Over the past few years, Target (TGT) has been the source of major controversy, which has ramped up since the beginning of this year.
In 2023, the retail giant suffered boycott calls from conservative consumers over its pride collection, which generated outrage for containing items that were marketed toward children.Â
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Since then, Target’s diversity, equity, and inclusion policies have been put under a microscope, and its sales have weakened for several financial quarters.
Related: Target sounds alarm on unexpected customer behavior
It wasn’t until January this year when Target made the drastic decision to scale back its DEI program shortly after President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 21 dismantling the federal government’s DEI programs. In the executive order, he claimed that the programs enforce “illegal and immoral discrimination.”
Target’s decision to cut back DEI attracted another wave of boycott threats from consumers who disagreed with the change. For example, the retailer is currently facing a 40-day consumer boycott, which kicked off on March 5.
It also faced an “economic blackout” boycott on Feb. 28, which was organized by The People’s Union USA. The boycott lasted 24 hours and targeted large retailers such as Walmart, Amazon, and Target.
Target appears to face the consequences
Amid recent boycotts, Target stores across the country faced a significant drop in foot traffic. According to recent data from Placer.ai, foot traffic in Target stores started to decline during the week of Jan. 27, and the trend continued over the next two months.
A Target customer looks at a display of board games while shopping at Target store.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
In February, foot traffic in Target stores shrunk by 9% year-over-year. Specifically, during the “economic blackout” on Feb. 28, its foot traffic dipped by 9.50%, compared to March 1, 2024.
In March this year, Target’s foot traffic showed a slight improvement, but it still declined by 6.50%, compared to the same month last year.
Related: Target makes controversial move to dodge high tariff costs
The recent decline in foot traffic comes after Target revealed in its latest earnings report that it faced a small boost in sales during the holiday season last year. During the fourth quarter of 2024, Target revealed that its comparable sales increased by 1.5% year-over-year, while digital comparable sales spiked by almost 9%.
However, Target’s operating income, a company’s profit after expenses, declined by about 21% year-over-year during the quarter.
Target makes grim prediction on future salesÂ
Target is also set to face another boycott, operated by The People’s Union USA, which is scheduled to take place June 3-9 this year.
According to the group’s website, it targets large corporations that have allegedly “driven up prices, underpaid their workers, and outsourced jobs while raking in record profits.”
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Amid recent controversy, Target predicts that its net sales this year will only increase by 1%, reflecting flat comparable sales growth.
During an earnings call last month, Target Chief Financial Officer Jim Lee said that the company’s sales predictions for 2025 reflect “a wide range of potential scenarios and uncertainty” in the market.
“We’re going to be focusing on controlling what we can control,” said Lee. “What we don’t know is potential consumer demand that’s across the board, across – based on how tariffs ripple across the economy, for instance. But we have that wide range for a reason.”
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