Is Target a Good Place to Meet Women?

Yes. Target is one of the better stores to meet women in person, mainly because people browse there. A grocery run is a mission. A Target run is often half errand and half outing, so women wander through home goods and clothing at an easy pace, and a friendly comment fits into that. What gets in the way is that many shoppers are with kids or a partner, and some visits are short. Go at quieter times, talk to women who are browsing rather than rushing, and treat a number as a good result.

The reason is how people shop there. Many women go to Target for one thing and leave with five, and the time in between is relaxed. They stop in front of candles, pillows and racks of clothes and take their time. A woman who is standing still and looking at something is easy to talk to.

The store is bright, busy and open, so a short conversation in an aisle looks ordinary. There are always other shoppers and staff around, which makes a hello from a stranger feel safe rather than strange.

It also passes a dating coach's test of fitting in. Everyone shops at Target, so nobody wonders what you are doing there.

Target is not perfect, and knowing its problems saves you a lot of wandering.

• Kids. Many shoppers are parents, often with a child in the cart. Leave them alone.
• Couples. Plenty of women are shopping with a boyfriend or husband who is two aisles away.
• Short visits. Some shoppers are in and out in ten minutes, collecting an order they placed ahead.
• The cart. You are both steering carts through narrow aisles, which makes it hard to approach from a comfortable distance.

The answer to all of these is choosing well. Talk to the women who are alone, unhurried and browsing.

The crowd changes with the time of day.

• Weekday evenings bring people stopping in after work, often alone and in no hurry to get home.
• Weekend mornings are busy with families, which makes them harder.
• Weekday mornings are quiet, mostly retirees and parents after the school drop-off.
• Stores near universities are full of students, especially at the start of a semester.

Many Targets also have a Starbucks inside, which gives you a spot where people sit for a few minutes.

The grocery store is more focused. People are working through a list, often in a hurry, so conversations are short. Target is looser.

The mall has more women and more time, and you can sit with someone at the food court. But a mall takes a special trip, and Target is somewhere you go anyway.

That last point matters. a dating coach counts logistics as one of the biggest factors in choosing a venue, and a store you already visit every week costs you nothing extra.

At Target, the usual good result is a number. She is on an errand with a cart full of things, and she will not want to abandon it to go for a drink. A friendly conversation of a few minutes, followed by "I'd like to see you again. What's your number?", is a realistic aim.

Now and then, if she is not in a rush and the Starbucks is right there, a ten-minute coffee is possible. Do not count on it.

Probably not. Target is at its best as a place you meet women while doing something you were doing anyway. Make it part of your week. When you need things, go to the store in person rather than ordering for delivery, go at a quiet hour, and say hello to whoever is next to you at the candle shelf. The man who makes this a habit does better than the man who drives over for one afternoon.

A big store is a good place to practice one friendly sentence. It is a harder place to find out what you are doing wrong. A Cold Approach Bootcamp is in person and in the field, in Miami and New York, with daygame on streets and in shops and cafes, and night game in bars and lounges.

Each training day is two four-hour coaching blocks, with live coaching on every approach and feedback after every set. Group is three consecutive days at three students per coach. Private is 1-on-1 for one, two or three days. There is no skill floor, and every student leaves with a short written practice plan.