Animation: Target's Spread Across The U.S.
Last summer, we highlighted an ominous-looking animation that traced the spread of Walmart stores across the American landscape over the past 5 decades. Now the same guy behind that map has put together a new one, this time tracing Target's growth.
Not to be outdone (well, maybe a little outdone), we've combed through hours of imaginary data here at Consumerist HQ and put together a similar animation that illustrates Starbucks' explosive growth over the past 20 years. Enjoy.
"Growth of Target, 1962-2008" [FlowingData]
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Comments:
There are 15 Walmarts within a reasonable driving distance from my home in the greater Hartford area, and 3 or 4 of them are under 5 miles.
Target isnt far behind, probably 8 or so I could drive to in under 30 min.
This would be cooler if they added in that "boop" sound that they used in Wargames when the "missiles" hit their targets.
Well who cares if Wal Mart and Target are spreading. You don't think the people that work there deserve jobs? These places employ hundreds of people, and right now that's a good thing.
@jake7294:
I don't think anybody was implying that. Besides, of course people that work at these places deserve jobs....but they also deserve better pay and benefit options than what WalMart is willing to offer.
I can't stand Wally World but like Target. I just wish they had more "Super Stores" around here.
@jake7294: They employee hundreds by uining local business and hording the most possible from the communities, preventing things like more funding to local development, while also paying minimum wage, preventing the formation of unions, etc.
""More"" Jobs does not necessarily mean better.
Target does at least offer that money back to your school program through their Credit Card. That's nice. I know its a paltry amount, but everything helps.
I am sure sure that Target is a soulless sociopath just like any other corporation, BUT they haven't done wrong by me, not yet at least. I'm often able to find products I want at prices I can pay, and never had problems on the rare times I wanted to return something.
Plus, they're NOT Walmart!
And it looks like Vermont is the only continental state without one, which sucks donkey balls when you live there.
Why is Target "better" than Wal-Mart exactly? Aren't they both pretty much local business destroying multi-national corporations that sell low quality and low price products imported from China?
I wish they would open a decent target in my area, I miss having a clean, well stocked super target
@T Axel Jones: But they have such hip commercials. They can't be the same as Wal-Mart, right?
right?
That's crazy how SoCal just gets BOMBED about halfway through the animation.
The very first dot is the Target I shop at. Whee!
I saw this on Gizmodo not too long ago and showed it to a friend who was just amazed at the green growth that was WalMart versus the more even spread of Target stores.
My friend commented that it seemed like Target spread to major cities whereas WalMart seemed to spread out from Bentonville, AR in a more growth like way, kind of like a tumor.
I laughed. She's really anti-WalMart.
There's a Walmart within 5 blocks of me and a Kmart across the street from that. I wish the Kmart would leave and a Target come in there. We only have one and it's waaaaaay on the other side of town. I like Target's stuff better than Walmart.
Although the Target logo doesn't make me laugh every time I look at it. :)
href="#c10925213">jake7294: The real question is "does Walmart gainfully employ more people than would have been employed by the local food / appliance / homegoods / clothing / music stores that it drives out of business?"
You could really use a map like this to know where to go if the HN51 virus ever makes the pandemic they're predicting. No walmart, its gotta be safe there if they wont build a walmart its doubtful you'll see anyone to get you sick.
@AnxiousDemographic: Me, too. I live half a mile from my local Target and I'm in there once a week, getting groceries and finding all kinds of neat, inexpensive things to use to decorate my apartment. I've had to return various items over the years and have never had an issue. Love them!
@T Axel Jones: From what I can see the stores are cleaner, they are in better parts of town, more convenient, employees are friendlier, merchandise (especially clothing) is fresher and more stylish, their ads are better and they have those nice pharmacy coupons. I can't stand Walmart, the stores are dirty and everything looks gross. Plus, it's Walmart.
@T Axel Jones: Exactly. Where do Wal-Mart and Target get off selling people stuff they want to buy at prices they are willing to pay? Off with their heads!
@T Axel Jones: The quality and offerings at Target are much better that Wallyworld. Target is cleaner and somewhat quieter.
Target also lacks the ignorant trailer park demographic that Walmart is chuck full of. Maybe I sound like a snob but if I have the option of avoiding the Jerry Springer adventure that is Walmart to buy something the same or better I will take it.
@ScarletsWalk: You're bound to get one sooner or later...apparently, Montana had 5 stores before PA even had 1, so the growth has been a little uneven...
@typoink: And, also, to what extent do they offset lower salaries by reducing the cost of food / appliances / homegoods /clothing / music to the community?
Good god, it's like smallpox.
I laughed out loud at the starbucks map. I like how all you can see is "my butt."
I have always said:
People shop at Walmart because they HAVE to,
They shop at Target because they WANT to...
