Target foot traffic down for fourth consecutive week after it caved on DEI

Amidst calls for a boycott and being overrun on its social-media channels with criticism for backtracking on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, Target saw foot traffic decline for the fourth consecutive week, according to new data from Placer.ai.

For the week that began February 17, foot traffic at Target’s stores fell 7.9% YoY, more than double the 3.9% it fell the previous week.

Traffic was also down at Walmart, which also has faced criticism for rolling back its DEI program, falling 5.2% YoY for the week beginning February 17, also marking the fourth consecutive week its traffic fell, and more than triple the 1.4% it fell the previous week.

At Costco, meanwhile, which resisted calls from shareholders and 19 Republican attorneys general to cancel its DEI programs, traffic has been up for all four weeks in the same period. Foot traffic rose 4.8% YoY for the week beginning February 17, slightly higher than the 4.6% it rose the week before.

Correlation—let’s say it all together—is not causation, and Placer.ai had no comment about whether the DEI rollbacks had an impact on the data.

In a statement, R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, said that “foot traffic across much of the retail sector has declined in February, likely due to factors such as post-holiday spending pullbacks, decreased consumer confidence, and other macroeconomic conditions.”