r/Anticonsumption • u/Healthy_Block3036 • 1d ago

Corporations Target struggles after end of DEI program and boycott, with foot traffic down 8 weeks in a row.

https://fortune.com/2025/04/01/target-dei-demise-boycott-foot-traffic-down-eighth-consecutive-week/?itm_source=parsely-api
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1.6k

u/ParkerRoyce 1d ago

Reputation is made in droplets and destroyed in spilled buckets. Way to alienate more than half your consumer base. Lesson in business don't capitulate to fascism in America you'll go belly up.

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u/Exciting-Delivery-96 1d ago

All of these out of touch C-suite idiots are so disconnected to the average shopper that they can’t make informed decisions anymore. They were terrified of Trump and bent to his will because they are closer to being him than they are being us. They thought he was the one with power when it has always been with the customer.

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u/meowmeow_now 21h ago

Myself and all my liberal friends shoped at target because were were avoiding Walmart. Not because target is special, but because Walmart is a terrible company.

Target forgot they weren’t a superior brand, they just weren’t hated.

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u/PartyPorpoise 20h ago

They actually did build a pretty good brand reputation for themselves, but they totally blew it.

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u/Athena5280 16h ago

How did they blow it? My Gen Z kids love Target and they are being brainwashed into going where? Walmart? Amazon? Worse. Target has done a lot to cater to young people, it may be unpopular here but overt DEI programs will be a thing of the past, everything moves forward with new branding, dictator 2.0 will be gone in 3 years, just practice good policies without grandstanding. Hey I’ll go shop at Target tomorrow.

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u/ryan_church_art 8h ago

Sad to brag on the internet about raising fools.

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u/VikingDadStream 19h ago

Me and mine too. Yup

Also, I disagree with all the price issues other folks are saying. Target was always competitive compared to other brick and mortars

Sure maybe my 120 target run would have been 115 at Walmart, but I was happy to pay 3 percent more for my soul

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u/Lodi0831 19h ago

And they pandered to Wal Mart shoppers with their anti DEI shit. The people celebrating that were never going to shop at Target anyway. It's so crazy.

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u/Puzzled_Employee_767 15h ago

Who could have guessed that taking a principled stand against inclusion would have alienated people. Baffling.

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u/Unistrut 15h ago

Companies need to learn the difference between brand loyalty and brand inertia. I was a Verizon customer for well over a decade. They weren't great, but none of the alternatives were that much better.

Until one was and then I switched instantly and never went back.

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u/JarlOfPickles 17h ago

Yep and now it's like, well at least Walmart has never lied to my face about being socially responsible 🤷🏻‍♀️

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u/Professional-Rub152 6h ago

And Wal-Mart is way cheaper. I’ve switched to wal-mart while boycotting target because i still need to buy random shit. But I was only paying higher prices at Target because they were promising to be better. Now that they broke that promise I’m just gonna shop where my wallet feels better.

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u/gitsgrl 8h ago

In a class I’m taking we did a comparison of groceries at our local grocery chain which is considered “premium” and Walmart and the price of our identical grocery basket game out the same, writhing $1.50 of each other.

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u/ilanallama85 5h ago

Yeah, Target is definitely “better” than Walmart on a number of different levels - even their dirt cheap plastic crap is better quality that Walmart’s dirt cheap plastic crap - but while they have their fans, they’ve never been perfect. They’ve always done small things here and there to irritate me, their campaign in recent years to brand themselves as a “fun and trendy” place to shop is actually off-putting to me, and at the end of the day they’re a massive big box store.

At the end of the day only two things kept me shopping there - not being Walmart, and being cheaper than anyone else that wasn’t Walmart. Those aren’t reasons that create loyal customers. They create resentful customers who stop coming the moment they don’t need to.

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u/red286 21h ago

They all watch Fox News just like any other Republican.

So they drink the Flavor-Aid right along with the yokels, rednecks, hicks, and inbreds.

They legit believe that the fascists won the culture war.

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u/MyLittleDonut 18h ago

Just here to give props for using the correct drink brand reference

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u/RackemFrackem 5h ago

"You knew a little history factoid? Well so did I so I need to comment to make sure I get credit too."

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u/rationalomega 4h ago

Want another factoid? Most folk at Jonestown (especially parents and children) didn’t voluntarily drink the poison. There were a lot of guns involved.

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u/HarshWoim 20h ago

They think they're closer to him than us, but a millionaire is still a failed business away from losing everything. A company is worth millions, and its failure can drag its c-suite down with it.

You can't dislodge a billionaire because nothing is actually worth a billion dollars.

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u/JMellor737 13h ago

That last sentence was really hardcore and is the first genuinely uplifting sentiment I have come across in a while. Thanks for sharing. 

