U.S. retail giant Target is struggling to attract customers after aligning with the Trump administration's push to abolish diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies.
On the 21st (local time), Target reported first-quarter sales of $23.8 billion, a 2.8% decrease from the previous year. This figure is significantly below expert expectations of $24.2 billion. Notably, offline store sales plummeted by 5.7%.
As the decline in performance deepened, Target officially confirmed the crisis by lowering its annual sales outlook from 1% growth to a single-digit decrease.
Target is a massive retail corporation with over 2,000 stores across the United States, making it the second-largest single-brand hypermarket after Walmart.
In January of this year, Target halted the procurement of products from Black and minority-owned corporations in response to the Trump administration's push to abolish DEI policies. It also eliminated its minority hiring goals and decided not to participate in the corporate equality index tallied by human rights campaign organizations. The promise to invest $2 billion in Black-owned corporations by this year was also withdrawn.
U.S. consumers have expressed their disappointment with Target through a buycott, purchasing products based on values or boycotting.
More than 200,000 people participated in the 40-day Target Fast movement led by Pastor Jamal Bryant in Atlanta. This movement advocates for "not shopping at Target for 40 days."
The 40-day Target Fast coincided with the Easter period, which is the peak shopping season for U.S. hypermarkets, spreading across the country.
Target's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Brian Cornell told employees that it had been a "difficult few months" and noted, "The consumer reactions to policy changes, uncertainty related to tariffs, and the overall decline in consumer confidence have collectively negatively impacted our performance."
According to The Washington Post, since the start of the 40-day Target Fast movement at the end of February, store visitors have decreased by 4% compared to the previous year. In March, this figure jumped to 6.5%.
In contrast, competitor Walmart experienced a 4.8% increase in sales during the same period, while Costco grew by 8.6%. Costco, which maintained its DEI policies, has seen store visits increase for 13 consecutive weeks, whereas Target has seen a decline for 8 consecutive weeks.
Shaiens Goenka, a professor at Virginia Tech, said in a CNN interview, "Target has damaged its brand identity by retracting DEI-related policies, leading to a loss of progressive consumers."
Experts predict that the reason Target has been unable to hastily amend its DEI policies again is due to the ongoing pressure from the Trump administration and conservative groups.
Lobby groups like Starbucks and conservative activists are defining DEI as discrimination and urging corporations to abolish it. However, according to a Heritage Foundation report, more than 90% of Fortune 500 corporations, totaling 485 companies, still maintain DEI policies.
CNBC noted, "The trend of abolishing DEI represents a movement towards compliance with political pressures in the short term," adding, "In the long term, the loss of consumer trust could increase financial risks."