In his keynote address last month at The P-O-P Show/Chicago, The Home Depot's John Costello suggested that the various components of the "in-store experience" are blurring. Once-distinct elements such as product, promotion, merchandising displays, store design and customer service are necessarily converging, he said, as retailers seek to provide solutions for time-pressed customers.

His comments were on my mind last week as I walked out of Target, a chain I've visited numerous times as a trade reporter but had never really "shopped" before.

As an industry observer, the Target experience always had been somewhat underwhelming for me. Have you ever watched a highly acclaimed film after it wins the Academy Award for Best Picture, and found yourself wondering what all the fuss was about? To me, Target was the retail equivalent of The English Patient.

Sure, the store's graphic design truly defines the term, "simple elegance," which makes the chain nearly unrivaled in its ability to embody market positioning ("cheap chic"). And, yes, the clean, clutter-free merchandising scheme makes the store far easier to shop than any other discounter. (During his P-O-P Show keynote, Wal-Mart marketing chief Bob Connolly said Target is "quantum leaps" ahead of his chain in this regard.)

It's just that Target never appealed to me personally -- until I decided to buy something.

Lured into the store by a feature in the chain's circular, I found myself facing a typical shopping dilemma: the one package left on the shelf was damaged, and there wasn't a single employee in sight. But Target offers an atypical solution to the problem: telephones in each department -- prominently mounted to endcaps -- that promise the arrival of an employee within 60 seconds. Even more atypically, my call prompted action in the guaranteed time. And it took maybe another minute for the employee who came to my assistance to determine that the product was out of stock and send me off with a rain check. (It should be here within two days, she said, and it was.)

Next, I spent several minutes discussing the merits of various digital cameras with a well-informed employee, only to learn that the one "we" decided would be best was out of stock. When I told her a rain check wouldn't do in this case, she suggested I go upstairs to Circuit City. "I know they've got it for the same price," she offered.

In 10 quick and surprisingly pleasant, pain-free minutes, my mind was changed. Target lost a sale but sold the customer. I now firmly believe that Target deserves all the praise it has received, and that John Costello really knows what he's talking about.

Peter Breen
Managing Director, Content
In-Store Marketing Institute

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Plus, a Virtual Store Tour of Rite Aid

Research Library
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Case Studies
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Plus, the latest installment of Ricci at Retail

Image Vault
More than 150 new images of displays and signs at The Sports Authority, Pep Boys, Rite Aid, King Soopers, Target, Safeway, 7-Eleven and more.

Plus, a gallery of winning displays from P-O-P Times' annual Design of the Times awards competition.

Legal Corner
Albertsons is named a co-defendant in the latest legal spat between on-shelf media suppliers Insignia Systems and News America Marketing. Read the complaint.

Lecture Hall
Coming this month: Recent highlights from presentations at the HBA Show and NACS Show.