Target vs. Walmart: Which Is Best?
Updated: Aug. 17, 2023
Target vs. Walmart: These two favorite retailers have a lot to offer, but which is a better shopping choice?
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It’s an endless debate: Target vs. Walmart—which retailer is better? If you’re on the hunt for great deals, both stores offer exceptionally affordable pricing, quick delivery and top-notch customer service.
There are several differences between each of the mega-retailers, though. Picking the right one for your shopping style could boil down to the types of products you like to buy. While there are some things you should buy at Target and things you shouldn’t buy at Walmart, the inverse is certainly true as well.
What’s the difference between Target vs. Walmart?
Walmart is the world’s largest retailer, with a dizzying number of stores spread across the United States. There are nearly 4,800 Walmarts of varying sizes and styles in America, whereas Target has fewer than 1,900 stores in the same geographical space.
But for what Target lacks in its number of locations, it more than makes up for in shopping experience appeal. Discerning between the two stores can be difficult since both offer in-house brands that customers rave about, rock-bottom pricing on household essentials and quick delivery for online orders.
Target
Target shopping experience in-store
The in-store shopping experience at Target is miles beyond the typical Walmart shopping experience. However, it comes at a cost and is balanced by Walmart’s far-better online shopping interface. Target has wider aisles, less crowded shelves, department store-like merchandising and trendy design touches, including Target finds that look expensive but aren’t. All these details make it feel a bit more elevated than a waltz through Walmart.
Target price match policy
Household goods like toilet paper, cleaning products and bottled water are some inexpensive Target products that may be at the lowest available price, because some things are not cheaper at Walmart. But other items from the store’s fashion and cosmetics departments are often several percentage points higher in price than at Walmart.
That’s not really a problem if you’re shopping for major national brands because one of the Target secrets is that its Price Match Guarantee covers most competitors. But when it comes to buying a plain cotton tee that has Target’s store label vs. Walmart’s, expect to pay more at the former.
Target products & brands selection
Target also has several brands it carries exclusively or owns altogether under the company’s umbrella. Good & Gather is the store’s private label for household items like paper goods and grocery items. Famous names like Chip and Joanna Gaines dot the aisles with their Hearth & Hand with Magnolia line. Cat & Jack children’s apparel and Smartly household essentials are other store exclusives that provide hundreds of new inexpensive Target products to choose from each season.
Target return policy
Target’s return policy is also an appealing draw for shoppers. “Most unopened items sold by Target in new condition and returned within 90 days will receive a refund or exchange,” the company’s website reads. “Some items sold by Target have a modified return policy noted on the receipt, packing slip, Target policy board (refund exceptions), Target.com or in the item description. Items that are opened or damaged or do not have a receipt may be denied a refund or exchange.”
Our favorite Target products
Walmart
Walmart shopping experience in-store
What Walmart lacks in posh interiors, it makes up for in pricing and convenience with added perks like Walmart+. It’s a subscription model that rivals Amazon Prime to deliver just about anything directly to your door same- or next-day without elevated prices. Plus, members get other perks like discounted gasoline.
Walmart price match policy
Shoppers know that Walmart is most consistently going to give them the absolute cheapest deal on major name brands and household goods. That’s helpful because Walmart’s policy on price matching has been updated to no longer match competitor advertised prices, at least when shopping in-store. When you shop at Walmart.com, you may be eligible for a price match on identical, in-stock items at a maximum of one price match per day.
Rolled back prices on popular items ranging from cheap shampoos to diapers often see savings of 5 to 10 percent off Target’s prices, That’s enough to entice shoppers to stay loyal to Walmart. Typically, shoppers don’t even really have to head to the Walmart customer service desk to ask for a price match. The store has a team dedicated to monitoring competitor pricing and then altering its own pricing to keep customers satisfied.
Walmart products & brands selection
Walmart is also stepping up its style game with signature brands and collaborations it offers exclusively. You can find Walmart hidden gems in house brands like Pioneer Woman clothes and kitchenwares at affordable prices, plus Equate, Mainstays, Scoop fashion finds, and Parent’s Choice. There are some strange things you can buy at Walmart, and some things Walmart won’t sell anymore, but mostly you’ll find things you’re not buying from Walmart but should.
Walmart return policy
You don’t have to worry about ordering the wrong size either, because Walmart’s return policy is one of the best in the country. Shoppers have up to 90 days to return items, and those returns can easily be processed online and through the store’s user-friendly app.
Walmart pick up policy
If you’re not a Walmart+ member, don’t worry—you can still opt for two-day delivery or free curbside pickup on most orders. Those curbside pickups often happen within a matter of minutes and make shopping for busy families a breeze. You might want to hop on a Walmart+ membership, though, because there are some deals you can only get on Walmart+.
Our favorite Walmart products
Target vs. Walmart: Black Friday Sales 2022
Find some of the best Black Friday Deals this year at both Target and Walmart. Both retailers promise the lowest prices on name-brand products for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. They’ll happily match each other’s prices if one offers something better than the other. Walmart tends to edge out Target for early shoppers though because it typically offers its Black Friday deals several weeks in advance.
Target Black Friday sales
Target’s official Black Friday deals are out now! Expect rock-bottom prices on must-haves like the Ninja Kitchen System 7-Speed Blender throughout the entire month of November. Expect to find other Target Black Friday deals that are too good to miss, too.
When Black Friday finally hits, you can expect to find drastically reduced prices on Target’s popular in-house brands like Cat & Jack. Doorbuster deals as low as $2 aren’t unheard of on items like baby leggings, children’s tees and other basics. Target also pulls ahead in Apple tech gift offerings and rare but wonderful discounts on coveted items like iPhones, iPads and Airpods.
Walmart Black Friday sales
Good news! Walmart’s Black Friday deals for 2022 are available for browsing now at the retailer’s online Black Friday hub. The event starts online at 7:00 p.m. ET on November 7 and continues in stores at 6:00 a.m. on November 9. You can expect to find savings on Samsung Chromebooks, Keurig coffee makers and the season’s most popular toys and maybe even a Dyson vacuum.
The bottom line
Target vs. Walmart: Deciphering which retailer is best comes down to personal preference. It depends on which types of things you buy and your shopping style. Walmart is typically the most reliable for the best bargains and perks. Target offers an upgraded shopping experience and premium design-forward products that feel far more expensive than they really are. Shopping at either of these retailers helps you save cash and time, so you can feel good about whichever choice you make.
