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Walmart low price

With its focus on everyday low prices and savings galore, you might think couponers and bargain hunters would be flocking to Walmart. But a recent survey says that’s not necessarily true. It may seem counterintuitive, but big-box bargain hunters are apparently finding their deals not at low-priced Walmart, but at higher-priced Target.

In its report “The Supercenter Grocery Shopper: U.S. Consumer Patterns at Walmart, Target, Meijer, and Fred Meyer,” the market research publisher Packaged Facts surveyed shoppers who frequent some of the country’s biggest big-box stores, and those who prefer grocery stores instead. Some of their findings are not surprising – but some are.

First, the researchers examine the type of people who shop at supercenters. “SuperTarget Consumers More Likely to Live in Affluent Homes,” they find, and “Household Income Less Affluent for Walmart Shoppers Compared to Others.” No real surprise there, though the report contains interesting nuggets like “more than half of SuperTarget consumers (50.4%) come from households with an income of at least $75,000,” and “56.6% of consumers in the $250,000-plus bracket do not shop at Walmart.” The clientele of regional chains Meijer and Fred Meyer fall somewhere in between.

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So Target shoppers have money, it seems – but they don’t easily part with it. “Despite being the preferred supercenter for affluent consumers, SuperTarget shoppers are among the most likely to be swayed by coupons to try new food products,” the report finds, and they “aren’t afraid to look for clearance items. They are also the most likely to be drawn to a store because of a sale,” and “are the most likely to shop around for the best specials or bargains on products they want.”

Fred Meyer shoppers, the report finds, “are the least likely to be swayed by coupons or sales.” Instead, “these consumers place a premium on paying more money for quality goods.” And that’s a factor for those who prefer grocery stores as well. “Approximately 41.7% of grocery store consumers claim that price isn’t the most important factor, but rather it’s getting exactly what they want that matters most,” the survey found. “More than half (61.6%) say it’s worth paying extra money for quality goods.”

So where does that leave Walmart? You might think those who are most interested in saving money would be shopping there. But one look at its current marketing campaign is enough to prove otherwise. Walmart has largely positioned itself as the place where you can save without having to bother with coupons and sales. So those who do like to bother with coupons and sales may not bother going to Walmart. Target’s more affluent shoppers may not “need” a deal as much as Walmart shoppers do, but they wager that Target’s weekly sales and plentiful store coupons will provide better deals than just grabbing whatever they need off Walmart’s shelves (if they can even find anything on Walmart’s shelves).

When it comes to both Walmart and Target, plus Meijer and Fred Meyer, the report concludes that “supercenter shoppers have different needs and motives than those who shop primarily at conventional supermarkets, discount grocery stores, farmers markets, or health food stores.” It turns out they’re all interested in saving money, and they enjoy the one-stop shopping that supercenters provide. Which supercenter they choose to shop at, though, says a lot about just how savvy a saver they really are.

2 Comments

  1. Target is so much better than Walmart, never had a problem with Target and their employees are better trained. Target stores look way better than Walmart, the displays are neat and if the product is not there rain-checks are sometimes offered. No, would pay the higher price to shop at Target, I even had employees help me find the items to use coupons on and they were very helpful and usually the manager is the one helping me. Using coupons at Walmart is a pain in the you know what, Target is so much easier and they can over ride the coupons.

  2. I’ll tell you WHY, precisely, couponers prefer Target over Walmart. At least this is MY reason: serious lack of coupon training for cashiers at Walmart. Or maybe it’s just sheer laziness. EVERY time I have tried to redeem a stinkin’ lousy little 50 cent coupon off the cover price of All*You, which is ONLY sold at Walmart, I get one of two song and dance routines: “We don’t take that coupon here.” or “The system won’t take this coupon and I can’t over-ride it.” The “We don’t take that coupon here” argument is totally false, because Walmart is the ONLY place that sells All*You. And Walmart wouldn’t put those coupons out there, either in coupon flyers or online at reputable sites like Coupons.com if they didn’t then accept them at the stores. Lack of training. The second excuse, “The system won’t take this coupon and I can’t over ride it.” is also a falsehood, because it can be over ridden, has been over ridden and I’ve seen it done. If you’re too lazy to over ride it, sweetpea, call your CDH and make her do it. And would someone, for the love of all that’s holy, call Corporate and tell them this? I’ve had the same conversation with the same store manager 5 times and either one of those excuses greets me every time I go in there and buy that magazine with that coupon. They’re much more accommodating at Target and I can stack coupons and Cartwheel deals. Easy Breezy Beautiful, to steal a tagline…

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