Do you consider Walmart and Target to be grocery stores? If so, do you get groceries from there?

33 comments

1. Walmart is more of a grocery store, just because their food selection is much higher than Target. Target is more of a “for your home” store.

   Also if I’m going to Walmart I’ll keep my sweatpants, t-shirt, and flip flops but if I go to Target I feel obliged to make myself look somewhat decent.

2. The ones by me, no. They don’t carry meats.

3. Walmart moreso than Target, for sure. Target and Walmart aren’t the same.

   They are both major retailers that have groceries, but Target especially is not a grocery store. They are a major retailer that carries some groceries.

   Walmart is basically a Big Box style store with a large grocery section.

   If I say “I’m going to the grocery store,” unless my area *only* has a Walmart, the person I am talking to would assume I am going to a grocer like Aldi, Publix, Meijer, etc. Those are more traditional grocery stores.

4. I can’t remember the last time I went into a Walmart that wasn’t a full service grocery, maybe 20 years ago?

   Target has a few different types of stores that I’m sure someone can elaborate on . Most of the ones I’ve used in the past 20 years have a decent packaged/pantry section but a very limited fresh food section. Some of their stores have larger grocery areas, they used to be called SuperTarget but I’m not certain if that branding stuck, there aren’t any I’m aware of in the places I spend time.

   Walmart is 100% a supermarket/grocery store. Target is a consumer goods store with some groceries. I shop at both.

5. Where I live we no longer have Target and you can buy groceries at WM but I think the experience sucks that I would rather just shop at a traditional grocer. I don’t like the produce, how items are out of stock and I think the grocery variety is lacking compared to a traditional grocery store. When I was in the States, Target didn’t register as a grocer just a big box with a small grocery section.

6. I don’t have a Walmart near me. Sometimes I grab a quick something while I’m at Target but it’s not my primary grocery store

7. All of my local Target stores have grocery items and I do shop at Target for groceries. Mainly non fresh goods. I shop at Trader Joe’s for perishables like fruit, milk, and eggs.

   Target stuff is cheaper than dedicated grocery store stuff. I treat grocery stores as a last resort now.

8. I don’t think of them primarily as grocery stores but many locations do sell groceries.

   I do not buy groceries at either Walmart or Target because there are multiple other stores much closer to my house.

9. nah. my town doesn’t have a Walmart so I never go there and I don’t know they have. But we do have a Target and I don’t consider it to be a grocery store. They’re an everything store that has some food. If I just need groceries, I’d never go to Target.

10. There is a Wal-Mart Supercenter near me with a huge grocery store. Yes, I shop there.

11. Walmart, yes. Target, no.

    At least the Walmart near me has a full grocery store inside with a meat and deli counter and a bakery. Anything I can get at a Vons, I can get at Walmart. I prefer shopping at Vons though.

    Target has enough groceries that if I’m shopping at Target for other things, I can pick up a few grocery items and save myself another errand. When I’ve tried to do my regular grocery shopping there, I’ve ended up still needing to go to a grocery store for the items I wasn’t able to get at Target.

12. Walmart, yes. Target, no.

13. No, they’re department stores.

    They both have a large grocery department though, but they also have sporting goods, garden equipment, a tire shop, an electronics department, and a clothing department.

    I get groceries at Wal-Mart sometimes.

14. Target is closer to me than Walmart, so I usually go there, but I don’t really consider it a grocery store. It’s more of a *I’m-in-a-rush-and-have-time-for-only-one-stop-to-buy-everything* store. It gets the job done, but it’s not optimal.

15. Certain Targets do have full grocery stores. They’re called Super Targets

16. It depends on the individual store. The Walmart by my parents’ house doesn’t really have a grocery section, it’s more snacks, cereals, and sodas. There is another Walmart about twice as far away that has a full-fledged grocery section.

    The Target by them doesn’t carry groceries but the ones by my current and previous apartments both have grocery sections that include everything you’d find at a typical grocery store including meat, produce, milk, eggs, etc.

17. They’re both department stores that often have grocery sections.

    I’ll occasionally get some products from Target because I’m there or because they have a very few items I can’t get elsewhere. They have a good selection of frozen vegetarian meals and a lousy selection of produce.

