Target, which has over 2,000 stores across the U.S., has faced pushback from customers after scaling back its diversity, equity and inclusion efforts last year.
The changes have sparked boycotts from frustrated shoppers, further threatening the retail chain’s already declining sales. As Target fights to make amends with customers and resolve remaining boycotts, it has run into a major snag.
Boycotts first erupted after Target announced in January last year that it was discontinuing its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiatives, a move that came shortly after President Donald Trump issued an executive order that cut the federal government’s DEI programs.
These initiatives were put into place in 2020 after George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer who assisted in his arrest.
Several of Target’s REACH initiatives centered on anti-racism training for workers, advancing the careers of Black employees, supporting Black-owned businesses and increasing sourcing from Black suppliers.
The company also exited the Human Rights Campaign survey, which evaluates LGBTQ+ corporate policies and practices, and removed its three-year DEI goals.
The move sparked consumer boycotts that lasted for weeks and months. Civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton, who is president of the National Action Network, even criticized the retailer’s decision to cut DEI shortly after Trump took office.
“You can’t have an election come and all of a sudden, change your old positions,” said Sharpton in an interview with CNBC in April. “If an election determines your commitment to fairness then fine, you have a right to withdraw from us, but then we have a right to withdraw from you.”
Target’s new CEO vows major changes as sales dip
Amid boycotts and economic challenges that put pressure on consumer wallets, Target saw comparable sales decline 2.6% year over year in 2025, according to its latest earnings report.
Also, Placer.ai data found that foot traffic at Target stores declined between October and December.
As it battles weak consumer demand, Target officially replaced Cornell, who had been with the company since 2014, with Michael Fiddelke as CEO on Feb. 1.
Related: Target makes drastic workforce shift to fix customer experience
In a memo sent to employees last month, Fiddelke said that the company has “real work to do” to earn back trust from shoppers, vowing changes such as elevating the guest experience, accelerating technology, improving merchandising authority and investing in employees and communities.
“In the weeks ahead, my focus is simple: listen closely, move with clarity and urgency, and lead with purpose,” said Fiddelke in the memo. “We will make clear choices, invest where it matters most and bring this strategy to life through our stores, our digital experiences, and – most importantly – our people.”
Target ends a monthslong consumer boycott
Under new leadership, Target has scored a major win in its turnaround efforts. At a press conference last week, the Rev. Jamal Bryant, a pastor from Atlanta who launched the Target Fast boycott last year, announced that the boycott has officially ended.
Through this boycott, Bryant demanded that Target honor its $2 billion pledge of investing in Black-owned businesses, restore its DEI commitments, establish a pipeline of community centers at 10 HBCUs to teach retail business and deposit $250 million into Black banks.
“Black people spend upwards of $12 million dollars a day, and so we would expect some loyalty, some decency and some camaraderie,” said Bryant in an interview with CNN last year.
Bryant said during last week’s press conference that he and other Target Fast leaders met with Target last month to discuss the retailer’s commitment to the Black community.
He said that while the retailer has not reinstated its DEI program, it has completed 97% of its $2 billion investment in Black-owned businesses, and will finish it by April. It also increased this commitment by providing $100 million in grants and scholarships to Black-led community organizations.
More Retail:
Target also informed Target Fast leaders that it has given $10 million to the Pensole Lewis College of Business and Design, $18 million towards the United Negro College Fund and another $8 million toward their Target scholars.
Additionally, Bryant said that Target launched its Belonging program in January last year, which has been “opening up opportunities for minorities and women.” Now, 13% of Target’s board consists of minorities.
Target still has work ahead
Despite these gains, Bryant said Target has yet to align with a Black bank. He said that Target Fast leaders have submitted a list of Black banks that Target can partner with and are hopeful that it will make this change, which will help promote Black homeownership and entrepreneurship.
“We have not been able to get all that we have desired, but I am grateful for the strides that we have made,” said Bryant during the press conference. “For the Target Fast, that really reflects the faith-based component of this. We are claiming victory, and I believe that our generation needs to see victory.”
Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, said in a statement to Forbes that the end of the Target Fast boycott signals that the retailer is heading in the right direction.
“The ending of the boycott will come as a relief to Target’s new management team,” said Saunders. “It was an unhelpful distraction and something that was casting a negative halo around the brand.”
“Target has shown a willingness to engage and talk to stakeholders, which has helped to bring the matter to a conclusion,” he continued. “Target has also been right to emphasize all the positive things it does in terms of community involvement, donations, and philanthropy – because it actually does a great deal more than many other retailers.”
Target is still facing another lingering boycott
Despite the end of the Target Fast boycott, the founders of the National Target Boycott, which started on Feb. 1 in Minneapolis last year, claim that their movement is still ongoing.
The grassroots campaign is urging consumers and institutions to stop shopping at Target until the company reverses its retreat from DEI commitments and addresses demands for corporate accountability.
National Target Boycott organizers clarified in a press release sent to TheStreet that while the Target Fast boycott helped bring attention to the issue, it “does not represent the leadership of the national boycott effort.”
“Let’s be clear: the Target boycott is not over,” said Nekima Levy Armstrong, one of the boycott’s founders, in the press release. “This is a grassroots movement led by communities demanding corporate accountability, and we will not stop until Target reverses its retreat from diversity, equity, and inclusion.”
In a statement to TheStreet, a Target spokesperson said that the company is committed to “creating growth and opportunity for all.”
“We’re pleased to be moving forward, and we will continue showing up as trusted neighbors while delivering results for our team members, guests, and the more than 2,000 communities in which we serve,” said the spokesperson. “Because when those communities thrive, so do we.”
Target among retailers recently hit by consumer boycotts
Target isn’t the only company that suffered consumer boycotts for scaling back DEI and other business practices.
For example, last year, Dollar General faced boycott calls after it cut back its DEI policies shortly after Trump dismantled the federal government’s DEI programs in Janurary.
McDonald’s faced boycotts in June and July over its DEI cuts, price increases, alleged anti-union tactics, and alleged exploitation of global supply chains and environmental loopholes.
Home Depot was also boycotted by consumers in July due to its decision to quietly remove its DEI page from its website. It later suffered another boycott over its alleged cooperation with ICE’s immigration crackdown, an accusation Home Depot previously denied.
Many Americans nationwide are boycotting companies amid heightened political tensions, according to a recent survey from LendingTree.
How Americans feel about boycotting companies:
- About 45% of Americans said they sometimes look into a company’s values and beliefs before making a purchase.
- Around 31% of Americans have boycotted a business over issues such as perceived discrimination, political contributions, affiliations, or religious messaging and practices.
- Meanwhile, 37% are more likely to boycott a large corporation, compared to 7% who would target small businesses and 28% would boycott both.
- Roughly 45% are more inclined to support companies that promote DEI, while 21% say they’re less likely to do so.
Source: LendingTree
Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief consumer finance analyst, said in the survey release that Americans are paying close attention to companies’ political stances.
“There’s no doubt that lots of Americans are aware of the political leanings of many of the businesses they frequent, but the fact that 45% of consumers look into a company’s politics before buying from them is pretty shocking,” said Schulz.
He added that companies ignore that reality at their own risk.
“Any company that attempts to downplay the importance of politics in their customers’ shopping choices does so at its own peril,” he continued. “Your potential customers are listening closely to what your business says, whether you like it or not.”
Related: Ross Stores CEO eyes a change that could drive away shoppers
