Target Is Toxic

The secret behind the bullseye

There is something about that aesthetically red and white store that says, “you want to buy 3 new blankets, an orange mug with a puppy on it, and a new full-length mirror. But I know you only came here for bandaids.” Your bank account’s worst enemy: Target.

I will admit, I will always make the 35-minute drive to Target when I could easily get the same thing I need at my hometown’s Walmart that’s five minutes away, but why is that? What is it about this store that calls me from 24 miles away? Something tells me that I’ll never know because as soon as I figure it out, I’m not going to want to go anymore.

One thing I have figured out, however, is why I always leave with more items than on my list when I walked in. I am not the only one with this problem and I know this because of a video I saw around five years ago. This video was a part of a short series called “Target with Liza,” which was created by youtube Liza Koshy.

In these videos, you just follow her around while she makes puns about the items she comes across in the story, but in one video she tackles this idea of leaving with more than you need. Koshy describes the concept by using Target’s bullseye logo, and how every customer has a handful of darts and they are trying to hit the center, the bullseye being the one thing you actually need. Koshy says, “When you throw that dart, it goes somewhere else. Your dart’s flying everywhere and you're going everywhere throughout the store.” She then explains that you then are using up all of your darts which represents you also using up all your money.

Now, will understanding this concept make me more conscious of my lack of self-control and keep me from spending money at Target? Probably not. Am I okay with that? Absolutely, because I love Target and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

Here is a link to Liza Koshy’s video if you want to hear her explain her ideas more clearly than I did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weGc3Qa8Fvk