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TARGET employees have noticed a significant drop off in foot traffic after eight weeks of boycotts.
The retailer has struggled to bring in customers after rolling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts.
Target announced that it would be getting rid of its DEI program in late January.
As of March, the company has seen foot traffic fall almost 6% year-over-year, according to data collected by Placer.ai.
According to Target’s earnings report, the retailer reported a 3.1% loss in Q4 as well as a non-specific sales decline in February.
“As a target worker, the boycott is legit working,” one employee tweeted.
This comes after Target’s well-known Circle Week which is held from March 23 to 29.
During the week, consumers are offered exclusive deals and savings of up to 40% if they are Target Circle members.
In both 2023 and 2024, Target’s Circle Week started strong as eager customers ran to the chain for discounted prices, according to data from Placer.ai.
On launch day, consumer visits increased by 5.0% in 2023 and 4.6% in 2024.
However, as expected, foot traffic fell off during the work week — visits hovered just below daily visit averages.
Several companies have ditched their DEI policies after President Trump’s executive order including Walmart, McDonald’s, Ford, and Meta Platforms.
Some of these companies, like Walmart and McDonald’s, have somewhat bounced back after many weeks of declining sales.
After seven weeks, Walmart finally saw a 0.3% traffic gain, according to Fortune.
Similarly, McDonald’s inched forward with a 2% gain, as reported by Fortune.
However, companies that have stuck to DEI initiatives have seen foot traffic significantly improve in recent times.
Which companies have dumped DEI policies after Donald Trump’s executive order?
Major brands have either ditched or are re-examining their DEI initiatives after Donald Trump cracked down at the federal level.
- Walmart
- McDonald’s
- John Deere
- Target
- Meta Platforms
- Ford
- Brown-Forman – the parent company of Jack Daniels
- Tractor Supply
- PBS
Goldman Sachs has retreated from DEI, by dropping a requirement that forced some clients to include women and members of minority groups on their board of directors.
Google has rescinded a goal in 2020 to increase representation of underrepresented groups among the company’s leadership team by 30% within five years.
Amazon said it was halting some of its DEI programs, although it did not specify which ones.
Lowe’s said the company was “reviewing” its DEI programs.
Harley-Davidson said it does not have hiring quotas and would no longer have supplier diversity spending goals
Costco has resisted Trump’s order to dump DEI policies, and its foot traffic rose over 5%, which marked its 13th straight week of gains over the last year.
Workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts are increasingly becoming part of national political debates.
In the executive order, the president said eliminating such policies would protect “the civil rights of all Americans” as well as work towards expanding “individual opportunity.”
“Every man and woman should have the opportunity to go as far as their hard work, individual initiative, and competence can take them. In America, excellence, grit, and determination is our strength,” as stated in a fact sheet provided by the administration.
According to a Pew Research Center report from 2023, most employed US adults (56%) believe focusing on increasing DEI efforts at work is a positive thing.
“These policies don’t actually dictate who gets hired,” Jessica Fulton, vice president of Policy at the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a nonprofit that aims to improve African-Americans’ socioeconomic status.
“They are ways to open doors to people who might not have access or aren’t as well-connected in an industry or occupation,” she explained.
Target did not immediately reply to The U.S. Sun’s request for comment.
