Walmart vs Target (Which is Bigger & Better?)

Walmart and Target are two of the largest retailers in the USA, with over a thousand stores across the country. Given that these two retailers are vast and crowded by people every day in each of their branches, one may begin to wonder which is the biggest among them.

Well, if that is why you are here, then you are certainly at the right place.

Differences between Walmart and Target

About Target

Target is an American major merchandise retailer that sells products through its physical and online stores. They have more than 1900 stores spread within the 50 states in the USA, in which California has the highest number of retail stores, up to 315.

Unfortunately, Target is yet to carry the red bull eye to other countries for other people to have the ‘expect more, pay less’ experience.

You can find most things you need in their retail stores at a discount price. However, they deal majorly in clothing and house equipment and less in groceries. They aim to make their guests, as they refer their customers, happy with their purchase.

That is why they accept multiple payment methods to reduce the long queue at the checkout. Target ranks 32nd position at the Fortune 500 in 2022.

About Walmart

Walmart is a multinational retailer with 10,000 stores across the world. It was first opened in 1962 in Rogers, Arkansas, USA.

The retail store grew to become one of the largest retailers competing with the likes of Amazon and Target.

Like Target, Walmart sells its products at a discount price to ensure that people of different classes come to patronize them. They majorly base on groceries but add toys, apparel, and household equipment to fill up the store.

Unlike Target, Walmart does not accept the use of contactless payment methods, but credit/debit cards and Walmart pay. Walmart ranks first in the Fortune 500 in 2022.

Related Posts: List of Grocery Stores that Accept Apple Pay

Walmart VS Target – Which is bigger?

A thorough look at the tabular difference gives you the idea that Walmart is bigger than Target. But it would be unfair to leave you at this point, so let us dive deep into the details;

1. Stores within and outside the USA

Walmart owns many stores both in the USA and abroad. They have many retail banners across 24 countries that are ranking high in each of their region. In total, Walmart owns about 10,500 stores all over the world.

Compared to Walmart, Target is not half of it. First, Target stores are only in the USA, with only about 1900 stores spread within the 50 states. They have 20 sourcing companies abroad, but even that could not beat the 10,500 stores of Walmart.

Further Reading: Which Countries Have Target?

2. Financial impact

While both retailers may have the same operating system, their financial impacts tell them apart. According to Go Banking Rates, on 16th August 2022, Walmart posted a 23% year-over-year gain in earnings per share for its fiscal second quarter.

Meanwhile, Target reported a 90% decline in second-quarter profit, which is below analysts’ estimates.

In terms of total revenue generated within the year, Walmart still won the gold medal. While Walmart records up to $572 billion as Annual revenue, Target records $106 billion. Walmart also records higher net worth than Target.

3. Website traffic and engagement

When it comes to the number of traffic and engagement on its website, Walmart still beats Target in the game. According to the analysis on Similar Web, Walmart’s website brought in 5.6 billion total visits in the US between May 2021 and May 2022.

Meanwhile, Target had only 2.6 billion total visits within the same period.

For their website engagement, you can see from the screenshot above that Walmart performs best in monthly visits, unique visitors, and longer visit duration. Meanwhile, Target has more pages per visit and less bounce rate.

If you are planning on selling your products on either of these websites, you are probably going to gain a new audience daily on Walmart but a loyal audience on Target.

4. Products sold

You may be wondering why the financial gap between Walmart and Target when both retailers slash prices on most of their merchandise to draw traffic. Well, this is the reason. 

Walmart prioritizes selling groceries in their store with other household equipment, while Target prioritizes selling apparel and electronics with groceries. Walmart slashed prices on clothing and other products that cleared inventory valued at above $61 billion.

In their words, home items and clothing were problem areas that required a major reduction in stock. Meanwhile, Target also cut prices on clothing, electronics, and household equipment, but it wasn’t good enough. Why?

Target depends more on discretionary goods than Walmart. Walmart gets its major profit from selling groceries which are basic needs, and consumers would buy them even during inflation. But they can ignore home items if their prices go up. 

Hence, if Target continues to cut the prices of its major goods, it will continuously lag behind Walmart.

Further Reading: Is Target Really More Expensive than Walmart? (What we Found)

What makes Target better than Walmart?

1. Customer service

Target is seen as a step up from Walmart in offering good customer service to its guests. According to some reviews in Quora, Walmart employees offer poor customer service to people and do not feel sorry about it.

Some of the staff in Walmart do not know how to communicate in English, making it hard for their customers to make inquiries about a particular product. Meanwhile, in Target, you get the opposite.

According to Mark Thomase, a former team leader at Target, Target is so obsessive about customer service that they have to walk around, asking customers, “Can I help you find something?” They also ensure they don’t keep their customers waiting at the checkout.

2. Cleanliness and orderliness

Target is cleaner and more organized than Walmart. Walmart’s merchandise is disorganized and not in a good state. The people who shop at their stores make matters even worse. They are rude and block the aisles with their carts or bodies. They misplace some of the products and leave the place like it was looted.

Unlike Walmart, Target operates in an orderly manner, and you can breathe in the fresh air in their stores. Their aisles are wide, and the people that shop in Target’s stores are always on their best behavior.

3. Product quality

Target has better quality products than Walmart. Since Walmart sells its products at low prices, they ensure that manufacturers, who bring their goods to sell, meet their price demands. Sometimes, it is a little profit for the manufacturers. Other times, it might be a huge loss.

To not run out of business, these manufacturers replace quality parts with inferior ones during production. Meanwhile, Target ensures quality products at their stores and probably why it costs more.

4. How employees are being treated

Walmart does not have a single regard for its employees and underpays them. 

However, Target ensures that their employees are well-paid and groomed to know how to treat their customers right.

What is one thing which Walmart does better than Target?

Walmart sells cheaper products than Target. You save a couple of dollars if you shop at Walmart instead of Target. However, people prefer to shop at Target because 2 to 5 bucks can’t replace their peace of mind.

Key Takeaway…

Walmart is bigger in both the number of stores and finances than Target. But it doesn’t change that Target is the most loved and preferred retail store by people who want to work, trade, or shop there. Maybe it is not how big you grow your business but how much you want to impact people’s lives.

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