• Target's former diversity chief said the retailer didn't walk away from DEI, "they trained it."
• Caroline Wanga, now CEO of Essence, said diversity programs are initially about measurable goals.
• "Eventually the goal goes away because the behavior is embedded and you pick the next thing," she said.

Target's former chief diversity officer is weighing in on the backlash the retailer has faced over its rollback of DEI policies.

Caroline Wanga, who left Target in 2020 and is now CEO of Essence, told NBC's Today show on Friday that Target "didn't walk away from DEI. They trained it."

"If you do this thing right, you create a way that gives goals that can be measured to incent people into the behavior," she said. "Eventually the goal goes away because the behavior is embedded and you pick the next thing."

Target did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Wanga's comments come days after CEO Brian Cornell sent an email to employees, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, acknowledging that "silence from us has created uncertainty" about where Target stands on inclusivity.

"We are still the Target you know and believe in — a company that welcomes all and aims to bring joy to everyone, every day," Cornell said.

Target has found itself in the cultural crosshairs multiple times in recent years, and has more recently responded to conservative criticism by shrinking initiatives, like its annual LGBTQ Pride collection, or ending others, like its official DEI program.

That response has, in turn, angered some groups who want the retailer to defend a more progressive and inclusive vision of American retail, sparking boycotts and declining foot traffic in recent months.

But Wanga said the fight over DEI as a label is more of a distraction than real substance.

"Do the work, leave the letters," she said.

"The work is still the same, " she added later. "We allow ourselves to be distracted in the things that are easy to argue about, because the work is harder."

• I shopped at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for the first time, where the slogan is "Good stuff cheap."
• At Ollie's, the prices of groceries, toiletries, and toys were cheaper than at Walmart and Target.
• I thought the organization of the store felt a bit chaotic, but it had lots of personality.

When I mentioned that I planned to visit Ollie's Bargain Outlet for an article, several of my East Coast-based colleagues responded with some variation of "OMG I LOVE OLLIE'S."

I'd never heard of Ollie's until the brand acquired 40 former Big Lots stores across the US in February, including four new locations in my home state of Wisconsin, but it appears to have cultivated a loyal following of bargain-hunters.

Another indicator of the brand's staying power: as many brick-and-mortar stores downsize and struggle to stay afloat, Ollie's is one of the fastest-growing brands in the US in 2025, according to a Yelp report. Net sales grew 8% in the 2024 fiscal year to $2.27 billion, according to Ollie's latest earnings report. It also opened 50 new stores in the 2024 fiscal year, bringing its total to 559 stores in 31 states, and it plans to open 75 more locations by February 2026.

President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs may also increase the popularity of discounted shopping locations, as consumers are expected to pay more for items such as groceries, electronics, and toys once they're implemented.

I visited Ollie's to compare its prices to Target and Walmart and see if it lived up to its slogan of "Good stuff cheap." Take a look inside.

I visited an Ollie's location in West Bend, Wisconsin, that used to be a Big Lots.

All four new Ollie's locations in Wisconsin opened in February. There are no longer any Big Lots stores in Wisconsin after the brand closed 200 stores across 41 states in 2024.

When I walked inside, the first thing I saw was a section labeled "Ollie's Deal Zone" with items under $5.

The carts appeared to contain mostly seasonal items such as summer-themed tumblers and beach towels for $2.99. It reminded me of the Bullseye's Playground section at Target containing items costing between $1 and $5.

The handwritten signs and cartoons of Ollie's namesake mascot made it feel more personalized than a big-box store.

Ollie's, founded by Mark Butler, Mort Bernstein, Harry Coverman, and its namesake, Oliver "Ollie" Rosenberg, opened its first store in Pennsylvania in 1982. Its 100th store opened in 2011, and Ollie's became a publicly traded company in 2015.

The walls at Ollie's were plastered with illustrated signs advertising the low prices in creative ways, such as "Caution: bargains ahead" with "Ollie" dressed as a construction worker, and "Knockout deals" showing the character wearing boxing gloves. Everywhere I turned, I saw another quirky sign that made me chuckle.

I was surprised to find that Ollie's had a sizable section of books at the front of the store.

Instead of selling the new releases and bestsellers I usually see at big-box chains, Ollie's stocked an eclectic collection of graphic novels, coffee table books, volumes of Bible studies, and picture books for kids.

I thought the coffee table books in particular would make great inexpensive gifts. I found a giant book about baseball stadiums for $7.99 that the baseball enthusiasts in my life would love.

The shelves at Ollie's resembled chains like Aldi and Costco that leave items in the shipping boxes to save on labor costs.

