November 23, 2007

Boycott Target?

I prefer shopping at Target rather than Wal-Mart - the Wal-Mart shopping experience is horrendous while shopping at Target is a pleasant experience - so this boycott call would cause me problems, except... I don't generally do boycotts. Boycotts generally don't work, and to the extent they have any impact they harm the wrong people. Boycott a retailer over its management's social policies and most of the negative impact will fall not on management but on store employees, in the form of fewer hours and fewer jobs.

If the AFA wants to change Target's policies, I suggest they do the one thing guaranteed to work: Rather than urging its followers to boycott Target and buy at Wal-Mart, the AFA should urge its followers to buy Target stock, and keep buying it until they have leverage.

Update: Dennis Alpert, Senior Manager of Public Affairs for Wal-Mart, emailed, "At Wal-Mart we realize people have a choice where they shop and we're pleased that more than 125 million customers choose Wal-Mart every week. We save people money so they can live better lives and are committed to providing a positive shopping experience while at the same time, always looking for ways to improve upon it. We encourage our customers, and you in this case, to speak with store management (or me directly) about your shopping experience in hopes that we can not only meet your expectations but exceed them in the future."

I should add that I actually do shop at Wal-Mart - a lot - mainly because of the low prices, although the large size of the stores is a drawback for me thanks to injuries to both knees in my youth that make walking through the usually huge Wal-Mart stores requires a lot of walking.

I also shop a lot at Target because there's one right up the street.

On the other hand, as a parent I often find myself needing something - usually for a child's school project - late at night after most other stores, including Target, have closed. On those occasions I always find myself at the 24-hour Wal-Mart. That's actually my favorite time to shop at Wal-Mart because it isn't as crowded.

Lots of special interests often call for boycotts of this retailer or that company. In recent years organized labor has tried such tactics to bring Wal-Mart down a peg because it doesn't do the labor movement's bidding on wages or health care benefits. Never mind that Wal-Mart's pay and benefits are, comparatively, quite good, within the retail sector.

And never mind that Wal-Mart's low prices save American consumers billions that they can use for other things, including health care costs. Save $100 shopping at Wal-Mart and that's $100 you can spend on something else, use to reduce your debt, or save for your children's education. When my son was a baby, we bought his formula at Wal-Mart instead of the local grocery because Wal-Mart had it for a dollar cheaper per bottle. If you have a baby and buy formula you know that's huge savings.

And those savings went into things like baby and toddler clothes, and Pampers, which were generally cheaper at Wal-Mart, too.

Wal-Mart's economic impact on America has been the equivalent of a pay increase for every American who shops there regularly - not to mention the many jobs it has created. It has brought jobs, lower prices and greater selection to countless American small towns.

Update<: Upon further reflection, Wal-Mart's returns policy is superior to Target's. Essentially, Wal-Mart makes it easier to return things than does Target.