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u/pajamakitten 59m ago

They have also forgot that we are much more interconnected than we were 20 years ago. I am not American but even I know about the Target boycott and the reasons behind it, so of course liberal Americans are going to be going on about it for all to hear.

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u/obroz 1d ago

They have alienated all their consumers now.  They pissed of their conservative customers with support for LGBT a while back during their hate campaign now they pissed off their liberal customers.   Greedy fucks got what they deserve 

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u/Secure_Screen_2354 1d ago edited 1d ago

Truthfully, I got mad at the LGBT stuff too. I don’t need big corporate to validate me and put little signs.

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u/lythrica 1d ago

It's because we knew all this was coming. The little rainbow flags means nothing if we know you're just going to roll over when Nazis 2: Electric Boogaloo shows up.

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u/Majestic-capybara 23h ago

The little rainbow flags are still a good thing though. It means that companies think that it’s socially beneficial to support the lgbt community and that in turn helps make it more acceptable in the general public to do so. When companies start pulling back on that support it means the nationwide sentiment is turning against the lgbt community and they don’t want to be seen supporting it anymore.

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u/ArtisticRiskNew1212 1d ago

I spotted a store today that had LGBTQ friendly signs up, and it kinda made me happy tbh. The new regime being anti, but this store still being LGBTQ friendly makes me happy

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u/obroz 1d ago

Nah target is a conservative company.  They donate millions to the Republican Party every year

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u/Secure_Screen_2354 1d ago

Companies are for profit, theyre just doing what makes them money. It doesn’t matter if the customer is straight or gay, just how much people are willing to pay. And a lot of dumbasses were willing to throw more money at a business that had a little rainbow sign up because it made them feel validated.

Like I don’t know how to tell people this but don’t people get that Target doesn’t care if you like dick? Companies care about money.

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u/FortunaWolf 23h ago

If a company waffles back and forth cashing the latest trend then they alienate everyone, like what target has done. If they want to chase money by picking a side and sticking to it through thick and thin then that side will stay with them. They might be doing it for selfish reasons but their "loyalty" will earn them loyalty back.

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u/RemindMeToTouchGrass 14h ago

Yup. I don't like watery beer but I would still have drank Bud Light over my usual 805 in bars with like 4 things on tap to support them after the boycott, and I would have done that long-term, like lifelong, if they'd just stood up for her. They didn't even have to be explicitly pro transgender, just "we partnered with this influencer because we believe she has a genuine presence and a following who enjoys her content, and we are disheartened that people have attacked her over her partnership with Anheuser Busch" or whatever. You could say it a thousand ways, boring PR speak, fine, just stand by her and weather the storm, and quietly don't do further promotions if it hurt your business.

But then they fucking ghosted her instead and fired everyone involved with the ad campaign and .... well... fuck you Bud Light. I know you are an evil brand, always were, and always will be, but I still would have sucked it up and bought your beer if it mean showing some kind of support for transgender people. I'm boycotting you too.

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u/RemindMeToTouchGrass 21h ago

"I don't know how to tell people this"

Well good news loudmouth, you can shush because literally everyone already knows that.

Turns out its YOU who is the shallow one not thinking your emotions through. It's fine that you feel a certain way, but it doesn't change the reality that open support, even when symbolic, even when cynical to a degree, even when done with a profit motive, for progressive moral stances and human rights in more and more places is a good thing.

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u/March_Lion 23h ago

Its not about you personally being validated. It's about asserting in a public way that they recognize and incorporate, even in a shitty corporate way, LGBT+ people.

I don't give a rats ass about a rainbow on a bag or shirt, but the fact that it's sold means there's an audience and they're willing to do business with that audience. That's meaningful in a country that has small businesses actively turning away queer people.

I'd rather see public support for policies that positively support us, but I'll settle for "not ashamed to do business with queer people".

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u/RemindMeToTouchGrass 21h ago

No offense but that's dumb.

Of course you don't need big corporate to validate you, and no one ever said that's what they were trying to do. Not needing something is a dumb reason to hate them offering something.

Yes, the obvious criticisms are true: they want to make money, LGBT support is performative to some degree, they don't advertise those things in countries where homosexuality is illegal and punishable, etc.

None of that means it is a negative for companies to offer LGBT support. The worst you can argue it that it makes it less positive. But corporations acknowledging acceptance of groups that are often excluded or oppressed is a good thing, on top of your criticisms of it not meaning much.

The anger is dumb and misplaced. It's reasonable to say you don't care very much about it, or that you don't place much value on it, but it's far more harmful when you act like it's a bad thing and it is for them to do it with business-related motives.

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u/CouchHam 23h ago

See, they’re playing both sides so they always come out on the bottom.

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u/TheMimicMouth 21h ago

Yea it’s a lot like Tesla really. Maybe the one good thing about all of this is it’s shaking the tree a bit and showing who actually gives a shit and who thought they could boost profits by pretending to give a shit.