In one of the grocery aisles filled with canned goods and condiments, many of the items were still in boxes. I recognized some brands, like Campbell's and Libby's, but others were new to me.

Piles of boxes in a store can be a sign of the retail apocalypse, but since there were already boxes everywhere, they didn't stick out as much.

Piles of boxes crowding a store can indicate understaffing and may deter customers from shopping if they have to squeeze through the aisles, Business Insider previously reported.

Since most of the merchandise was shelved in cardboard boxes, this could have been more of a stylistic choice.

In the grocery section, a box of Cheerios cost $1.99 at Ollie's, which was significantly cheaper than at both Target and Walmart.

I compared prices using the Target and Walmart apps on my phone while browsing the aisles at Ollie's. The same 8.9-ounce box of Cheerios costs $4.49 at Target and $3.68 at Walmart.

A can of Campbell's Chunky Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup was priced at $1.99, which also beat Target's and Walmart's prices.

A can costs $2.69 at Target. At Walmart, it was on sale for $2.48, which was still more expensive than Ollie's.

I found some amazing bargains in the toiletry section, like this three-pack of Crest toothpaste for $3.99.

That three-pack would cost $5.79 at Target and was listed for $12.80 on Walmart's website, though it's likely cheaper in-store.

Ollie's also sold limited-edition seasonal Dove body wash, which may have been excess inventory or overstock from another store.

Ollie's keeps its prices low by buying closeout, irregular, discontinued, and overstock merchandise at a discount.

The limited edition Dove body washes, which retailed for $4.99 at Ollie's, were no longer available at Target or Walmart. Other Dove body washes of the same size sell for $8.69 at Target and $7.97 at Walmart.

Home appliances like toaster ovens are expected to get more expensive due to tariffs, so I looked at Ollie's prices on Black and Decker products.

A Black and Decker Crisp 'N Bake air fryer and toaster oven was priced at $39.99 at Ollie's, while a regular four-slice toaster oven cost $29.99.

Target appeared to sell the same four-slice toaster oven for $29.99, matching Ollie's price, but it was difficult to compare prices for the air fryer since I didn't find exact matches on their websites. Perhaps the toaster-air fryer combination Ollie's had in stock was an older or discontinued model that is no longer sold in other locations.

Ollie's sold certified refurbished electronics like air conditioners, another way it keeps prices low.

There were also new air conditioners for sale, like a 10,000 BTU window unit from Danby priced at $279.99. The exact design I saw no longer appears to be sold by Danby, though the company offers other units with the same cooling power for $429.99 and above.

The housewares section sold rugs and home decor as well as actual flooring, such as laminate wood squares.

The raw flooring materials in the housewares section reminded me of Menard's, a Midwestern home-improvement chain frequented by contractors and DIYers and known for its mail-in rebate discounts.

Laminate chestnut oak flooring cost 97 cents per square foot, while 5-foot by 7-foot Zephyr Collection rugs cost $99.99.

In the toy section, Barbie dolls were cheaper than at Target and Walmart, a welcome discovery as toy prices are expected to rise due to tariffs.

Barbies ranged from $8.99 to $12.99 at Ollie's, which was less expensive than at other stores.

For example, the "You Can Be Anything" teacher Barbie cost $8.99 at Ollie's compared to $14.99 at Target and $11.60 at Walmart.

Toy prices are expected to increase due to Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese goods.

Overall, I felt that Ollie's lived up to the hype.

Ollie's is a store with personality. The vibrant comic book-like signage and the treasure-hunting nature of sorting through the aisles made for an enjoyable outing. The prices were also lower than big-box competitors like Walmart and Target.

I wouldn't necessarily shop at Ollie's if I needed a specific brand of cereal or shampoo since the inventory varies based on what discounted merchandise is available, but if I just need some "Good stuff cheap" once Trump's tariffs take effect, I'd definitely shop there again.

When BI reached out to Walmart and Target about how their prices compare to Ollie's, a Walmart representative told BI: "At Walmart, we operate an every day low price model, in which we work to remove costs through efficiencies in our own operations and supply chain — to operate at an every day low cost (EDLC) so that we can in turn provide our customers with every low prices (EDLP). We constantly advocate for lower prices on behalf of our customers."

Representatives for Target and Ollie's did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Target donated $1 million to Trump's 2025 Inaugural Committee, its first-ever inauguration donation.
• Target also rolled back its DEI initiatives amid Trump's policy changes.
• Target imports around 50% of its merchandise and is susceptible to Trump's tariffs.

Target made its first-ever donation to a presidential inauguration this year, contributing $1 million to President Donald Trump's 2025 Inaugural Committee on January 10, according to a recent Federal Election Commission filing.