@bohemian: I'm not sure if it makes me "trailer park demographic" or not, but I shop at WalMart nearly twice a week. Yeah, there's ugly people there, but they have what I need to buy at a price I can afford. Target doesn't.
Do you want to play a game?
Given their return policy, we made sure not to register for anything at Target for my wife's baby shower.
We got most of our stuff from Babies R'Us and had no problem with them.
We just trading in a bunch of stuff (for other stuff) yesterday.
@acklenheights:
Though that's nothing to how the eastern seaboard gets nuked from Washington DC to Boston.
@acklenheights: They didn't actually open all those Targets, from the data, that's partially due to an acquisition of another chain that was primarily in CA.
@jake7294:
This reminds me of where I live. Officials say they are bringing in business, and expanding, but what *kind* of business? Professional level jobs and careers? Or wage slave jobs with no real compensation or benefits?
Who cares if you have 1,000 jobs in an area, when they all pay $6.50 an hour? No one can live off of that. Most of the people that have these jobs are either: a. teenagers that need spending money, b. someone forced to work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet.
Where I live, Target just seems to attract less mouth breathers. The stores are nicer, the are maintained better, and the environment is simply better. I avoid Walmart like the bubonic plague.
@T Axel Jones: I don't shop at Walmart for the following reasons (In order):
1) Discrimination against women.
2) Discrimination against minorities.
3) Bullying/destruction of vendors
4) trashy stores
5) each store is a genetic wasteland.
Agree or disagree with me, these are why I don't shop there.
No, nothing anyone says will convince me that it's worth it to walk into a Walmart again.
I used to work for Target Corporation, and you cannot even begin to compare Target to Wal-Mart. Target gives over a million dollars a week of it's own profits to local non-profit organizations in the communities that they are in.
Every year they have a "United Way" campaign for employees, both management and hourly, to donate any sort of dollar amount they want to United Way directly out of their check. It is a great fundraiser for United Way and a lot of employees do it, since it is so easy for us to.
Target also regularly has store volunteers do different events in the community during their days off. I know people at my old store in Michigan that helped build houses for the homeless, read to children in the hospital, and also help elderly people in homes.
In addition to ALL of that, Target is a liberal, diverse company. They support employees and do not discriminate on race, sexual orientation, gender, or religion. I was one of many gay employees in the store, and we felt welcome to work there, even though I lived in a conservative area of the state. To prove it: Target scores a 100% on the HRC workplace inclusion survey, and Wal-Mart scores a 0.
Did I forget to mention that even as a part-time employee, I accrued vacation hours that I could use at my own leisure? (Sans Black Friday and Easter).
I know their prices are higher then Wal-Mart in some things, but I feel good about my money when I spend it at Target - I feel I am supporting my community and not contributing to a company that discriminates against it's employees.
@T Axel Jones: I admit that it's entirely superficial, but I first fell in love with Target when I saw that they allowed their employees to wear facial piercings.
I was probably 18 or 19 and this concept was fascinating to me back then. I understand that, by all reasoning, Target isn't *that* much better and is still a big box store (that likes to screw up pricing). I still avoid Wal-Mart like the plague
@stpauliegirl: well, not really. they tore down the original store a built a new one on the same location a couple of years ago.
I LOL'ed at the Starbucks map.. Great Job!
What gets me to shop at Walmart more often than Target is that my local Walmart sells ammunition, my local Target doesn't.
They sell the same merchandise from china at a higher price than walmart but they have cleaner stores.
@Oranges w/ Cheese: Employees get a lot of perks, discounts, and reimbursements on things like adoption fees, tax preparation, tuition, and Weight Watchers. And real health benefits that Walmart employees don't get.
I don't plan to work at Target for much longer, but there are definitely worse places I could be stuck at.
@RandaPanda0283: Of course, the original game plan was all about small towns. That's where Sam learned the trade and he faced far less competition. When I moved to Indy from Arkansas in 1983, there were no Wal-Marts to be seen. When I moved back in 1987, there were a couple already in place, but on the outskirts of town.
Target eats up prime agricultural fields and open spaces. Target was a main store in a new strip mall, then it closed that store, only to open up in another strip mall 5 miles away. The previous store and blacktopped parking lot sit empty now. It use to be a field, with crops and animals.
@T Axel Jones: In the Los Angeles area Target has made a huge effort to re-purpose existing storefronts. They've take over old department stores that were vacant during the huge store consolidations of the 90s. They revitalized malls in areas that were especially under-served and instead of building new, they used what was already zoned. (Eagle Rock is a good example.)
Their base wages are higher & benefit plans more agreeable. I've never shopped at WalMart (we don't have them in Los Angeles close to me) but I've been able to find non-Chinese merch there and plenty of American-made products.
@jake7294: I took the point of the posting to be a demonstration of an interesting way showing data through time.
You seemed to take it as an excuse to be offended for no reason.
I noticed it does not include stores that were opened, but later closed.