Array
Target on Wednesday said its sales declined in the second quarter, the first quarterly decline in six years, after customers pulled back from purchases in reaction to the company promoting transgender ideology for children as part of its “Pride” month merchandising push.
The company said its comparable sales fell 5.4 percent in the second quarter, which ended July 29, compared with the year ago period. Online purchases slumped a steep 10.5 percent. The volume of in-store transactions fell, as did the average dollar amount of transactions. In-store traffic fell 4.8 percent.
This spring, Target faced criticism and boycotts after it included merchandise promoting transgender ideology in its Pride month offerings. The company has sold merchandise linked to Pride month every June for at least a decade but this year’s inclusion of children’s items promoting transgender ideology was a step too far for many of Target’s customers.
The company acknowledged on Wednesday that the backlash against the promotion of transgender ideology in children’s merchandise hurt sales, saying “the strong reaction to this year’s pride assortment” was a “headwind” to sales.
