Target plans to cut prices on thousands of consumer basics this summer, from diapers to milk, as inflation cuts into household budgets and more Americans pay closer attention to their spending.

The price cuts, already applied to 1,500 items, will eventually include 5,000 food, drink and essential household goods. Target and other retailers are increasingly catering to customers who are struggling with higher prices for groceries, though inflation has begun to cool. Many of them have switched to private label brands sold by Target and others big retailers, which are typically less expensive than well-known brands.

Target launched one such collection in January called Dealworthy which includes nearly 400 basic items, ranging from clothing to electronics, that can cost less than $1, with most items under $10.

Last week, McDonald’s said that it was planning to introduce a $5 meal deal in the U.S. next month to counter slowing sales and customer frustration with higher pricesWalmart posted strong quarterly sales last week driven by a influx of customers, including households with incomes of more than $100,000, looking for bargains.

  • abigscaryhobo@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    I’ve often called Target “Walmart without the stigma”. They advertise themselves and nice and clean, but it’s just Walmart with clients that don’t want to be seen going to Walmart.

    • thrawn@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Imo the main difference is that Target has tap to pay/QR code payment while Walmart pushes Walmart+’s payment methods. I tried W+ since it was free with one of my credit cards, and it’s still quite inconvenient.

      But otherwise, I largely agree. Targets feel a little nicer and they look better, but that hardly matters. If there were more Walmarts around me I’d go there instead sometimes. As much as I dislike the Waltons, Walmart sometimes has better selections than Target. Truthfully I’m morally for shoplifting from Walmart but don’t like committing crimes myself since there is risk involved.

      • realbadat@programming.dev
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        6 months ago

        The clothes are definitely different quality. Walmart also has alternate, lower quality versions of the same products. Literally from the manufacturer with a slightly different product code.

        Ran into that replacing a coffee maker, interestingly enough - almost exactly the same device minus a few features, advertised with the same name, but different from the previous version as well (checked the manufacturers website).

        So I would not personally say the quality is equal, but I also don’t shop at them often either.