But oh what a difference a year or two can make. As the global recession began to tighten its grip on the world’s retailers in 2008, the dynamics between the two retail giants reversed almost overnight. As unemployment rose and consumers began pinching their pennies, Walmart’s familiar price “rollbacks” resonated with consumers, while Target’s image of slightly better stuff for slightly higher prices did not. Target’s well-cultivated “upscale discount” image was turning away customers who believed that its fashionable products and trendy advertising meant steeper prices. By mid-2008, Target had experienced three straight quarters of flat same-store sales growth and a slight dip in store traffic. At the same time, Walmart was defying the economic slowdown, posting quarterly increases in same-store sales of close to 5 percent along with substantial jumps in profits.