Instead, it cultivates an edgy consumer image, and has asked cutting-edge designers to create exclusive clothing, makeup, and chocolate lines for the retailer that are not priced at extreme bargain rates, but have a reputation for quality at moderate prices. Bright colors, clean stores, and well-lit aisles are all characteristic of Target. Target is not simply an inexpensive place to shop, but a fun place to shop. Like Wal-Mart Target does focus on middle-income consumers with families. But its image also attracts higher-end consumers who wish to find bargains on clothing basics, as well as household items. Its image is of uniqueness and personalization, rather than simply of providing low-cost items.
If the economy continues to worsen, more and more of those high-income consumers looking to save a few pennies are likely to go fleeing to Target. Target has not had a chance to fully respond to the swift and seismic shocks that have rocked the world economy,...
Whether Target's lower-income consumers will flee to Wal-Mart to save a few pennies remains an open question.
There has been overlap in the offerings of these stores -- Wal-Mart has begun to offer organic produce, once only the concern of high-end consumers, in response to questions about food safety and consumer health. Target has made inroads into Wal-Mart's offerings, like discount groceries, at its massive Super Target stores which dot the heartland. However, the brand image of both of these stores is still strong. "Attention Wal-Mart shoppers" conjures up, however prejudicial, a certain image in the mind, while consumers often smile as they say that they do not shop at "Target," but at "Tar-get," giving the last syllable of the company name a faux French pronunciation.
