the 1 % retailers

What is your [b]first[/b] shopping destination thought?


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Gilroy Cullen

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http://americasmarkets.usatoday.com/2015/05/14/10-retailers-take-two-thirds-of-your-money/

So I saw this article and I wanted to see what people's thoughts are on the fact that there are 10 retailers that take a majority of our shopping money. Mind you this is only retailers, doesn't include fast food and such.

And as if anyone expected differently, Walmart is the top grossing retailer with more than 20% of the American retail pie. The next closest is not even close.

So where is your first destination?
 

Duncan J Macdonald

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My answer will generally depend on what I'm shopping for. The exception is Wal-Mart. I won't darken their doors.
 

Don

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Local retailers are my first choice. I hit second-hand places if what I need might be there. We got a lot of our current furniture second-hand, and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore has paid off for equipping my workshop. Publix, CVS, Lowe's and Wal-Mart probably represent the bulk of our purchases, though. OTOH, we also deal exclusively with local contractors for services.
 

shakeysix

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The nearest Wal Mart is 40 miles from here. Some of the bigger retailers like Target, Home Depot are sixty miles away. In town we do have a Mom and Pop grocery, a Mom and Pop lumber yard, a gas station/sevenleven/ ice cream parlor, a second hand store, a 6-table pizza place and a fantastic Mexican Restaurant. Pretty urban compared to my last town--288 population, no stores, not even a gas station--s6
 
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clintl

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Around where I live, other than specialty items, it's hard to find mom and pop type stores any more. I do my grocery shop at a great little grocery chain called Nugget Market (which is not just a great store, but ranked in the top 100 companies to work for). But there are no independent pharmacies left in my town, just a couple of CVS and Rite Aids. So I go there and to Target for most other things. I do go to the local Ace for most hardware stuff, rather than leave town to go to Home Depot or Lowe's.
 

asroc

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There's no Wal-mart anywhere in the area. Wouldn't go there anyway. We occasionally get some stuff from Costco, but most of our groceries are from Stop & Shop, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and a few artisanal grocers in the neighborhood. (The hipsterification of my neighborhood came with some very decent wine and cheeses.)
 

juniper

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Mmm, depends on what I want. I had coffee with a friend the other day and she told me the local thrift shop was selling everything for 1/2 off that day, with orange tag items priced at 69 cents no matter what it was. I picked up a couple of shirts for work for about $2 each. And one for 69 cents. :)

Furniture, I check craigslist.org first. I sold furniture at a liquidation sale about 13 years ago and saw firsthand what a huge mark-up there is at furniture stores. We don't buy new furniture anymore. With the exception of mattresses. Or sofas. I don't like the idea of sitting on someone's drool spot where they were napping on a sofa. :tongue

Costco is good for some stuff. My husband has a business account there, so the annual fee is a write-off for him. Trader Joes is my favorite food store. But the nearest one is 10 miles away, and Albertsons is 3 blocks, so most basic groceries are from there.

Only electronics store around is Best Buy. Only major bookstores within 20 miles are Barnes & Noble, and Powells. Yay Powells! Humongous (full city block) new and used, and online too.

I don't view shopping as entertainment or fun, just a necessary evil. Except for bookstores. Definitely fun, and entertaining, and spirit reviving.

(As an aside, I miss the old smilies)
 
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Alpha Echo

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I avoid Walmart in most cases, but sometimes, it's the biggest grocery/store near where we are, with the largest variety. That is rare though.

There aren't too many mom/pop stores near us, but when we travel we shop in them for everything we can, minus groceries. Unless we can find a farmer's market, we stick to a grocery store.

We have a Super Target, Giant, Wegmans, and Harris Teeter near us, so I shop at any one of those on a regular basis. Clothes are different though. I order mine online through various retailers, and we buy DD's at Old Navy or Justice.

I do shop at a privately owned used-book store. I buy, trade, and sell there and love that place.
 
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Chrissy

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I really dislike shopping for the most part. I find it both tedious and expensive.

Wal-Mart is my idea of torture, though I seem to end up there about once a year, when I'm desperate and can't find what I need at Walgreens, Publix, or CVS.

For clothes I go to TJ Maxx for myself, and I try for my kids, but right sizes are hard to find. After that it's Target for 9 year old and Macy's for teenager, which are both farther away with hella traffic in between.

Oh, and I hate the mall. Passionately.

Publix is my grocery store. I wish I could buy everything at Publix. I love Publix.
 

