Foot traffic at Target fell 3.9% year over year in June, marking the fifth consecutive month of declines for the retailer since it announced it was rolling back some of its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
While June’s foot traffic decline was worse than those in April (-3.3%) and May (-1.6%), the drop was not as precipitous as February (-9%), the first full month after the company’s DEI shift, or March (-6.5%), according to data from Placer.ai.
In the 22 weeks following its ending some of its DEI initiatives, Target’s foot-traffic fell from 2024 levels for all but two weeks, posting modest increases of 0.4% in the week that began April 14 and 0.1% in the week that began April 21, per Placer.ai.
In a May 21 earnings call, Target CEO Brian Cornell attributed declining traffic and revenues at Target to “five consecutive months of declining consumer confidence, uncertainty regarding the impact of potential tariffs, and the reaction to the updates we shared on belonging in January.” Here “belonging” refers to DEI: The company’s now-archived DEI page was replaced with one called “Belonging at the Bullseye.”)
Over the same five-month period, Costco, which rebuffed demands from the Trump administration and shareholders to dismantle its DEI initiatives, store visits by consumers were decidedly better. Foot traffic was up every month, although June represented its most modest gain, up just 1.6%, down from a 5.1% increase in May.
An article on CNN in May headlined “DEI is winning with Costco, Apple and Levi’s shareholders” cites a Costco proxy investment to shareholders that states, “Among other things, a diverse group of employees helps bring originality and creativity to our merchandise offerings, promoting the ‘treasure hunt’ that our customers value.”
Caliber
Reputation analytics firm Caliber bases its “Trust & Like Score” on how strongly consumers agree or disagree on a seven-point scale to two statements: “Target is a company I trust” and Target is a company I like.” The score calculates the average of the two responses, but instead of a number from 0 to 7, the score is more like a grade on a pop quiz because, as Caliber puts it, it is “normalized to 0-100.”
Target’s Trust & Like score fell from 70 in January to 65 in June, its lowest this year, according to data Caliber provided to Retail Brew.
Retail news that keeps industry pros in the know
Retail Brew delivers the latest retail industry news and insights surrounding marketing, DTC, and e-commerce to keep leaders and decision-makers up to date.
Target “fell woefully short”: In the wake of its DEI shift, Target has been subject to a boycott organized by Black clergy, backlash on social media, Q1 results that were down 2.8% YoY, and, in its hometown of Minneapolis, removal from the recent Pride Month festival by Twin Cities Pride, which ended a years-long sponsorship partnership with the retailer.
On June 26, four Target executives including CEO Cornell and Kiera Fernandez, EVP and chief community and stakeholder engagement officer, met in Washington, DC, with members of the Congressional Black Caucus’s (CBC) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce.
In a statement following the meeting, Representative Yvette D. Clarke, who chairs the CBC and represents New York’s 9th Congressional District in Brooklyn, decried Target’s “unconscionable decision to end a number of its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.” She added that “the explanations offered by the leadership of the Target Corporation fell woefully short of what our communities deserve and of the values of inclusion that Target once touted.”
The CBC urged Target to “reinstate” DEI measures it curtailed or eliminated and, in a “public forum,” to “recommit the company to the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
Earlier efforts by Cornell to address the DEI backlash have included meeting with civil rights leader Al Sharpton and issuing a letter to Target employees.
Brian Harper-Tibaldo, director of media Relations at Target, declined to comment to Retail Brew about the Black Caucus’s demand that Target reinstate DEI initiatives, Caliber’s findings about its reputational decline, or Placer.ai’s foot-traffic data.
Comeback to school? Its data about Target’s declining foot traffic has been widely cited by media outlets, including Retail Brew, but Placer.ai also predicts that the retailer could soon turn things around.
In a recent post on its website, Placer.ai noted that monthly YoY foot-traffic declines had been progressively smaller, going from 9% in February to 1.7% in May. This, Placer.ai concluded, “signals potential recovery momentum.” (The post was published on June 24, before Placer.ai calculated traffic falling 3.9% in June).
The post noted that, thanks to back-to-school shopping, August historically has been Target’s busiest month (behind December), while February, March, and April are among its slowest.
“This seasonal strength offers more than just high traffic volume,” Placer.ai stated. “It presents a unique comeback opportunity.”