    I don’t shop at Walmart, but I know of a couple that are in the same plaza as regular supermarkets. I don’t know whether either of those even carry groceries, as it seems likely that the supermarkets at those plazas would want exclusivity written into their leases.

18. I actually have a regular Walmart near me. Until recently they had a really nice garden center. But I really wouldn’t call it a grocery store. Although they have a few aisle with some food options, it’s not really a lot. To be fair, the rest isn’t that great either. It’s sort of a waste of space.

    My closest Target stores are super Targets and they are very similar to a Super Walmart and carry groceries. Target seems to have a lot more regular stores without lots of grocery options.

19. Some of both stores have extensive grocery sections, as large as a large grocery store. Some have a truncated grocery section that I would not “go grocery shopping” at. My local Walmart has maybe 5 aisles of groceries. The one in, I want to say Waynesboro PA 30 minutes away has a FULL grocery store worth of food.

20. Most Targets have a few small aisles of pantry-fillers and frozens. I’ve only seen one with meat and produce and even then it wasn’t a full grocery store.

    Most of the Walmarts in my area are half-supermarkets, but the other half of the store keeps me from calling them one. I get food from them on an “oh while I’m here” basis and keep the main grocery shopping to actual supermarkets.

21. (Most) Walmarts, yes. Target, not really.

    We primarily shop at Walmart because they are cheaper than Pick n Save. We do grocery pickups at Walmart frequently. They have nearly everything I need on a week to week basis.

    The only thing is that their produce SUCKS. We tend to go to Meijer for produce, but I’m not thrilled with their raspberries and strawberries either.

    I don’t like produce at most places, Aldi included.

22. Walmart is more of a grocery store than target, but yea I call them both grocery stores

23. Walmart is the largest grocery chain in the US.

24. 1. No, they’re closer to department stores in my eyes.

    2. No, I think both of them suck.

25. Me living in the PNW. Fred Meyer blows both of them out of the water. It’s basically if Walmart and target made sweet love and cranked out a baby.

26. I used to go to Walmart on a regular basis for groceries, but the store near me closed (too much theft). When I go to Target, I’m generally shopping for something else but will grab a grocery item or two out of convenience.

27. I don’t consider them to be grocery stores, no.

    New England is one of the last stands of the Walmart Discount Store (not SuperCenter) format without groceries. Many Walmarts have a different grocery retailer in the same shopping center. I don’t think there are any Walmart Neighborhood markets in New England.

    I don’t think I’ve ever been to a Target with a grocery selection on-par with a Walmart SuperCenter. Target also operates some stores with much smaller footprints than Walmart, so inevitably the selection is going to be extremely limited.

28. I have bought groceries from both before but I prefer local stores for fresh meats and veggies

29. New Hampshire here.

    My local Wal-Mart is a Supercenter with a grocery section. My town also has a Hannaford and Market Basket grocery stores.

    I do buy some stuff at Wal-Mart but I prefer to buy my fresh meat and produce at the other two because I have never been impressed with the quality of either at Wally World,

30. A regular Walmart has almost nothing for groceries, certainly nothing fresh. Walmart Supercenters are full hypermarkets with a deli and bakery. Target primarily only has one concept which always has a small but acceptable fresh food section. Target has been investing heavily in groceries and now dedicates a significant part of the store to fresh and dry groceries.

    I haven’t been in A Walmart in a very long time, so I can’t speak to them, but Target is a fine and cheap grocery store, I don’t to my usual shopping there but it’s useful when I’m in the area. Plus they’re often cheaper than a regular grocery store.

31. Kind of, but not really. They sell so many other things and I would never think to go there specifically for groceries. If I’m already there for something else, and I don’t want to make a separate trip to my usual grocery store, I may grab a few items. But I have never done a full shopping at either place.

32. They are not grocery stores. For me to be a grocery store the majority of your floor space needs to be for food items. At most 1/3rd of the floor space is for food items and often far less is utilized for that purpose.

    They are “Big Box” stores that have grocery sections.

33. Target is overpriced and has limited groceries so I only go there if I am already there and need something. Walmarts look like gang hangouts these days, I don’t even feel safe so stopped shopping there altogether. I do go to Sam’s though for bulk items like diapers or sometimes meats, I will buy in bulk and repackage at home. Mostly just go to the grocery store for groceries. It’s all they do, every day.