Student Research Report: Target and Walmart-Who Gives Better Customer Service?
In Fall 2021, students in Dr. Emily Stark’s Research Methods and Design course completed multiple hands-on data collection projects. They were also assigned a blog paper where they discussed one of the topics they chose to research and explained their findings to a general audience. The goal of this assignment was to give students an opportunity to explore a different form of writing from APA-style research papers. Some of these blog papers will be featured here throughout the spring to showcase the students’ findings. Please feel free to contact Dr. Stark through the contact form on this site for additional information about this course or the assignments used.
By Natalie Koppendrayer
Have you ever wondered if Target employees or Walmart employees offer better customer service? For years, I have heard people talk about if Target is better than Walmart or vice versa, but I wondered what exactly influenced those thoughts. Is there really that big of a difference in the stores to the point where guests pick one over the other? I wondered what caused these conversations. Is it the products themselves or the environment of the stores that leads people to spend more money at their stores? I researched articles trying to find out what others had to say about the stores. I also conducted a research experiment in Mankato, Minnesota to try and find an answer to these very questions myself.
In an article written by Bryce Gruber, she stated: “Walmart is typically the most reliable for the best bargains and perks. Target offers an upgraded shopping experience and premium design-forward products that feel far more expensive than they really are” (Gruber, 2021). In her article, she listed the pros and cons of each store and then created reasons for how to know which store is better for you to shop at. The article concluded it really is all about preference and what you want out of the places you shop. A study written by Martin Mende and Ruth Bolton (2011) talks about the importance of customers bonding with employees. In the study, the researchers found that customers attach to businesses with better quality customer service and care. This led me to believe that customer service does play a role in customers choosing which store to shop at. If the guest service is better at one store, they are more likely to build better loyalty leading to more consistent shoppers at their stores.
I decided to conduct an experiment for my Research Methods and Design course (Psyc 211W) to see if Target’s or Walmart’s employees would offer help faster to guests that were vocally confused. In my experiment, I also measured to see if both Target and Walmart treated guests differently based on how they dressed. For the experiment, I had four participants assigned to go to Target and four participants assigned to go to Walmart. From there, two participants going to each store were told to dress up (dress, dress pants, makeup, accessories, dress shirt) and two from each store were told to dress down (in sweats, pajamas, leggings, sweatshirt, no makeup). The participants participated one at a time and on different days. Once at the store and dressing their part, the participant went to an aisle of the store that had an employee in it. The participant was told to try and look for an object that they were unsure of where it was. The participant was then vocal about how confused they were but did not make eye contact with anyone (to avoid asking for help with their eyes). I was in the same aisle, disguised as another shopper, but timing how long it took for the employee to step out of their way and help the confused shopper. The timer started as soon as the participant entered the aisle and ended as soon as the employee offered any form of help. The goal of this study was to know if Target employees or Walmart employees offer better customer care, and if either one treats their guests differently based on appearance.
After collecting all the data, I conducted an ANOVA analysis through SPSS workspace to find results. The results of the experiment found that there is no difference in receiving help from employees in Target and Walmart. The participants that were confused in Target did not receive help faster than participants that were confused in Walmart. The experiment also discovered that it did not matter whether guests dressed up or down, they both still received help in a timely manner. Finally, the study found that there was no difference between Target and Walmart in the amount of time it took to help confused guests, no matter how they dressed. When comparing Target and Walmart, they both offer the same amount of help to confused guests. They both also do not treat guests differently based on how they dress.
My study found that customer service does not vary in Target and Walmart in Mankato, Minnesota. This shows that customer service when helping confused guests is not different in either store. The study conducted did not help in finding a solid answer for which store offers better service. I’d love to conduct more studies and conduct more consistent research and in various locations to try to find an answer. I would also like to use things such as gender and religion to see if other Target and Walmart stores do treat their guests differently based off other appearances.
References
Gruber, B. (2021). Target vs. Walmart; Which is Best? Reader’s Digest. https://www.rd.com/article/target-vs-walmart/
Mende, M., & Bolton, R. N. (2011). Why attachment security matters: How customers' attachment styles influence their relationships with service firms and service employees. Journal of Service Research, 14(3), 285-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1094670511411173