagecore eastetic was booming so i see what they were trying there.
One interesting thing I've noticed about Walmart vs Target is that people in Walmart parking lots always seem to drive crazy and never look when backing up! It feels dangerous being in a Walmart parking lot, to the point that I go out of my way to park farther away and hopefully avoid getting backed into or hit by some person zooming down a lane without paying attention. I never seem to have that problem with Target parking lots. It's still busy, but I swear the people shopping at Target don't drive the same way as people who shop at Walmart.
I never go to target if I'm in a hurry. Target is for leisurely shopping, it's a whole activity. Try on some clothes from the clearence rack even if I don't buy them.
You don't understand this video is everything I needed. I moved to Japan six months ago and found myself homesick for Target of all things. I tried to unpack why and this video helped out immensely. Japan does not have any superstores except Costco, which are typically located on military bases and only accessible by car, which most Japanese people don't have. There are tax-free stores like BIC or Don Quixote (a dollar store equivalent), but they typically do not have clothes or decor, and because Japan is so small, the building is multi-storied, with each floor being one section, thus people only go to the floors they need. Plus, these stores are super tight and dark compared to a Target (think Hot Topic), so it's not an enjoyable experience. It's funny because I never went to Target by myself, spending my own money, so maybe what I really miss is the nostalgia aspect: my mother driving me there, paying for me, and of course, getting the blue raspberry ICEE with a soft pretzel. Also, Target has an incredible variety of seasonal decor that I would never be able to find here, namely the Halloween decor. In closing of this super long comment, I'm not shitting on Japan as a whole because there are pros and cons of living here, but is there anything more nostalgically American than glamorized overconsumption??
13:13 as an american i feel like this is a perfect description of the difference between target and walmart. walking around target feels like walking through pinterest, whereas walmart feels like an aggressively chaotic grocery store. and to me it’s weird bc sam’s club doesn’t feel like that but the regular standard walmarts do.
Aside from the "chaotic" feel of Walmart, Target is considerably safer to shop at. I live near both stores, and the Walmart in my area has the #1 stab rating of all American Walmarts. Even though Target is only 5 minutes away, and in the same community, I don't need to worry about getting harassed or stabbed. It's sad, because the goods from both stores are fairly similar.
The other interesting thing is at one point both stores' credit cards were handled by Synchrony with either Sychrony Bank themselves dropping it or Walmart breaking their contract with them because Synchrony Bank did something against Walmarts business related beliefs, they also did this same thing with Capial One. Sam's still has Sychrony as their partner. (it's interesting since they're owned by the same company [Walmart]/)
Yea, I notice the same thing about Sam's Club, too, that it's more quiet than Wal-Mart when it isn't busy.
As someone who grew up in the States in an upper-middle class family that shopped at Target a lot, but then moved abroad in my teen years (I'm currently 26), there is a consensus among my family members that the thing we miss the most about living in the US is the shopping experience specifically at Target. There is just something about it. I remember getting a $5 allowance every week for doing chores and being SO excited to save up for a month (or however long my patience lasted) and spend my money at Target.
The point about Target being the easiest way to buy clothes in person was something I didn't realize until you brought it up. When I need clothes I go to Target now. That's so weird, I had never thought about it until now!