Teach me about Target and other American retail culture

[Chaser]

So far I've learnt y'all have unnecessary food courts in a single shop, and it has a special kind of popcorn? Our Targets down under are mostly cheap clothing stores, DVDs, books, and sporting gear. Some might be Target Home, which sells furniture, but we certainly don't have groceries for sale. The stores in general aren't large so you can get around a Target in a short amount of time but I personally just don't bother with Target since I have no interest in the clothes they sell.

What do I need to prepare myself for when I visit LA? I'm only there for a week but I think I need to prepare myself for the culture shock.

[Chaser]

I've just been informed y'all eat pizza and hotdogs when watching movies and i am disgusted. all you need is a popcorn and a choc top to enjoy during a flick!!!

[Gambler]

We actually have popcorn machines in the store. But to me it's nothing like the stuff you get in movie theaters.

Shame that the Popcorn's kind of nasty and stale from Target sometimes.

[Chaser]

I just don't understand why you would need to eat popcorn when shopping.

[Gambler]

I just don't understand why you would need to eat popcorn when shopping.

Some people like to eat and shop. I can say that with a fact since I normally get something to drink from there or my local grocery store while I walk around and shop.

[Chaser]

People snack when they shop down here too, but never popcorn. Sign tells me food service people scoop it for you which just baffles me further. I just can't believe popcorn is a regular treat that y'all eat when shopping :O

[Sdog]

I just don't understand why you would need to eat popcorn when shopping.

We need to constantly eat over here. Only way to forget about the profound capitalism we are having shoved down our throats. I like mine with extra butter.

[Chaser]

Tell me more about American shopping centres.

[Meow Wow]

Large chain shopping centers like to have cameras everywhere. My local Target decided to put a camera at every checkout center and a screen at every checkout center to show you that you are being recorded.
Side note: If you go to a Walmart, regardless of your country, check out Walmart bingos online.

We Americans are consumers. Say 20% off and people will come flocking in and buy everything they don't need... in bulk too. We have the need to spend, spend, spend. Then wonder why companies are so greedy and corrupt.

With the popcorn, I'v never seen people eat popcorn throughout a store. Starbucks, yes. Popcorn, no.

[Gambler]

The only thing that I really dislike about retail culture here is that whenever there's a food court or any other eatery it usually ends up on the shelves and people just tend to mess up the place with all of that garbage.

I can't begin to tell you how many times at Kmart where I had the displeasure of having to pick up peoples' garbage that was left on the shelf. Of course, there have been far worse things I've found, but it's still all quite nasty. I definitely recall that in our local mall they straight up tell people to not eat food in there. Drinks are fine so long as you properly throw away the garbage.

[Recon]

Tell me more about American shopping centres.

Just be ready to see a ton of brands you don't recognize. And if you're coming to LA you'll most likely see more diversity than what you are used to.

Best shopping centers are Malls or Outlets that have good department stores. They typically carry everything new or popular, but you might end up finding what you want cheaper on the internet.

Judging by photos of Australian malls, design and layout is really no different, but don't expect a Coles anywhere around the area.

[Silver_Soul]

If you ever visit Texas, HEB is the best grocery store on earth.

[Chaser]

The only thing that I really dislike about retail culture here is that whenever there's a food court or any other eatery it usually ends up on the shelves and people just tend to mess up the place with all of that garbage.

I can't begin to tell you how many times at Kmart where I had the displeasure of having to pick up peoples' garbage that was left on the shelf. Of course, there have been far worse things I've found, but it's still all quite nasty. I definitely recall that in our local mall they straight up tell people to not eat food in there. Drinks are fine so long as you properly throw away the garbage.

I was told yesterday that Kmart was effectively dead in the United States. Are there a few stores thriving? :O

Just be ready to see a ton of brands you don't recognize. And if you're coming to LA you'll most likely see more diversity than what you are used to.

Best shopping centers are Malls or Outlets that have good department stores. They typically carry everything new or popular, but you might end up finding what you want cheaper on the internet.

Judging by photos of Australian malls, design and layout is really no different, but don't expect a Coles anywhere around the area.

Coles is a dedicated grocery store. Some have clothes in the middle, but it isn’t very big and it is more common in country towns where there are less clothing stores. What supermarket is big in the US? I feel like I hear about Walmart a lot, for example, but those are like a culmulation of everything. Sort of like our Big W’s (but they don’t sell fresh food either).

If you ever visit Texas, HEB is the best grocery store on earth.

I’m not going to Texas. I can only afford a week’s trip and it will be to LA because they have theme parks there based around film and TV (what I studied for my two Bachelor Degrees).

[Meow Wow]

I was told yesterday that Kmart was effectively dead in the United States. Are there a few stores thriving? :O.

There are a select few left in the country, but yeah, Kmart is dead. They're gonna completely die out like blockbuster, slowly but surely.


To my understanding, Australia uses different sizing systems(British, I think) so make sure you have a chart or conversions ready. Not all brands will have all size conversions on their clothes.

[Oracle Spockanort]

At Target you can get Starbucks, sandwiches, popcorn, hot dogs (my fav), and all sorts of snacks.

Like why WOULDNT you walk around Target with a bag of popcorn while you compare televisions in the Electronics section?

Oh boy. Remind me to take you to Costco. You will weep at the line for the food court. Ohhh or IKEA.

What do you mean you don’t have hot dogs and pizza in theaters? Imagine if we take you to a dine-in theater. They have even more options for food.