Disclaimer: this is only regarding my experiences at both stores. I’ve not been to every Walmart/Target in the world, but odds are that you’ve never been to my local Walmart/Target either.
I prefer going to Walmart instead of Target every time and for any sort of shopping. Walmart still has the sort of atmosphere of being a classic superstore that carries actual brands and has some image of option or variety. Everything at Target seems to be house brand and overpriced at that.
Most criticism about the Walmart shopping experience seems to be thinly-veiled classism and most pro-Target arguments are just “I don’t have to be around the poors.” Neither of these appeal to me and I find the atmosphere at Target to be overbearing, uncomfortably sanitized, and their security policies are invasive, to say the least.
I don’t care about the politics of either company. If I’m shopping at a fuckhuge superstore anyway, I’m probably in a rush and need whatever I’m there for that day. Neither store is ever my first choice (or second, third, etc.), and if I can, I’ll source whatever I need locally/used/or online, but if my only two options are Walmart or Target, I’ll go to Walmart every time.
When you go to Walmart you’re going to be exposed to/interacting with “Walmart people”. When you go to Target you’re exposed to/interacting with “Walmart people” who think they’re too good for Walmart.
When I go to Target I’m exposed to weird store layouts with boxes of merchandise in the middle of the aisle because most of the other people there are personal shoppers just marking things of a list, higher prices, worse selection for the same items, and “Walmart people” who think they’re too good for Walmart.