Minneapolis-based Target Corp. got a lukewarm (at best) to hostile (check out the roller coaster their stock prices are riding in the past week) reception when it announced it planned to lower prices in stores.
The changes come as Amazon launched new, lower prices for staples like bananas, apples, avocados, salad greens and more at its newly-acquired Whole Foods stores.
Target didn't publish a list of what they decided to lower, so I decided to stop by Target and take a look.
In produce, there weren't the bright red Target signs marking items that had been strategically lowered, like these in the Hotwheels aisle. Hey, I'm a mom of two boys, so I know that Hot Wheels are one cent cheaper at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Nice try, Target.
Anyway, in produce, I grabbed a few photos of items I KNOW are cheaper than they were before, and items that were part of the initial roll-out for Amazon/Whole Foods. I'm also including prices from local competitors, from their online grocery prices.
Organic gala and fuji apples:
- $1.87 a pound at Target
- $1.99 a pound at Whole Foods
- $1.97 a pound at H-E-B
- $1.88 a pound at Walmart
- 94 cents each (gala) at Sprouts Farmers Market
Organic bananas:
- 59 cents a pound at Target
- 69 cents a pound at Whole Foods
- 55 cents a pound at H-E-B (on ad, normally 58 cents a pound)
- 64 cents a pound at Walmart
- N/A from Sprouts on Amazon Prime Now
Conventional bananas:
- 49 cents a pound at Target
- 49 cents a pound at Whole Foods (Whole Trade)
- 48 cents a pound at H-E-B
- 48 cents a pound at Walmart
- 68 cents each at Sprouts Farmers Market
Avocados:
- 99 cents each at Target
- $1.67 each at Whole Foods
- 88 cents each at H-E-B
- 98 cents each at Walmart
- $2.50 each at Sprouts Farmers Market (XL hass)
Organic spring mix, 5 oz:
- $3.49 at Target
- $3.49 at Whole Foods
- $2.98 at H-E-B
- $3.46 at Walmart
- $2.99 at Sprouts Farmers Market
And, by the way, this North Austin Target store had a redesigned produce department, and signage indicating the company's planning to expand its organic produce offerings.