First reported by The Minnesota Star Tribune, the Minneapolis-based retailer is one of the three major retailers that contributed to Trump's 2025 inauguration, alongside Walmart and e-commerce giant Amazon.

Trump's inauguration received donations from the tech sector as well as from retail. Based on FEC filings, the Trump-Vance inaugural committee raised more than $239 million, a figure that more than doubles what Trump received for inauguration in 2016 and far exceeds the $62 million Biden received in 2020.

Aside from oil companies that donated heavily to Trump's inauguration, large Silicon Valley companies like Google, Meta, and Uber also each contributed $1 million, and individual tech CEOs like Apple's Tim Cook and Uber's Dara Khosrowshahi also made personal donations of similar sums. These companies also watched their shares plunge due to Trump's tariff policies.

Target is likely feeling the sting of Trump's trade policies. Roughly half of the retailer's merchandise is imported, according to what Rick Gomez, chief commercial officer of Target, said in the company's fourth quarter earnings of 2024. In March, Target forecast that its full-year comparable sales could come in below estimates, and said that uncertainty around tariffs as well as consumer spending could weigh on first-quarter profits.

Walmart and Target's respective CEOs also met with Trump last week to discuss the impact of tariffs on consumer prices and on retail supply chains that could lead to product shortages.

Supply chain experts have also previously told Business Insider that while companies like Walmart are heavy on groceries that are predominantly domestic, Target is less insulated from tariffs because it relies heavily on merchandise like apparel, housewares, and beauty products, most of which are imported. Meanwhile, food and beverages accounted for less than a quarter of Target's sales in 2024.

Target shares prices were down by around 40% on April 29 compared to the same day a year ago, and down by over 50% since their 2021 peak.

The inauguration donation followed a year of change for Target. In May of last year, Target said only a fraction of stores would carry Pride merchandise the following month. The decline came after years of prominent Pride displays. The company said in a memo obtained by Business Insider that it would offer a collection online and in certain stores "based on historical sales performance."

The same week Trump was inaugurated, the company said it was rolling back its DEI initiatives, such as its DEI goals, investments in Black-owned businesses, and an end to all external diversity surveys. It joined a list of other companies that did away with their DEI initiatives after Trump ordered the end of DEI programs at federal agencies.

An Atlanta pastor named Jamal Bryant called for a 40-day boycott of Target over its DEI rollback, which drew wide participation.

Target and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

• Target and Kate Spade dropped a limited-edition collaboration last week.
• The line included purses, dresses, party decorations, and treats.
• Three Business Insider reporters checked out the collection in-store and online.

Target is back in the designer game.

On April 2, the retailer announced it was releasing a collection with Kate Spade, describing the collaboration as "an assortment designed to turn everyday moments into celebratory occasions."

The over 300 items in the collection are Kate Spade favorites like clothing, jewelry, party decor, and, of course, handbags. Much of it is affordable, too, with prices starting at $5.

The collection dropped on April 12, and three Business Insider reporters visited Target in person and online to check it out.

Kate Spade New York comes to Target

Several pieces from the collaboration sold out within hours of the drop.

Two reporters woke up in the wee hours of the morning to shop the collection, while one tried her luck at waiting a few days to see what was in store at her local Target.

Here's what happened:

Erin McDowell, online Target shopper

After consulting with my mother — a suburban woman in Connecticut and lifelong Kate Spade fan who wanted me to order items for her — I opened the links to every item I also wanted from the collection and set my alarm for 3 a.m. ET.

I had my heart set on purchasing four items: a beaded clutch ($30), a pink shift dress with bow detailing ($35), an adorable tote bag with a fish on it ($20), and a charm necklace ($20).

I liked how the collection blended the classic yet whimsical feel of Kate Spade's aesthetic with fun and wearable pieces. There was workwear, things you could wear to parties, cute and affordable accessories, and much more.

When I shopped the collection online from New York City, all the items I wanted were available in any size, from extra-small to Target's extended sizing range.

Once I had checked out, my package was shipped in less than a day, but it took four days for it to arrive.

Still, I was impressed by the quality of all of the items.

I ran into a few issues with the pink dress, even though I loved the bow details on the shoulders and the vibrant color.

The dress was a bit thinner than I imagined — it was almost like a silk slip-dress material rather than the thicker, starchier material I thought it would be.

I also thought the dress ran big — I'm typically a medium in Target clothes, but could have used the small in this dress. It was also a little long — I'm 5-foot-5 but like my dresses to hit about mid-thigh — but I love the style enough to warrant spending $20 on getting it tailored to be a bit shorter for the summer.

As for the accessories, I was obsessed with the quality and the price point.

