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3471Target is under pressure. After backing away from its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs in January, the retail giant has been hit with backlash from longtime supporters, civil rights leaders and even descendants of its founders. And now, there are signs that the controversy is starting to hit where it hurts: store traffic.
Eight Weeks of Declines
Foot traffic at Target stores has fallen for eight straight weeks, according to Fortune. In the week starting March 17, visits were down 5.7% year over year. That’s only slightly better than the 7.1% drop the week before, with an average weekly decline of 6.2% over the past two months.
The trend began shortly after Target announced the end of its minority hiring goals and disbanded an internal committee focused on racial equity. The company said it was shifting to a new strategy called “Belonging at the Bullseye,” aimed at creating a more inclusive atmosphere while staying aligned with the “evolving external landscape.”
But the shift hasn’t landed well. Critics see the move as a political calculation. “When brands become arbitrary in their social causes—supporting DEI today, rolling it back tomorrow—that leads to inconsistent positioning and it makes the brand seem inauthentic,” said Shreyans Goenka, a marketing professor at Virginia Tech.
A Boycott During Lent
In response to the rollback, civil rights advocates launched a 40-day boycott of Target starting in early March, coinciding with Lent. More than 150,000 people have signed on, far exceeding organizers’ original goal.
Jamal Bryant, a pastor in Atlanta who helped organize the boycott, wrote in a petition, “The greatest insult comes from Target.”
Target didn’t respond to a request for comment about the traffic slump, but the timing of the decline lines up closely with both the policy change and the start of the boycott.
Backlash From All Sides
The retreat from DEI also sparked public criticism from Anne Dayton and Lucy Dayton, the daughters of one of Target’s co-founders. In a letter to the Los Angeles Times, they called the company’s move “a betrayal.”
A former Target executive, speaking anonymously to CNN, said, “Black people supported Target. They went to that space because of what Target had done.” The former executive added, “When you lose trust, it’s hard to bring back.”
Target had once been seen as a corporate leader in DEI. It increased its Black workforce by 20%, pledged to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses, and publicly supported LGBTQ rights before it became a mainstream corporate position. The company was honored in 2022 for its DEI work by the Executive Leadership Council.
Meanwhile, Competitors Surge
While Target has struggled, Costco—which has kept its DEI programs intact—saw foot traffic rise 5.2% in the same week that Target dropped 5.7%. Costco has now posted 13 straight weeks of year-over-year gains. Walmart and McDonald’s also saw small gains that same week after several weeks of decline, breaking out of their slumps.
This suggests Target’s troubles aren’t simply part of a wider retail slowdown.
Will Circle Week Help?
Target kicked off its big spring promotion, Circle Week, on March 23, hoping to turn things around. The event doesn’t have a direct comparison to the same period last year, but analysts will be watching closely to see if it helps reverse the slump.
For now, though, the numbers tell a story. Target rolled back DEI and got hit with public backlash and a widespread boycott. Eight weeks of falling foot traffic suggest the fallout is still unfolding.
Whether this turns into a lasting Bud Light-style controversy remains to be seen, but as one analyst put it: Target may have misjudged its customer base and underestimated how annoyed they’d be.
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