Average Time Spent in Walmart and Target: Are You Above Average?

Ever get accused of spending TOO much time shopping at Walmart or Target?

A recent report has revealed how much time the average shopper spends wandering the aisles of some of the biggest names in retail.

Average Time People Spend In Some Stores Decreasing

If you feel like you're spending less time filling your cart in some stores, you're not alone. According to research published by Placer.ai, some, but not all retail stores are seeing a decline in the amount of time shoppers are hanging around.

Most notably, the report shows Walmart and Target as having a downturn in what it calls customers' "dwell time."

Placer.ai has Walmart showing a downward trend in the first half of the year in each of the past four years. Target customer dwell time was flat for the first half of both 2021 and 2022, but decreased in the following two years.

There's no exact science to show why this is happening. It could be people are trying to spend less. It also might have something to do with stores seeing more customers utilizing online shopping.

Average Time People Spend In Walmart And Target

In the first half of 2024, the average trip to Walmart lasted longer than an outing to Target.

Placer.ai says the average dwell time for a Walmart shopper is 31.8 minutes, down from 32.8 minutes during the same time last year.

READ MORE: Experts Recommend Best And Worst Days To Shop At Walmart

For Target, the average shopper dwell time in the first half of 2024 was 28.7 minutes. This is down from 29.5 minutes during the same period in 2023.

This marks the fourth straight year the report showing shoppers spending more time in Walmart over Target.

And while customers are going in and out more quickly at these two retail behemoths, another big-name player is seeing a rise in the amount of time people are hanging out in its aisles.

Costco was the one notable name in the Placer.ai report that showed a year-over-year increase in shopper dwell time. Shoppers averaged 37.3 minutes, up from 36.8 minutes in 2023.

Guess those free Costco samples have a way of slowing down your shopping trip.