Has Target lost its "Tar-zhey"?

June 3, 2010  |  by Cindy Maude

About a year ago I started noticing that Target’s advertising circulars were looking more like Walmart’s – you know what I mean? Tons of products crammed on the front page with big price points and no sense of design and no trendy colors. Now this is a big disappointment to me, because I’ve always liked to look at Target’s ads for new, innovative design ideas. After all, didn’t they build their business by telling everyone to “Expect More. Pay Less?” Their Web site says, “Expect more of everything. More great design, more choices and more designer-created items that you won’t find anywhere else. And pay less. It’s as simple as that.” Well, I don’t think they’ve kept it as simple as that.

Every Sunday morning when I laid in bed with my coffee and newspaper, my husband would ask, “Why do you look at those Target ads?” And I would answer, “Because they give me ideas about trends and they’re designed so beautifully. I just like to look at them.” Then they started changing, and I kept complaining and saying, “What’s happening to Target? Their ads look like Walmart’s and Walmart’s are looking better.”

Being a person who prefers small specialty stores where the associates have a level of expertise and can really help you, or where the store stands for something, I rarely shop at large discount stores. I used to make an exception for Target, because they inspired me. Crazy as it sounds, they really lived their mission of bringing outstanding quality and great design together at an incredible price. Now, I’m confused. Their Web site still says all the right words and it does have a nice sense of design. But their ads are all about price and lots of items, and their stores no longer inspire me to trust their design sense or motivate me to shop there.

According to Target’s 2009 annual report, they posted “stronger than expected” financial results last year. So perhaps their strategy has been successful, or maybe people keep hoping they’ll change back. Or maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t anyone else think that Target has lost its “Tar-zhay”?