During a last-minute Christmas shopping run with my sister-in-law, we stopped at the Target on Forest Hill Ave. We found a cute iPod dock priced at $69 for her daughter, but it turned out the store only had the display model left. The cashier offered to check another nearby Target about 15 minutes away in Midlothian. When we arrived there, the same dock was priced at $59 — $10 cheaper than the Forest Hill location.
We asked the Midlothian cashier whether the item was on sale, and she said the lower price is standard at that store and several others around Richmond. She explained that two Targets — Forest Hill and Short Pump — routinely mark up thousands of items based on the “demographic” of their neighborhoods. In other words, those locations are treated as higher-income areas, and prices are adjusted accordingly. As local residents who live in a modest ranch near the Forest Hill store, we were surprised and annoyed that the practice is so transparent.
The takeaway: the closest store doesn’t always have the best price. From now on, we’ll do major Target shopping at the Midlothian location — it’s still only minutes away — and we’ll warn friends and family about what we’ve started calling “location inflation.” This likely isn’t unique to Richmond. If you want to test it yourself, pick a $50+ item — a TV, game console, camping tent, holiday tree, etc. — note the price at one store, and then check a few other Targets nearby. You might see significant price differences depending on the store’s neighborhood. It’s possible other retailers do something similar. If you spot suspicious pricing patterns, share what you find.