I grabbed a cup of the best orange blossom tea from Teavana (since once again I'm sick with pharyngitis) and walked into Transcona's new department store - the one with the large bullseye on it.
Very few people browse Target on a Monday morning at 10am. What made it feel really empty was the absence of music. Without music I felt as if I had the entire store to myself, I could actually hear myself think. The silence was a nice change in comparison to other noisy department stores such as Wal-Mart.
Delaney, a woman at guest services who has worked there since March 2013, said their busiest time is Friday nights when people are going home after work. Monday was an inservice day for most schools so I did see a couple of kids there with their grandparents. When I was there the main group of people browsing were elderly mall walkers and a few adult singles looking around. Delaney also mentioned many people come to Target to buy only a couple of items and that's its not a place where you'd stock up on all your groceries. The woman in front of me in line bought a chocolate bar and the man behind me bought some hair dye. Both people were only buying one item and so was I.
I ended up buying a Valentine's Day card. I'd casually already looked at other stores for a card but they were picked over and I'm a tad particular. I use to work at Hallmark - way back. I like to choose a card with just the right picture and just the right saying. Seldom do you get both in one card. I was pleasantly surprised to have found a great card at Target.
Now how adorable is this display? It was front and centre, got my attention, and I bought a card. Successful and awesome display Target! But where Target faltered was when it came to the gift. After finding the card I thought 'now where's the candy at?' Their Valentine's display was WAY at the back of the store. Sure there were some signs telling you where to go but it was located in the back corner of the store. If I wasn't on a mission for this assignment I wouldn't have ventured to the back of the store. I guess they want to keep the Valentine's day candy for next year - because no one will find it there. Again a cute display, too bad no one will find it.
My favourite part of Target was their freezers. Sounds odd but they have motion detectors that turn on the freezers lights when you walk by. That really made me feel special. Energy conserving and attentive freezers? I dig it.
Now is our Target different than the ones in the states - for sure. One of the best parts about going to the Target in the states is getting those items that aren't available in Canada. This is still true. Even though there's Targets in Winnipeg it doesn't mean they carry states products on our wish list. I will say I do like how Target often uses whole numbers to sell products such as $3.00 instead of $2.99. It seems more transparent and honest to the consumer. Many might say the prices are higher here in Canada but I'd like to take the dollar difference into account. Sure it's not much of a difference anymore but it's still a factor.
I wouldn't go out of my way to shop at our Targets. It's really a glorified Zellers. It's a store better used for convenience than anything. Christina, the morning cashier, said things have really slowed down. Every once in a while she said there'll be a busy rush but it'll be short. I think the excitement around Target has definitely worn off. The store reminds me of Safeway in a way where if you want the store to yourself go to Target. Better yet, when you're not looking for anything too specific come relax at Target.
