I am fairly confident that with the purchases of college students alone we could support Target without them having to close any stores. Okay, maybe a bit of an overstatement, but for real, who doesn't love Target? They have all of your shopping needs — even the needs you didn't know you had — under one roof. Going in without a list is dangerous, you always end up leaving with at least four things you didn't even know you wanted…or existed.
My roommates always laugh when I come back from shopping at Target. I could go in only wanting to buy shampoo and face wash and leave with shampoo, face wash, another new kind of face wash that I thought I could try, snacks that I don't need, at least two VitaminWaters, and countless other things I didn't need.
Target is the perfect store. It not only has inexpensive clothing essentials but also its own grocery store as well as a beauty store, convenience store, and a technology section. What more could you ask for in a shopping experience? In Boulder, at least among my friends, it is more common to say ,“I need to go to Target” rather than “I need to go to the store” or “I need to go shopping.” Also, the Target executives have gotten that much smarter by adding a Starbucks in many of their locations, showing yet again that they clearly understand the needs of college students: inexpensive shopping and coffee.
Target is unique in their organization. Most Targets are set up relatively with the same floor plan. And, they are able to show you thousands of items you didn't know existed without making you feel like you got sidetracked. You can start in the cosmetics section, just looking for your everyday mascara, and find yourself adding tissues and then peanut butter without even acknowledging that you’ve left the cosmetics. It is truly mind-blowing.
They also know how to get your attention. They start promoting their bathing suit sales before Christmas decorations are off the shelf, then pull you in to the clothing section where they have huge red signs pointing to the 30% off, then 50% off, and finally 70% off rack. And like with all of the other departments, you didn't even realize you had picked up three shirts, two bathing suit tops and a jacket… and it is likely that you wont end up actually buying anything you’ve picked up. But they know what they are doing with their organization of each section of the store.
Wow, now here I am, at the end of my piece having done exactly the same thing Target does to me when I am actually in store. I came in with one intention, and now here I am ready to finish and I look back at the beginning and wonder how I got to this ending rather than the one I had planned on getting to. Regardless, Target will always be the end all, be all for all of your inexpensive shopping needs, whether they be cosmetic, grocery, or other. They have it all, and you will leave with half of it every time you check out.
