Get Latest Business News from All Over the World 24/7 throughout the Year: I compared Walmart and Target, and found the two superstores are offering completely different types of convenience

exterior of Walmart and target side by side — Walmart vs. Target.
Jessica Kirsh & HappyCreator/Shutterstock

I visited a Target and a Walmart in Rochester, New York to compare them head-to-head.
Walmart is primarily a grocery store focused on stocking a huge range of products at low prices.
Target is a home decor and clothing store that also stocks groceries, but they aren't the priority.

Walmart and Target are two of the biggest names in retail, so I paid them both a visit to see how they compare.

walmart store — A Walmart store.
Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

There are 4,735 Walmart locations in the US, and the company did $393.2 billion in US sales in the last fiscal year, according to earnings reports.

Blue Walmart store-front — https://ift.tt/xj1KuCy
AP

Target has 1,938 US locations, with $106 billion in sales in 2021, it said in earnings.

I visited a Walmart location in Rochester, New York, where I live.

This store still had a fully functioning Subway restaurant inside, although some others have closed nationally.

Source: QSR

I passed rows and rows of snacks for sale near the entrance as I got to the main shopping area.

There was a small hot food bar near the entrance, too, selling rotisserie chickens.

There were some prepackaged sandwiches and salads available, too.

Past the hot food area, the store opens up into a large section mostly filled with produce.

Most fruits and vegetables are displayed in huge piles with clearly marked prices.

There's a huge variety of different varieties of apples, plus organic and non-organic options for most items.

Some produce is pre-bagged, or customers can select their own quantities and weigh them.

The bakery is next to the produce section, with no real physical separation between them.

It's a combination of custom cakes, packaged desserts, and other baked goods like bread and bagels.

There's also a large freezer with Carvel ice cream cakes.

This small seafood section separates the bakery from the rest of the store, leading into the larger frozen food section.

The back wall is made up of meats and cheeses on refrigerated shelves, with frozen foods on display in the middle of aisles.

There are literally thousands of frozen foods for sale, from breakfast to entrees to sides and desserts.

Despite the massive selection, it's relatively easy to navigate thanks to easy-to-follow organization and aisle markers.

Walmart has a huge collection of private label brands, with versions of most products that are on sale available through Walmart brands.

The pantry sections of the store are just as extensive.

Aisles are stocked with canned goods in name and private label brands.

I noticed huge swaths of space dedicated to budget friendly foods, like dried beans.

There are also aisles dedicated to bulk candy bags ahead of Halloween.

This Walmart is especially large because it was formerly a Sam's Club, owned by the same parent company.

Every section of the store seems to encompass every variation you could want of that product, from meat to cheese.

Cheese takes up nearly an entire wall alone.

Grocery stores in New York can sell beer, wine, and cider, and Walmart had an extensive selection with White Claws getting their own display.

Groceries definitely feel like the main focus of Walmart, and as I moved into other areas there were fewer people around.

There are clothing sections for men, women, children, and babies, but they seemed kind of haphazardly thrown together.

The clothing department seemed sort of like a holding area for things that there wasn't room for elsewhere because the area wasn't very busy.

The watches for sale were locked up behind glass.

The jewelry displays were messy and disorganized.

The rest of the store encompasses any other household needs you could ever want a product for.

There are organizational tools...

...crafting supplies...

...and toys, among other things.

Aisles are so wide that they can easily fit massive clearance displays in the middle.

The far side of the store is dedicated to outdoor items, like bicycles and fishing poles.

There's a mini hardware store section, with tools and an information desk for attendants to help customers.

The outdoor area leads to the garden center, which was already fully ready for Christmas in late September.

In the spring this area is usually full of plants, seeds, and gardening supplies.

Beauty and personal care items are both available, but they have relatively small sections compared to other parts of the store.

Walmart has a functioning pharmacy inside, where customers can also get flu and COVID-19 vaccines.

A massive space near the checkout was filled with pumpkins and candy ahead of Halloween.

There was a moderate selection of Halloween costumes, too, mostly in children's sizes.

Checkout spans the whole length of the store, with over 20 aisles and self-checkout registers on either side.

To leave I walked past the optical center, which wasn't open because it was evening.

Walmart seems to know that groceries are its strength because those areas are the most well-stocked and populated by customers.

The logo of Walmart is seen outside of a new Walmart Store in San Salvador

Thomson Reuters

Next up I went to a Target located right down the street.

A Target logo is seen at Target Canada in Toronto

Thomson Reuters

Target has very clear branding, and the first thing I saw when I walked in was the rack of signature plastic red carts.

The dog mascot was also sitting near the entrance.

There was a Starbucks inside near the entrance, which is common in many Target stores.

The first actual merchandise I saw were the small shelves of $1 and $3 items.

These switch out seasonally, and are always a confusing pile of random things every time I go.

The first large section you see when entering the store is women's clothing.

When I visited there was a mix of seasons on display, with summer bikinis on sale next to coats.

The clothing displays seem to be set up with more care than at Walmart, being mostly organized with thoughtful styling, images, and mannequins.

The shoe section was quite extensive, though slightly disorganized.

Even the pajamas and underwear section seemed thoughtfully organized, but at Walmart that's one of the messiest areas in my experience.

Clothing leads into bedding and other home decor.

Aisles of rugs, chairs, lamps, and other decor are set up in an appealing way.

Home goods seem to be an important area for Target, based on the organization and prominent place they have.

Target also has a partnership with reality stars Chip and Joanna Gaines, which gets its own display.

The grocery section is tucked in the back of the store.

It definitely has all the necessities like pasta, snacks, and cookies, but there's nowhere near the range of each item available at Walmart.

Target's food selection centers on healthy and organic foods more than at Walmart, like with this section of "better for you snacks."

Alcohol gets just a corner at Target, compared to a massive aisle at Walmart.

The frozen foods section is quite small and doesn't hold a candle to Walmart's.

Another relatively small section combines produce, baked goods, meat, and dairy siloed off from the rest of the store.

It would work in a pinch, but I wouldn't want to do my regular grocery shopping here.

The meat section was the saddest of all, with only a few types of chicken, beef, and plant-based meat.

Leaving the grocery section, beauty is definitely a bigger focus with several aisles and a huge selection.

After visiting both stores, back to back, I think they're going after completely different things.

Target is a home goods and clothing store where you can pick up a few basic groceries.

Walmart, though, is a grocery store where you might also be able to grab a t-shirt of pair of shorts.

Even though they overlap on many of the items they sell, Walmart and Target specialize in different items, and it's clear in the layout of stores and how they're stocked and organized.