My lab work suggested a Vitamin D supplement might offer benefit. I could purchase a bottle many places. On a Sunday afternoon, the Target OTC pharmacy would likely have a few choices at a competitive price. I drove over, found a favorable parking space that allowed me to exit driving forward, then headed inside. I buy very little there. A gift card earned a few years ago sits in my wallet unredeemed, waiting for just the right splurge. They have the best price on generic omeprazole, which spurs me to a new outing there every six weeks. I walk to the pharmacy section, rarely looking at anything else. I take my three bottles of 14 pills each to self-checkout, tap my Visa card after scanning, take my receipt, then return to my car.
The Target stores have fared poorly in recent years. At one time, not that long ago, my Sunday mornings began there. The local Sunday paper would have retail advertising. I read Target's first. Then I drove the five minutes, looked at the ads again, posted to their bulletin board at either entrance. Mostly I did not particularly want anything. Occasionally, a small appliance or an anti-gravity chair to place on my backyard deck caught my attention. Before retiring, I would look at men's wear, though rarely bought anything. When the newspaper ads ended, so did my curiosity about what I might find.
The treasure hunts ended, though they continued at TJ Maxx, Marshall's, and even the dollar store. My need to have some Sunday morning or weekday afternoon to myself continued. Shopping became more purposeful. It still included Target for a while. Replace big screen TV, cell phone service, new flash drive, an iron, a Kitchen-Aid chopper, a thermal mug. As I looked over their offerings, much of the options seemed a poor value or limited selection. For big purchases, the attendants were kids reciting scripts. None ever asked me a question to guide what migh best suit my situation. I needed ammonia to clean something. They had bottles of cleaning mixtures made by alumni of college chemistry labs, but for a pure substance, an economical and useful one, I would have to drive around the corner to Lowe's. Other stores nearby took its place as where I find appliances, coats, munchies, and grooming items. Browsing the aisles largely ended.
This Sunday afternoon, I entered with a specific purchase to complete. They had several brands of Vitamin D. Different sizes, different dosages. Chewable gummies but mostly gel caps. None stood out as less per pill or per Vitamin D Unit. I took a bottle off the shelf. Not wanting to go home, I walked around. Though the parking lot had a lot of cars, the store did not have much density of shoppers, nor did employees seem abundant. They keep the pharmacy near the front to the left of the main entrance. Walking to the rear brings customers past food. Maybe some coffee could be purchased for Pesach. I saw Dunkin pods on a display, no canned coffee in a place easily found. At the very back stood seasonal. Easter to the left, gardening to the right. I buy seeds in the spring. Limited to Burpee, not displayed in the most attractive way and not discounted. Maybe clothing. A few of each basic item displayed. Shirts come in SML, not neck/sleeve. Probably few people who need ties for work would get them there. Limited selection. This store sits almost adjacent to a local high school. They sold logo t-shirts of two other high schools that would need a car to reach, no stuff in the colors or emblems of the school nearby.
Home decor displays would need more steps than I wanted to take. The direct path to the self register took me through women's jewelry and cosmentics. I guess some young people would put some of that on their skin or find a necklace with a medallion something that they could adopt as their signature. The route took me past the cashier registers, mostly closed. The door nearest my car stood at the self-checkout. That had a short waiting line. My turn came. I scanned my bottle of Vitamin D. It did not scan. Instead it reset to a home screen. Then I picked up the wand and scanned it that way. $12.49. Tapped my card, took my receipt and headed back to my car.
That bottle has 180 gel caps, enough for six months. Omeprazole lasts six weeks, but if I want to go there less I can buy two.
Nobody there treated me poorly. I found what I came for easily. What I failed to find was anything that might attract me as an impulse. I could not do easy browsing. I'd wonder a bit about the manager who does not have the saichel to order and display apparel from their neighbor school but hangs items from two further high schools.
My cell phone news feed often has items of hot shot new Target CEO with a vision. Right now it's a place I go to get two cheap OTC meds. It's not yet a place I drive to because I want to see what Target has that I did not already know I needed. He will need a lot of mystery shoppers willing to convey the truth before a better experience brings large numbers of browsers back.
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