In January 2025, Target announced that they would be ending their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program. Many majors’ corporations ended their DEI programs as President Donald Trump took office and signed an executive order to end all DEI programs in the federal government stating that they were “radical and wasteful.” While corporations were not the target of this effort, many wanted to alter their policy in order to continue to receive support from the federal government and not become the target of any future DEI-related orders.
Still a lot of Target’s consumers felt shocked by Target’s decision. In years past, Target aligned itself with DEI through championing their Pride Month and Black History Month collections and working with Black and LGBTQ+ creators to make pride merch accessible. Even though Target still celebrated Black History Month in 2025, people felt that the effort was performative since they claimed to celebrate Black success while removing equity efforts for Black workers.
With this shift in attitude came the efforts to boycott Target. Groups have come together from differing backgrounds to halt all shopping at Target to encourage a consequence for reducing DEI efforts. The economic blackout on Feb. 28, which aimed to stop all buying for one day to show the strength of the consumer, led to an 11% decline in foot traffic and 9% decline in online traffic for Target.
On a wider scale, religious leaders from the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church began their boycott on March 5, the first day of lent, and intend to keep it going until Easter. These leaders encourage members of the Black community and Christians with values aligned with social justice to display their impact on sales.
“We’ve got to tell corporate America that there’s a consequence for turning their back on diversity,” Bishop Reginald T. Jackson said during a sermon. “So let us send the message that if corporate America can’t stand with us, we’re not going to stand with corporate America.”
Black consumers spend an estimated twelve million a year at Target. If, following the end of the boycott, Target has not responded favorably by revisiting and altering their DEI, the group intends to shift their focus on elevating Black businesses.
Another movement called the “Latino Freeze” began as well where Micheal Galvez encouraged Latino consumers to stop shopping at Target.
In addition to boycotting the business, Target has had to deal with protests. At one Target in Southfield Michigan, about 50 protestors protested outside the retailer with microphones and signs to deter business.
With these consolidated efforts, Target’s is under increased pressure to address their stance on DEI but still has not.
The boycotts have seemed to have an impact on Target’s current finances. According to Newsweek every state except West Virginia, foot traffic has gone down since the DEI rollbacks ten weeks ago Additionally, as of April 14, Target’s stock hit a five-year low. Even during their Target Circle Week from March 23 to 29 where consumers are offered an increase in deals, they did not regain their losses.
While in part these economic losses could have relation to the recent tariffs, their main competitor, Walmart, has not seen as dramatic losses.
Overall, during a time of a lot of political uncertainty, especially in terms of DEI policy and procedures, consumers feel that they have the power to make change and to make their voices heard through boycotting. Target’s damaged reputation and financial image may serve as a warning for other companies who align themselves with social justice efforts.