Myrealana

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I hate WalMart, and will only shop there as a last resort, and I will NOT buy food there. Their produce just doesn't even look appetizing.

Costco, Target and Kohl's are my first choices, with Kroger for most of our food.

There used to be a family-owned hardware store near our house, and we got everything for home improvements there. I was so sad when the owner retired and sold the store to a Checker Autoparts.

Outside of restaurants, I couldn't even name a mom-n-pop business in my area.
 

Brightdreamer

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I've been in Wal-Mart very few times in my life - not my choice by a longshot.

However, due to a lack of other options, most of my shopping is big-box-type stores. Target, a Kroger-owned outfit that used to be local, and a Safeway that's going downhill fast. I also will go to Walgreens once in a while... which I know is owned by the Wal-Mart people, but their pharmacy has come through for us more than once when others didn't. For clothing, I usually go to an outlet place, though I get work shirts from Michael's or the second-hand stores.

I do not understand mall shopping. A thousand different clothing stores catering to Size Zero shoppers, and it all looks the same... how is that a fun way to spend a minute, let alone a day?
 

Cyia

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Wal-Mart's our closest grocery and clothing store. If you go a litter farther, there's a Target and another Wal-Mart. Go the other direction, and there's another Target and another Wal-Mart. We do have a Home Depot and Kohl's, too.

You can forget about the mall, as it's way too far out of the way, and quickly falling into decay.
 

regdog

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I shop local and firmly believe that every time you shop at Wal Mart a piece of your soul dies.
 

cornflake

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For what? It totally depends. In general, specialty or sometimes department or sometimes discount. :p If I want like, housewares it might be the dishware store (local, small chain, awesome remaindered stuff, their own branded stuff, just awesome), or Sur la Table, or Bloomingdale's or Pottery Barn or Homegoods or... it depends on what it is. There's high- and low-end stuff at all of those, and if you know what you want and what it costs retail, you can get good deals.
 

Diana Hignutt

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Amazon, but if I am actually going to a store (I use Acme for groceries) then mom and pop. As a small business person I understand our need to support each other as much as possible.
 

Brutal Mustang

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I shop at Walmart, because it's what my artist budget can afford. $20 dollars gets way more food there than it does at Safeway.
 

MaryMumsy

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Probably 85% of my "shopping" is done at Fry's (grocery store, part of Kroger), Sprouts (small chain, great produce), or Costco. The rest is split between two indie bookstores, and an occassional online foray for shoes or clothes. I belong to the "wouldn't shop at WalMart if it was the only store within 50 miles" group.

Despite the similarity of names, Walgreens is not part of WalMart.

MM
 

Gregg

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There's a Walmart, Shopko, Target, Kohls, Best Buy, Costco, Home Depot and Goodwill within 10 - 12 minutes of my house. Meijer is building a huge store 5 minutes away. I shop the local Ace Hardware most, followed by Amazon and Home Depot.
 

Maryn

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I'm another one whose answer changes completely depending on what I'm after. I'm fortunate enough to live where there's a first-rate regional grocery store which gets a lot of my money. I shop Target, Kohl's, and Penney's, usually based on what's on sale, but I'm also an avid thrift store shopper. (Look at these pants. And the shoes I just kicked off. Cool, huh? Nine bucks for both.)

So it was hard to answer this poll.

Maryn, softly sobbing
 

RichardGarfinkle

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CostCo for most of our groceries. Treasure Island is half a block away so we fill in the corners there. A lot of other stuff we buy online. Our neighborhood is awash in bookstores, so we have a lot of options there.
 

Magdalen

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x-nay on the Almart-ay, just saying.
No disposable income at this time.
 

Scribesage

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There's a second-hand shop near me that has a super big inventory that I really love to go to. It's my first thought for any clothes shopping I have to do. Every now and again I'll get something at Target and I do really like stopping in just to browse their stuff (and get Icees, though the one closest to me replaced the Icee area with a Starbucks, like those aren't everywhere already :cry:). I do a lot of online shopping, too, but only really get it if it's on sale. Same for in store, honestly.

I don't really go to Wal-mart much. I went there earlier this year because the person I was hanging out with needed to make a stop there for school supplies and I hadn't been there in two or three years. I don't even really think of it.
 

Kayley

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I get pretty much everything on Amazon; if they don't have something, I'll get it either from my local grocery store or Target.


EDIT: Above, I was talking about routine purchases. For intermittent purchases, such as furniture or clothing, I might check Craigslist or local thrift stores. It really depends on what I'm looking for and where I can find good deals.
 
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