Target: Internet Shoppers

Target Stores Inc. (Minneapolis) is said to have done better on online shopping over the past year than any other U.S. retailer, including its main rival, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Bentonville, Ark.).

According to Scarborough Research (New York), 52 percent of Target shoppers made an online purchase during the past year, versus 35 percent of Wal-Mart shoppers.

Almost half (45 percent) of Target shoppers spent $100 or more online during the past year, versus 35 percent of Wal-Mart shoppers.

Scarborough also said it found that Wal-Mart shoppers are either average or slightly below average for making purchases in several key shopping categories, while the opposite is true for Target shoppers. For example, Target shoppers are 25 percent more likely than all consumers to have made an online purchase in the clothing/accessories category during the past year, while Wal-Mart shoppers are six percent less likely to have done so.

“Demographics play a part in the higher Internet shopping among Target customers, since affluent consumers are more likely to be shopping online,” said Karla Eyerly, Scarborough’s manager of advertising marketer services. “Additionally, our data show that Internet shopping is more prevalent in larger local markets, so Wal-Mart's heavy small-market concentration certainly plays into the equation. However, their recent push toward attracting a more upscale consumer could change this equation and help Wal-Mart attract more online shoppers in the future.”