Target hoped for a back-to-school shopping bump, but foot traffic fell for the seventh straight month in August, and now a national teacher’s union has joined a boycott against the retailer.
In August, foot traffic fell 3.3% year over year for Target, with the week beginning August 25 (which included the long Labor Day weekend) dropping 4.6%, marking its worst weekly decline in seven weeks, according to data from Placer.ai.
At Target rival Costco, foot traffic was up 5.2% YoY for August, while Walmart was slightly down 0.6%.
On Labor Day, both the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the Chicago Teachers Union (CFT) announced they were joining the boycott against Target over it rolling back some diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts earlier this year. The boycott, which was spearheaded by black clergy, began in March.
“We rarely engage in this type of action, but we’re doing so here because Target betrayed promises to communities of color throughout the United States,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said in a statement.
