Tuesday's Rant: Target's Shrinking Jewelry & Accessories Department

On Tuesdays I sometimes take the opportunity to rant about something I do not like about Target… because although I love ‘em to death, they ain’t perfect. Today I want to rant about Target's Jewelry and Accessories Department, or lack thereof.

The first thing that happened a while ago was the elimination of the glass cases where the 'better jewelry' was kept behind the counter. Then the department started looking much like what you see here, with a dedicated space near the front of the store showcasing a variety of jewelry, watches, and sunglasses, seguewaying into the scarves and handbags nearby.

But now, this entire area has been transformed into what I call the "overflow cheap clothing section". When Summer was in full swing, I thought it was just a way to showcase seasonal clothing like maxi dresses and beach coverups. But now it's morphed into a hodgepodge of Junior-sized clothing with no cohesive theme. Meanwhile, the jewelry has been pushed over near the shoe department and has dwindled in size so much that now it looks like an afterthought. Likewise, the scarves/bags have less of a defined space, and are now more scattered within the women's clothing section. This follows Target's new merchandising strategy to employ "elevated, cross-merchandise product presentations" in order to "amplify Target’s exclusive style assortment across apparel and accessories, home, jewelry and beauty, encouraging guests to browse." However, I find it to be annoying. If I'm looking for a purse, I want to go to the handbag department; I don't want to hunt and peck among multiple departments to find one I like.