Wal Mart or Target?

[Roadhawg]

If you ever get a chance, check out the new store in Joplin...I've never seen one so big...

The old one got destroyed by the tornado didn't it?

[ljbab728]

We should be buying our products from mom and pop stores instead of these huge corporations. These huge corporations are taking over the world.

It's nice that you have unlimited funds that allow you to do that. Not everyone is that privileged. When I can get the same items from local mom and pop vendors at the same or lower prices I will certainly do that.

[wallbreaker]

It's nice that you have unlimited funds that allow you to do that. Not everyone is that privileged. When I can get the same items from local mom and pop vendors at the same or lower prices I will certainly do that.

It really is a chicken/egg or snake eating it's own tail problem. People have to watch budgets because of low pay, and poor benefits. But low pay and poor benefits have been driven largely by the rise of national chains like Wal-Mart driving down wages, and putting local business out of business. Whole communities have been destroyed by wal-mart, and people still pull away.

I'm happy I have a crest nearby, so we made the switch, and at least we're keeping our money in Oklahoma and not sending it all to arkansas. I'm always floored that people who feel so strongly about building good communities in OKC so easily sell away their community for their 20 pieces of silver of savings they get at Wal-Mart.

[ljbab728]

It really is a chicken/egg or snake eating it's own tail problem. People have to watch budgets because of low pay, and poor benefits. But low pay and poor benefits have been driven largely by the rise of national chains like Wal-Mart driving down wages, and putting local business out of business. Whole communities have been destroyed by wal-mart, and people still pull away.

I'm happy I have a crest nearby, so we made the switch, and at least we're keeping our money in Oklahoma and not sending it all to arkansas. I'm always floored that people who feel so strongly about building good communities in OKC so easily sell away their community for their 20 pieces of silver of savings they get at Wal-Mart.

wallbreaker, please note that I buy almost no groceries from Walmart and the last time I checked those were the main items for sale at Crest.
Again, Walmart is hardly my first or favorite place to shop and if I can get the same items for the same price or less at locally owned businesses I'm happy to buy there. Also, again, many people have to literally watch every penny they spend to survive so don't judge them.

And I don't see your connection between low pay and poor benefits with national retailers. It seems just the opposite to me. Does Crest pay a higher wage with better benefits than Walmart? I honestly don't know but would be interested.

[Brett]

Wal-Mart everytime. More product selection. Prices that end in .97 instead of .99. Shopping at 5:00am is fun. Wal-Mart supports smaller communities. Self checkout at some stores. Get to observe People of Walmart first hand. Redbox locations.

[Sheetkeecker]

Everyone says they hate Walmart and they all shop there.
Walmart knows this well, and does not wear their feelings on their sleeve.
If someone does a better job than Walmart, then Walmart will fall.
It's just business, plain and simple.

Walmart success was by putting regionally-located stores in disparate areas based on population calculations, and they have done it extremely well.
They are not afraid of small towns and they don't make you drive 50 miles to get to a Supercenter.
How hard is that?
Duh.

[Lord Helmet]

I haven't stepped foor in a Wal-Mart since moving from OKC to Denver. I do shop at Target from time to time. Preferably I buy local though. There's two farmer's markets within walking distance of my house that are open most of the year (not in the winter though) that are great for veggies, 2 Whole Foods close that are great for meat and seafood, and we have our milk and eggs delivered to our front door(!) every monday from a local dairy.

When I was in OKC options were much more limited. I did shop at Wal Mar from time to time back then.

[Bunty]

Wal-Mart everytime. More product selection. Prices that end in .97 instead of .99. Shopping at 5:00am is fun. Wal-Mart supports smaller communities. Self checkout at some stores. Get to observe People of Walmart first hand. Redbox locations.

Why do some Wal-Marts have self check-outs and others don't? If their recently built stores don't have self check-outs, maybe it means they are money losers for Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart supports smaller communities? In too many towns Wal-Mart is in, the downtown looks like an abandoned dump. At least some Oklahoma towns, such as Stillwater, are trying to overcome that by making the downtown a BID district.

[BBatesokc]

Why do some Wal-Marts have self check-outs and others don't? If their recently built stores don't have self check-outs, maybe it means they are money losers for Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart supports smaller communities? In too many towns Wal-Mart is in, the downtown looks like an abandoned dump. At least some Oklahoma towns, such as Stillwater, are trying to overcome that by making the downtown a BID district.

Saw a news program the other day that stated many retailers were getting rid of their self check-outs due to rampant theft and the need for staff to oversee the self-checkouts and provide assistance.

[wallbreaker]

Saw a news program the other day that stated many retailers were getting rid of their self check-outs due to rampant theft and the need for staff to oversee the self-checkouts and provide assistance.

I'd be thrilled. As a consumer I've grown to hate the self checkouts. Too many places have used it as an excuse to have almost no staffed checkout lanes. I don't mind being behind a line of folks if they're self checking out 4 or 5 items, but when people are having to self checkout carts full of food, they take forever.

[Larry OKC]

Think I read recently that Walmart is eleminting the self-checkout experiment so that might explain why some have them and some don't. Walmart strategy a few years (decades) back was to go where their competitors (K-Mart etc) wouldn't, i.e., the small towns. For a while there weren't any Walmarts in OKC proper, they were all in the suburbs and maybe right on the other side of the city limit. The comps would look at an area and say that particular town/city didn't have the numbers to support the store but Walmart saw the area and not where the lines were drawn arbitrarily on a map. You build a Walmart and they will come. Then as they got bigger and SuperCenters became the norm, they had a tendency to migrate across the line for lower taxes and/or incentives etc and leaving many small towns in a lurch as Walmart would be a sizable portion of their tax base.

