• Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tuesday, June 12, 2007 11:15 AM

Target Corp. has canceled an email survey that asked whether consumers feared their lovers might leave them and whether, if they disappeared from the face of the earth, anyone would notice. The survey, which hit Target customers' computers on Friday, apparently is aimed at comparing the psyches of its customers to those of Wal-Mart shoppers.

Respondents are asked to rate their level of agreement--from "strongly disagree" to "strongly agree"--with statements such as: "I can be sarcastic and cutting when I need to be"; "I'm not known for my generosity" and "Poetry has little or no effect on me."

Target halted the survey, which came from Nielsen/NetRatings, a research firm, by Saturday morning. It apologized, acknowledging that some questions "made our guests uncomfortable." The survey comes at a time when Wal-Mart has been striving to appeal to middle- and high-income consumers and compete more directly with Target.

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