The charm necklace was really fun and would add some pizzazz to any basic outfit, and I can see myself using the tote bag, which was made of sturdy canvas, all summer long for the beach, running errands, or picnics.

Amanda Krause, online and in-person Target shopper

My alarm went off at 2:50 a.m. to shop the collaboration on Target's app. It's silly, I know.

I only wanted one basic skirt: a $35 white linen piece with black polka dots and a ruffled hem.

There was no chance I'd try to buy it in-store. Last year, I visited Target the morning it launched its Diane von Furstenberg collection, and I'm still shocked by the chaos I saw. Adults were fighting over wrap dresses and tote bags.

By choosing the app, I could shop the Kate Spade collab peacefully. It took a minute for the items to become available, but by 3:03 a.m., I'd ordered the skirt I wanted and an impulse-buy dress.

Nearly 12 hours later, I made a Target run and checked out the in-store selection. It looked like a tornado had flown through the store and landed directly in the Kate Spade section.

There were no purses in sight and only a few clothing pieces to choose from. Most accessories and decor were gone, too. Unless you wanted Kate Spade candy or a $300 collaboration bike, you would've been out of luck.

That said, I liked what I saw. The few headbands and keychains left were of typical Target quality — not designer — but plastic and metal accessories I've bought from the store in the past have held up.

I also liked the skirt I ordered, which arrived two days later. Its linen was soft, comfortable, and thick enough to be opaque. The elastic waistband felt a bit cheaper, but I liked that it wasn't restrictive.

The piece doesn't exactly feel luxe, but it's better than some of the pieces from the retailer's Wild Fable collection. It reminded me more of Target's Future Collective line, which offers elevated clothes made in collaboration with influencers and designers.

Samantha Grindell, in-person Target shopper

When I visited my local Target in downtown Brooklyn on Tuesday morning, I was pleasantly surprised by how much Kate Spade merchandise was in stock.

The store seemed to be mostly sold out of the collection's handbags, but there was plenty of clothing, decor, and party items.

As I wandered through the display, I stopped to admire items like $5 martini glass-shaped party invitations, a chic $30 cake stand, and a $30 "couch potato" pillow.

Decorative trash bags and strawberry-shaped paper lanterns, which cost $10, aren't necessary purchases, but I knew they would all make a party more fun.

The clothing pieces I saw were pretty and seemed to be made with care, though the quality of most items was what I'd expect of Target over Kate Spade.

I spotted a dress with a belt loop already ripped. It wasn't a huge problem for the $40 dress, but I expected slightly higher quality from Kate Spade. (Target didn't respond to a request for comment on the quality.)

I grabbed two dresses and a matching set to try on. I thought the dresses were pretty and well-made, but I didn't like them enough to buy them. However, to my surprise, I fell in love with a $30 polka-dot babydoll top.

I haven't owned a babydoll top in over a decade, but thanks to its feminine shape and fun print, I could easily picture myself wearing it to dinner in the summer. I bought the top, leaving the matching skirt — which I later found out was the one Amanda bought — at the store because it was a bit big on my waist.

I was so surprised at myself for buying the top that I texted one of my best friends a picture, writing, "I bought a babydoll top in the year 2025."

"I GOT THE SAME TOP," she replied in all caps. I cackled as I read it, delighted I wasn't the only one enchanted by the retro style.

Overall, I thought Target's Kate Spade collaboration embodied what I love most and find most dangerous about Target.

I didn't need much of anything I saw, but it was all so cute and affordable that I was tempted to buy multiple pieces just for fun. Leaving the store with only the shirt in tow felt like a feat.

A win for Target

Over the past few years, Target has been experimenting with designer collaborations, partnering with brands like Diane von Furstenberg and Kendra Scott to offer their products at a more affordable price.

The buzzy collections have brought shoppers into Target stores and to its site, but its collaboration with Kate Spade might be its best one yet.

It felt distinctly Kate Spade but had Target's prices, making the collection appealing to the customer bases of both brands.

Target has had a rough few months, with its sales and shares dropping as the retailer rolls back DEI initiatives and price-conscious consumers look to alternatives for affordable goods. However, the collaboration is a welcome change.

The lifestyle products aren't necessities. Still, playful designs and approachable prices make the items in this collection worthwhile, even if you aren't a longtime Kate Spade fan.

Teaming up with Kate Spade was a breath of fresh air for Target, and hopefully, the retailer can recreate that magic with other collaborations down the line.

• For years, I'd been returning most items I bought at Target.
• I thought the hack was ridding my house of clutter and keeping my spending low.
• But my kid made me feel ashamed of the hack, and I realized I was misusing a loophole.

