Back to School Shopping: Walmart Vs. Target

I realize school has already started for a lot of your kids, but here in Michigan, school doesn’t start until after Labor Day. I got an email about checking out the great prices on back-to-school supplies at Walmart, and since I’ve always bought school supplies at Target, I was curious to see what the differences were in price.  Walmart offered to send me a gift card and a list of recommended school supplies so I could do some comparison shopping between the two.

WALMART:

I set off for Walmart with my list and the kids, and found the Back-to-School section right at the front of the store. There were multiple aisles filled with multiple blue cardboard boxes STUFFED with school supplies. We started at the top of the list and got shopping!  This was the list Walmart sent me, I think it’s based on what the average shopper needs for kids of varying ages:

• Avery Durable View Binder – 1 inch – $2.50
• Big Brite Liner Highlighters – 5 pack – $1.50
• Bic Mechanical Pencil (7mm) – 10 pack – $1.50
• Black & White Composition Book – 100 sheets – $0.25 – SOLD OUT. Paid $2.00 for a patterned one.
• Crayola Colored Pencils – 12 count – $1.00
• Crayola Crayons – 24 count – $0.25
• Crayola Marker Classic Broad – 10 count – $1.00
• Crayola Marker Washable Broad – 9 count – $2.00
• Dixon #2 Pencils – 24 count – $1.00 – Rang up at $0.88
• Elmer’s School Glue – 4 oz. – $0.25
• Elmer’s School Glue Stick twin pack – $0.25
• Index Card 3×5 Ruled – 100 count – $0.44
• Mead Reinforced Wide Ruled Filler Paper – 150 sheet – $2.50 – SOLD OUT. Norcom brand only $0.75 !
• Pink Eraser by Peachtree Playthings – 2 pack – $1.00
• School Backpack – $5.00 or $9.00
• Spiral Notebook Wide Ruled – 70 sheet – $0.15
• 3-pack folders – $2.50 – Rang up at $2.00
• 10-Digit Desk Calculator – $3.00

The total for the 18 items came to just $26.28 before tax!  Best of all, my kids can use everything on the list, and what we don’t need, their school is happy to take.

TARGET:

I took the shopping list to Target and looked for the same or similar items and jotted down the prices.  Here’s what I found:

• Avery Binder – $2.74  MORE
• Bic Highlighters – didn’t have, Target Value Pack 5 highlighters – $1.74  MORE
• Bic Mechanical Pencils – didn’t have 10 pack, 8 pack $1.20  SAME
• Composition Book – Target had the Black & White ones for $0.25, same price as Walmart when the books were in stock  SAME
• Crayola 24 count crayons – $0.25  SAME
• Crayola colored pencils – Target didn’t have 12 packs, 24 packs were $2.84. Walmart’s price is 8 cents each, Target’s is 11 cents each  MORE
• Crayola Classic markers – $1.00 SAME
• Crayola Washable markers – $2.00 SAME
• #2 Pencils – Target had Wood Barrel pencils, 24 count, $0.94  LESS
• Elmer’s School Glue – $0.25  SAME
• Glue Stick Twin Pack – $0.25  SAME
• Index Cards 3×5 Ruled – $0.44  SAME
• Wide Ruled Filler Paper – $0.75  LESS
• 2 pack Pink Erasers – $0.97  LESS
• Backpacks – Target had a clearance section, there were a few marked $10.48 and one marked $6.98  MORE
• Spiral Notebook Wide Ruled – $1.00  MORE
• 3-pack folders – the ones at Walmart are coated on the outside, heavy. Target has paper ones for $0.15, I didn’t see the nicer coated ones. I’ll call this “less” but I hesitate to do so since it isn’t the exact same thing, just so you know.   LESS
• Desk Calculator – Target had a space for a Sharp Basic Plastic Calculator for $2.99 but there were none hanging there, so I don’t know how many digits it would have calculated out to. I’m going to assume it would be the same.   SAME

Total for that list, assuming you buy the 24 pack of colored pencils and three of their paper folders, your total would be $27.05.

I was surprised how close the totals were!  Although I have to say, Walmart seemed to have more choices in the different categories, as far as patterns or designs go, and while Target was almost entirely cleaned out of backpacks, Walmart still had a good selection.  I’d say if you still need to buy school supplies and you do your grocery shopping at Walmart, check out their back-to-school section for some great deals. Even if you already bought school supplies, you can always use more crayons, right?

Walmart provided me with a gift card and a recommended school supply shopping list for this review. All opinions, etc., are, as always, my own.

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