While Walmart has returned to
its emphasis on rock-bottom prices recently, there are still some
product categories where you are better off shopping elsewhere —
either because you’re straying beyond Walmart’s core competency
or you would be supporting the giant retailer’s bad behavior. Here
are four of them.
1. High-End
Electronics
Though Walmart’s selection
of name-brand electronics is not bad, the company is still focused on
value-oriented products in the sub-$1,000 price range. And the sales
staff tend not to be experts in the finer points of multimedia
interface. So if you want to splurge on a top-of-the-line
television or SLR camera — and get the accompanying level of
service and accessories — you’ll want to visit a specialty
electronics store. Best Buy, for example, has a customer support team
(the Geek Squad) capable of explaining why you may need a television
with several HDMI ports.
2. Books
In 2009, Walmart slashed
prices aggressively to establish itself as the low-price leader for
best-selling books. The store cut the cost of popular novels by
authors such as Stephen King by as much as 70 percent, sparking a
price war with Amazon. The Walmart/Amazon rivalry translates into
incredibly low prices for consumers on some of the most popular book
titles. But Walmart’s prices come at a cost, say local business
advocates. In the long-run, such deep discounts can drive independent
booksellers out of business. And without these stores, consumers will
have difficulty finding all but the most well-known authors, says
Stacy Mitchell, senior researcher with the Institute for Local
Self-Reliance, a non-profit that advocates for local businesses.
3. Wood
Furniture
Despite Walmart’s increased
focus on sustainability, the retailer has a long way to go in the
furniture category. In 2007 an environmental group published
a report tracing furniture from Walmart suppliers to wood
illegally logged in protected Russian habitats for Siberian tigers
and other wildlife. Several months later, Walmart promised to
investigate its suppliers and joined the Global Forest & Trade
Network, an organization dedicated to eliminating illegal logging.
Environmental activists have applauded Walmart’s promise to purge
environmentally rotten wood, but Walmart could take until a
self-imposed deadline of 2013 to phase out the products. Until then,
consumers can’t be certain that Walmart’s wood furniture comes
from well-managed forests. Beyond sourcing concerns, though, the
quality of much of Walmart’s furniture just isn’t very good.
“Yes, their furniture may be cheap, but if it only lasts a short
time, you will spend far more money in the long run,” says Kathy
Woodard, a home decorating expert who frequently appears on HGTV.
4. Jewelry
Walmart is actually the
largest seller of jewelry and watches in the country, with about
$2.75 billion in sales in 2009, according to National Jeweler, a
trade publication. But most of those sales come from lower quality,
small-ticket items. “Walmart’s whole focus is to keep prices
low,” says Michelle Graff, a senior editor. “When gold is selling
for $1,500 an ounce, you’re going to get what you pay for.” At
Walmart, that means 10 karat gold jewelry, and salespeople that
likely aren’t well-versed in the finer points of cut and clarity.
Besides, asks Jennifer
Heebener, a senior editor at JCK Magazine, another industry
publication: “What message does it send to your partner if you buy
them a ring at the same place where you get discounted toilet paper?”
-Birdy
In the battle for public opinion, Target has
shellacked its larger competitor, Walmart. Whether it’s
environmentalists attacking the very concept of big-box retail or
workers’ rights advocates lambasting the chain’s treatment of
employees, Walmart has become the poster boy for the excesses of
capitalism. Target, meanwhile, has built a reputation for cheap chic,
pairing with Liberty of London and Michael Graves to churn out
high-design at low prices. Walmart gets blamed for putting mom and
pop stores out of business, while Target recently opened its first
store in Manhattan, a market Walmart has yet to crack.
Recently, however, Target has looked vulnerable,
suffering more in the economic downturn than Walmart did, and
committing a rare public relations gaffe by making a political
contribution
that angered gay groups.
So what about the merchandise? On its carefully
edited shelves, Target offers many good products at competitive
prices, but it also sells products you should avoid, either because
you’ll get a better selection or price at another store, or because
there are more environmentally sound options. Here are four items not
to buy at Target.
1. Furniture
Target’s design edge in categories like clothing
and housewares, where Target has exclusive deals with fashion stars
such as Zac Posen, clearly doesn’t extend to home furniture. “You
can get comparable quality and cheaper stuff from Ikea, and Ikea’s
merchandise is a bit more stylish,” says Kathryn Finney of The
Budget Fashionista site. Finney says that, in particular, Ikea’s
bookshelves, chairs, and kitchen tables tend to offer better value
than those at Target.
2. Movies and Music
“
They can’t really beat Amazon or Walmart” when
it comes to prices on movies, music, and books, says James McQuivey,
a media technology analyst at Forrester Research. Katy
Perry’s Teenage Dream
CD, for example, sells for $13.99 at Target, vs. $9.99 at Amazon and
$9.00 at Walmart, while the Blu-ray version of Date
Night costs $29.99 at Target, vs. $24.96 at
Walmart and $28.99 at Amazon.com.
3. Exercise Equipment
Target’s clothes may be fashionable, but if you
want to look great in them, buy your exercise equipment somewhere
else. Target’s offerings in this category tend toward the $199 “As
Seen on TV” Ab Circle Pro and the $100 Tony
Little “Gazelle Edge” fitness system. You’re generally
better off going to a place like The
Sports Authority for higher-end exercise equipment. Or join a gym
and hire
a pro.
4. Shower Curtains, Some Toys, and
Other Products with PVC
Following a national campaign by the Center
for Health, Environment and Justice (CHEJ) and other
environmental groups, Target agreed in 2007 to reduce the use of
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic in its products and packaging. PVC
often contains lead and pthalates, which have been linked to
reproductive problems in humans and release carcinogens when
incinerated. At the time, Target lagged behind Walmart and Sears in
removing products containing PVC, says Mike Schade, CHEJ’s PVC
campaign coordinator. Although Target is now doing just as well as
these rivals in removing PVC -containing products, it hasn’t gotten
rid of all of them, according to Schade.
Of particular concern are toys not sold under
Target’s private-label brand; Schade says it can be a challenge for
retailers to control the materials that its suppliers use. (Toys sold
under Target’s brand should generally be PVC-free, according to
Schade.) And read the labels on plastic shower curtains: Target has
removed most, but not all, that contain PVC from its shelves.
(Products that contain the recycling symbol with the number ‘3’
in the middle mean they contain PVC.)
For its part, Target says it has eliminated or
switched to safer forms of PVC in product categories covered by child
safety legislation.
-Birdy
