As if one doesn’t already spend enough money after browsing the isles at Target, a Chicago store plans on opening an in-store bar. The 24,000-square-foot TargetExpress Chicago store will be located in the Streeterville neighborhood.
With this TargetExpress aiming to open some time in October, it will not be the first store that sells alcohol to its customers. To people of drinking age this might spark a similar excitement equivalent to when children walk into their local target seeing the slushie and popcorn machine.
A Southern California Whole Foods located in Pasadena has what they call a “Bar Acuda.” You can order seafood and grab a beer before of after you browse their isles. On their store website they emphasize the fact that the Metro stops just a block away.
This also raises concerns that people will get behind the wheel after having a few drinks. Depending on the location of the stores, the accessibility to public transportation will vary. In big cities like Chicago or New York it’s easy to hail a taxi cab from the curb, but what happens if this feature spreads nationwide? Shoppers in smaller cites aren’t likely to call a cab after they spent a few hours in their local Target.
If the Chicago area TargetExpress takes after the larger chain stores that already serve alcohol, they will have designated areas in which the drinks will be sold and confined to and because of this shoppers will not be subjected to watch others consume adult beverages.
This Target tavern could be used as some kind of “daycare” if some shoppers have spouses who usually limit their spending. Distracting their husband or wife by leaving them at the bar with their favorite adult beverages might be easier than bickering with them in the isle trying to convince them everything in the cart is a necessity.
The alcohol being served isn’t a necessity but more of a novelty to grab the attention of more people and draw potential shoppers into the store who wouldn’t normally shop there. This opens up the opportunity for shoppers to go in after work, grab a drink or two and participate in more impulse buying, as if impulse buying doesn’t happen enough while shopping at your local target.
The liquor license that is required for this added feature will run $4,000+ and will have to be renewed every two years, assuming the bar isn’t too much of a liability. If this trial goes well shoppers across America could be spending a bit more time and money on the Target premises.