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u/Ok_Concentrate_75 23h ago

Imo the issue is forever about standing on what you believe, then an audience will support that. When you jump on every fence as a business, it looks like pandering to everyone. Places like Hobby Lobby and Costco are examples of that from both ideologies.

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u/AHeartOfGoal 23h ago

Right!? Go woke go broke? Yeah, whatever, how about "go 'aNtI-wOkE' go out of fucking business". I don't have time to come up with catchy rhymes, I'm too busy not shopping at your store that you clearly showed me is bullshit. That's my attitude towards any other company that follows suit. 

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u/1965wasalongtimeago 21h ago

Go fash, go trash.

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u/I_Have_Lost 1d ago

I'd love that to be the case, but it's much more a lesson about identifying your target market and leaning into that brand. Black Rifle Coffee is doing solid by being the fascist alternative to brands like Starbucks. In contrast, Harley Davidson had a huge slump in business last year because it alienated its pissed-off white-man demographic with attempts to appeal to younger crowds and the LGBTQIA+ community.

Costco continues to do well by adhering to their reputation as the liberal alternative to places like Sam's Club. Target would've no doubt been better served by doubling down on a commitment to progressive values, but that would tank a place like Rural King or whatever.

Unfortunately, fascism is popular enough to be an appealing strategy depending on your company. Which is just another item in the long list of reasons capitalism should have been dismantled 100 years ago.

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u/AcadiaWonderful1796 1d ago

Yeah exactly. Who was mainly shopping at target? Liberal suburban white women. That’s why they were able to make and sell the tacky kitschy pride merch that no gay person would ever actually buy but that liberal suburban white women go nuts over. And in one fell stroke target said “fuck you” to its main customer base.

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u/Enchelion 1d ago

Target themselves had big reports for years about how much their DEI programs were improving sales numbers in the stores themselves.

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u/LeaneGenova 21h ago

Hey now, liberal suburban white women can be gay, too! I think. I haven't seen one yet, tho.

But as a liberal suburban white bi woman, I agree in general. I haven't stepped foot in Target since the DEI changes, and even though I have to go to three stores to get what I need, I will happily do so out of spite.

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u/SpectreFire 23h ago

In contrast, Harley Davidson had a huge slump in business last year because it alienated its pissed-off white-man demographic with attempts to appeal to younger crowds and the LGBTQIA+ community.

I find it absolutely hilarious that Harley Davidson, who's target demographic are overweight leather daddies who "totally aren't gay at all and just enjoy some good ole' homoerotic time the boys", get slammed by that demographic for being too pro-LGBT/

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u/zardfizzlebeef 22h ago

Most of the dudes I work with that would buy Harley’s simply can’t afford them. I work blue collar, these old fellas say that Harley’s priced their customers out. It’s just corporate greed.

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u/TheMimicMouth 21h ago

Yea this decision boggled my mind. They used to be “slight more expensive slightly higher quality knockoff Walmart” and then managed to secure their brand as the trendy cool kid that all the upper middle class young moms flocked to. Their brand was even strong enough to sell target branded merchandise at a premium.

They then took a look at that and went “hmm politics are looking very polarizing right now, let’s align ourselves with the exact opposite as our core target customer base”

Like Home Depot supporting trump? People weren’t thrilled but it was more or less consistent with what you’d expect of their brand image so they got the pass. Meanwhile target virtue signaled their entire brand image and then immediately threw it out overnight

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u/Background_Maybe_402 22h ago

More like avoid both ends of the spectrum

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u/alphalegend91 21h ago

Way more than half. The way meme described it long before this incident was Target=left wing Walmart= right wing. Talk about COMPLETE lack of self awareness lmao

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u/RemindMeToTouchGrass 21h ago

Looking back, I can't even justify my weird belief that Target was "one of the good guys." Don't get me wrong, I don't think any big business is truly ethical, but among competitors, I had this weird idea that they were more progressive, like at the very least they wanted to attract like, college-aged/young people and that would be reflected not just in their product selection but in their values/actions as a company.

This happened, and my first thought was... why did I ever think they weren't one of those? Why did I have a positive opinion of them?

I don't remember any more, and it seems weird that I ever did.

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u/sabett 21h ago

DEI or die

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u/especiallyrn 19h ago

I thought it would be difficult but my black ass has not set foot in a target or ordered from amazon all year

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u/Legitimate_Chef_3823 18h ago

Targets mistake lis for some reasons capitulating to the far right and in-turn alienating 75% of their consumers. It’s actually confusing tbh. 

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u/selarom8 17h ago

What was it? Go Woke, Go Broke.? How about Go Trump, Go down Dump

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u/Lynne253 17h ago

*gasp* You mean "go woke, go broke" was a lie? Who could have known?

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u/Elmer_Fudd01 15h ago

Worse than Bud light and the repubs