[NoOkie]

Wal-Mart supports smaller communities? In too many towns Wal-Mart is in, the downtown looks like an abandoned dump. At least some Oklahoma towns, such as Stillwater, are trying to overcome that by making the downtown a BID district.

I remember when Weatherford got their Wal-Mart. I commented that I hated them, but several of the locals said that they were looking forward to it due to the poor quality and high price of groceries in the local stores. And limited goods in the other types of merchants.

Personally, I prefer Target. I don't mind the Neighborhood Markets, though. It's definitely cheaper(By a considerable margin) to shop there than the Homeland at Britton and May. It's the Neighborhood Market for regular stuff, and Homeland or one of the specialty grocers if it's a special occasion. I do go out of my way to buy my deli meats at Homeland or NDs, though. Wal-Mart's deli meats suck.

[HewenttoJared]

Saw a news program the other day that stated many retailers were getting rid of their self check-outs due to rampant theft and the need for staff to oversee the self-checkouts and provide assistance.

They're heading towards RFID self-checks most likely. That's where the industry should have gone long ago.

[Larry OKC]

I remember when Weatherford got their Wal-Mart. I commented that I hated them, but several of the locals said that they were looking forward to it due to the poor quality and high price of groceries in the local stores. And limited goods in the other types of merchants.

Personally, I prefer Target. I don't mind the Neighborhood Markets, though. It's definitely cheaper(By a considerable margin) to shop there than the Homeland at Britton and May. It's the Neighborhood Market for regular stuff, and Homeland or one of the specialty grocers if it's a special occasion. I do go out of my way to buy my deli meats at Homeland or NDs, though. Wal-Mart's deli meats suck.

I haven't bought deli meat anywhere in a long time, but what about Walmarts deli meat sucks? Prices, quality, freshness, brand??? I would presume that unless someplace is carrying a specialty deli meat (like Sunflower and Boar's Head) that most grocery stores are carrying the same brands (just like most carry the same brands of everything else in the store).

[NoOkie]

I haven't bought deli meat anywhere in a long time, but what about Walmarts deli meat sucks? Prices, quality, freshness, brand??? I would presume that unless someplace is carrying a specialty deli meat (like Sunflower and Boar's Head) that most grocery stores are carrying the same brands (just like most carry the same brands of everything else in the store).

Price is alright. Quality and selection is poor and it just doesn't taste that great. Some of it is alright, but not the items I get. There's actually a pretty big variety of brands depending on the store. Homeland's stuff is alright, but I do like Boar's Head the most. I think Wal-Mart uses a house brand for their deli stuff.

I do find the perception of Boar's Head as specialty to be funny. It was what the regular grocery store in my po dunk home town in GA carried. It was just what you bought at the store.

[SoonerBoy18]

Target - Nice clean people who look like they just got out of the shower, Wal Mart- People who look like they just woke up.

[SoonerBoy18]

I think Walmart is starting to drop Supercenter from their stores. I think most of their stores have been converted to stores with a Groceries or limited grocery service like Target is doing in most of their stores. I think they maybe getting away from building stores over 150,000 sq ft. For awhile they were building stores in excess of 200,000 sq ft.

I noticed they have also closed their photo studios in the Del City and Midwest City stores,

I prefer Wal Mart to stay their current size. There is a small Wal Mart on Rockwell on the North West side of OKC and I have never felt uncomfortable at a Wal Mart until I shopped there.

[NoOkie]

I prefer Wal Mart to stay their current size. There is a small Wal Mart on Rockwell on the North West side of OKC and I have never felt uncomfortable at a Wal Mart until I shopped there.

Wal-Mart did some pilot stores called Hypermarts in the 80's. They rebranded them to Super Centers sometime after '90. Kansas City's was 270,000 sq ft. and was referred to by locals as the HyperHell. Looks like they closed it and built a smaller store.

[Lord Helmet]

They're heading towards RFID self-checks most likely. That's where the industry should have gone long ago.

RFID would be awesome. I wanna walk in to a store...fill up my cart, and walk out...having the system charge my debit card or store account without me having to pull a card out of my pocket!

[Sheetkeecker]

Target - Nice clean people who look like they just got out of the shower, Wal Mart- People who look like they just woke up.

Target discriminates and only hires the attractive. Great idea!

[OkieHornet]

Target discriminates and only hires the attractive. Great idea!

not putting words in his mouth, but i think he was talking about the clientele, not workers.

[Maynard]

not putting words in his mouth, but i think he was talking about the clientele, not workers.

[Sheetkeecker]

not putting words in his mouth, but i think he was talking about the clientele, not workers.

There is trash walking into stores on Rodeo Drive, although admittedly, a lower percentile.

[Sheetkeecker]

not putting words in his mouth, but i think he was talking about the clientele, not workers.

If this is so, it is clearly, completely and unequivocally, RACISM.

[Maynard]

If this is so, it is clearly, completely and unequivocally, RACISM.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (PR Newswire) – The Target Corporation (TGT) has purchased the popular blog “Stuff White People Like” (http://stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com).