Shopping & Malls

The superstore at 3630 South St, Lafayette, IN 47905 is full size and has absolutely everything.

At Target, they give all new students signing up for a Target Student account a one-time offer of 20% off ONE shopping trip- there is no limit to the discount. So you can do your comparisons with other stores and then try and buy ALL that you need in one go and get a real bargain!

To get this, first you need to sign up for a Target account online, then Join Target Circle for free if you haven’t already and finally verify your student status by uploading any student proof- you can upload your class schedule. Once the account is set up, then you need to add the student offer to your online student account and quote your student account number when you physically check out at the store or buy it online- otherwise, it does not automatically give you the 20% off. Double check with the cashier as they are ringing your purchases that the discount is loaded. Do not add the offer until you are ready for the big shop as otherwise you may end up using the one-time offer on a small bill.

Pro-tip: If you get a kind person at checkout they also can give you 20% off manually if you sweet talk them. We managed to use this discount on more than one occasion doing this. It may not always work so try and get the offer legitimately as much as you can.

We bought all our bed linen, pillows, comforters etc from here. (Target Dorm Essentials brand)

The Lafayette location, also has a Goodwill (second hand) store located near it, and it’s just down the road from the Lafayette Pavilion shops and Sam’s Club, and Lowe’s Home Improvement stores.

Target near Purdue campus at Chauncey is small, but will have some of the things you forget to pick from the bigger  one in Lafayette

Just a 5 min drive away from Target is the Walmart Supercenter at 4205 Commerce Dr ·. Here you will find everything you can possibly need. There is also a big selection of clothes and dorm stuff as well as school supplies.

This is a smaller mall at 100 S. Creasy Lane, Lafayette, with approx. 30 stores; featuring Hobby Lobby, TJ Maxx, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Burlington Coat Factory, Men’s Wearhouse, Walgreen’s, McAlister’s Deli and more.

Small it may be, but it has much better value for money. At TJ Maxx and Burlington Factory, students feel they offer quality apparel, shoes & accessories, housewares, etc, for cheaper prices.  Burlington is said to have great prices especially for winter clothes shopping, especially winter coats.  Both are said to carry decent business and casual clothes and name brand items.  Clearance or sales, make their selections even more affordable.

Men’s Warehouse—men’s clothing and accessories.  Watch for their sales! They are one of the few in town which carry suits and jackets. So head here if you need these. Note you can also get a free used suits from Purdue CCO—if you’re needing career clothing for an interview, check out the Purdue Center for Career Opportunities Career Closet.   They may have suiting attire for you at no-cost, but you must make an appointment in advance.

I visited this mall in addition to Tippecanoe and I can vouch that the clothes are much more affordable here. Start here before heading to Tippecanoe.

There is a Dollar Tree inside this mall & diagonally opposite the mall, at 101 N Creasy Ln, Lafayette, is Dollar General. Both offer many food items, household cleaning items, school & office supplies and party supplies, at reduced costs.

This mall at 2415 Sagamore Parkway S.in Lafayette has everything- at 100 stores plus. Anchor stores include; JC Penny’s, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and Dick’s Sporting Goods and smaller stores like H&M, Old Navy, etc. Shop for clothing, household, jewellery, hair care, sport items, shoes, and more.

Kohls Department stores have a great collection of clothes and other dorm item- but these are priced a little more than Target. JCPenney also has an extensive range. All around similar price range. Try and hit the clearance items racks- all of them have these clearly marked. We got some great jeans for under $15. Macy’s is too expensive generally.

Ollies Bargain Outlet— located just past the Tippecanoe Mall, offers various discounted items, most from overstock purchased from other big chain stores.  Check out their carpets, full length mirrors (which I got from here) and they have great prices on new books, but selection will vary.

You can find Purdue-logo apparel at various shops around campus.  Directly across from Mackey Arena, is the University Bookstore.  Within a few blocks of that, are multiple stores offering a wide array of Boilermaker clothing:

Follett’s Bookstore– One of the bookstore on campus, they have a fair collection of Purdue apparel.

Discount Den—They’ve been a campus staple for a number of years, and good source for value for money Purdue gear and their famous Den Pop (large soda).

Von’s—Campus icon and known for their book shop, but they also carry unique items and some clothing items.  It’s worth it just to stop in and check out what they do have, especially since they’re so close to campus.  

But, you may also find official Purdue logo merchandise in standard retail stores around the area like Walmart, Meijer, Target, etc.  You can also check out the official Purdue Team Store for online purchases.

If you’re part of a research lab, check with the lab’s student organization, as a lot of times they’ll offer lab-specific Purdue apparel and other merchandise throughout the year as a fundraiser for the organization.

Purdue Surplus Store– on campus, easier to get to with a car, limited hours Open to the General Public: Monday-Friday, Noon-4 p.m, but offers bikes, furniture, and other things that are being recycled from campus building remodelling, or where departments have unused items they’d like to get rid of, etc. for very cheap prices. I visited this and it had filing cabinets/desks/chairs for cheap. They had some surplus t shirts too. The bikes were in rough condition.

Downtown Lafayette has a range of shops- where you can pick up knick knacks and gift items.

If you just walk east down Main Street all the way to East End Grill, then back on the other side, go south on 4th then west on Columbia, and you’ll see most of the boutique shops. Some notable ones in the area:

• Beyond Gallery & Gift Shop
• Main Street Books
• Generation NA (if they might be into non-alcholic beer)
• Artists’ Own (art gallery, but they have some cheaper tchotchkes and knick-knacks
• Scones and Doilies (bake shop)
• Black Wax Records
• Rose Market (if they’re into higher end natural/organic grocery items)
• Infinity Toys & Collectibles
• Rose and Wick Candle
• Flora Candle Co
• Simply Aqua (soaps/candles/bath stuff)
• Bistro Market and Deli (kinda hard to see, but next to Bistro 501. Another organic grocer that may have some small gifts)
• Sweet Revolution Bake Shop
• Dawson and Daisy Boutique (Southern clothing)

There are some other things like cigar shops and maybe some other clothing boutiques as well. That’s about it.