Do you remember the feeling of stopping in an outdated bathroom on the road – the kind where you have a key attached to a big plastic key ring and you have to walk to the back of the building to find The bathroom ?
And you never knew what you were going to find once inside, but nine times out of ten it wasn’t good.
That’s the kind of feeling I often get when shopping in the US these days. The message now is that when you buy food, mixers or boxers, you deserve to feel as welcome and special as you do in an old gas station bathroom.
Case in point: My husband and I recently went to a discount store in Florida and felt like we had come to the end of a war. And I’m not a haughty, spoiled American. I’m not exaggerating either. It was a mess. It was dirty and understocked and understaffed and depressing. Objects were strewn on the ground. The single line extended to the rear. The floor looked like it hadn’t been mopped in weeks. This is obviously not true for all stores in this chain, but just for our experience there.
“Never do that to me again” my husband said when we left. And I got it. He doesn’t do any of the family shopping, so he doesn’t see what it’s like out there in post-pandemic America.
Target stores are the antidote to this depressing truth because they were designed to make the customer feel special when they are there. We just feel fancy. Fantasy is enjoyable because life should be enjoyable.
So, I’m glad Target is coming to town. You all deserve it. You deserve to navigate a clean aisle with shiny floors pushing a cart in beautiful lighting. You deserve to be in a tidy and organized store that evokes positive emotions while you shop.
It’s fun to walk into a cute store and come out with something you never expected to buy: a bow tie for your dog or a red throw for your couch. And yes, I know, it’s just too easy to spend a lot of money there, so we’re all going to have to exercise restraint this fall when they’re supposed to open next door to Wegman’s in the old K-Mart. building. (I predict thousands of local brides will hide their Target receipts in an old cookie jar in the kitchen.)
The truth is, people love Target because they have great products at competitive prices. They offer a unique, trendy and well-assorted selection.
“This is especially true in the home and apparel categories where they’ve created brands with popular celebrities or brought unique deliveries from well-known designers,” says Sonia Parekh, a retail consultant who was quoted for an article about Target’s popularity. “You might be about to buy some Band-Aids, but if you’re walking past a great selection of home decor, it’s hard not to stop.”
Parekh says other mass merchants have not been able to replicate this strategy, even though they have tried. “It seems like an easy thing to do, but it requires high-level design and merchandising talent – which is not easy to find, and even harder to hire,” She adds.
My daughter and my grandsons live very close to a target in Florida. And they all love the store, especially my ten year old grandson who runs through the art supplies and toys aisles.
We walked past the store one day when it was about six years old, and that friendly little voice in the back said: “Mimi? Wouldn’t you like to live near a target?”
He was the first person I called when I heard Target was coming to town.
I’m not someone who engages in retail therapy very often. I’m too prone to guilt. But when I get a little crazy, I like to spend my extra dollars on a place that has made efforts to attract my business.
The best news of all is that Target management has announced that they will be offering competitive salaries and health insurance to their employees at their Jamestown location. Any company that treats its employees like they matter has my vote and my money.
My husband doesn’t expect too much from my dollars, though. I might have to start a Target support group for us overenthusiastic fans.
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