It all started with matching family outfits.

I wanted a family portrait in which my family of seven wore similar outfits — some combo of pink and white. I spent hundreds of dollars at Target on shoes, dresses, pants, and shirts.

After the photo was taken, no one in my family wore those outfits again. My five children, ages 11 to 1, expressed how much they hated the clothes. My girls never liked the shirts in the first place, complaining that they were itchy and tight. The boys didn't like the pink stripes on theirs.

Every time I saw the pieces we wore only once hanging in the closet, I felt a slow creep of regret and frustration. The discomfort of those negative feelings ultimately spurred me into action.

I didn't have the energy to sell the outfits on Facebook Marketplace. My local consignment shop doesn't take Target's brands, and they weren't interested in the adult items.

I wondered if I could bring everything back to Target. To my surprise, the Target sales associate accepted all the items — no questions asked — for a full refund. I didn't even have a receipt or the tags.

Suddenly, I unlocked a new hobby, but in the end, I felt ashamed of my hack.

I've continued returning most items I buy at Target

For the last three years, I've been shopping at Target, using the Circle app, and returning everything we don't use more than once.

Before heading to Target, I perused the house in search of items I could return. For example, I recently discovered a cake stand and pitcher we used for my daughter's 11th birthday brunch. If we had another party, she'd want a new aesthetic, and the items would continue to gather dust. I returned both and got back $20.

I also recently went through my boys' clothing, which is mostly Target's Cat & Jack brand. I found khakis, Hawaiian button-downs, and graphic T-shirts. They no longer wear these clothes because they've grown out of them.

The Cat & Jack return policy allows customers to return any item to Target for a full refund within one year of purchase — as long as they have the original receipt.

I returned all those clothes for over $100.

There were some benefits to returning most of my purchases

I found that buying, using, and returning items alleviated some of the financial and organizational mental load of parenthood.

My kids could participate in activities — like family photos, Halloween costumes, and school spirit days — without accumulating clutter. I thought of it as the ultimate decluttering technique.

The financial benefits were a bit murkier. Of course, I was just getting the money back that I already spent a few weeks prior — to buy more items.

But recycling the same cost kept me from overbuying. I bought what we needed, keeping our family spending budget low.

Plus, there was a dopamine award. I was getting what I wanted at Target without seemingly spending extra money.

I now feel ashamed of this hack

I thought I discovered the ultimate parenting hack, but I started to wonder if I was doing the right thing.

"Just pick something! We can always return it," my daughter yelled at her sister in a store once.

That's when my "greatest parenting hack" sounded more like a dirty little secret coming out of my 11-year-old daughter's mouth.

That moment forced me to reflect on the integrity of this behavior. Returning things felt like the responsible thing to do. But was it? Is buying something with the intent to use it and return it wrong?

Suddenly, it felt like I was misusing a financial loophole. My hack reminded me of credit cards: You can buy whatever you want, especially things you can't afford, but in the long run, you're just worsening your credit — and screwing yourself over.

I didn't want to teach my kids to think that when they grew up, they could buy whatever they wanted as long as there was a loophole. I want to teach them smart financial literacy and consumer decisions — not ones like returning everything you buy.

So, I'm trying to slow down with the returns and set a good example for my kids. Now, when I head to Target, I try not to bring any items with me.

Editor's Note: According to the company's website, "Target reserves the right to deny returns, refunds, and exchanges including but not limited to prevent fraud, suspected fraud, or abuse." The company also accepts unopened items within 90 days of purchase.

• When my wife gave birth to our third kid, I took on the grocery shopping responsibility.
• That meant I had to take my two other sons to Target, and they often threw temper tantrums for toys.
• I wonder where my parenting went so wrong, as their behavior is ruining my relationship with them.

I'm the sole breadwinner of the family, but my wife just had our youngest baby, so I've recently also taken on more parenting and household responsibilities.

I thought my paternity leave would offer a fun time to bond with the kids as my wife nursed our newborn. But I was in for a rude awakening.

Activities like eating their meals and taking showers became challenging. But one of the most frustrating things was going grocery shopping. As the new person in the house who now took care of household chores, I was the one who now had to grocery shop.

At first, shopping at Target was something I saw as a bonding experience with my two boys, but I quickly learned that kids will take a mile when you give them an inch.

Shopping at Target with my 2 kids became chaotic and hurtful

Whenever I headed out to Target, my kids cried, wanting to come along. They successfully cried me into submission, and I figured it would be nice to bring my two sidekicks along. It also gave my wife a little break from the noise.

To make these shopping trips bearable for everyone, I often promised to buy my 8 and 9-year-olds anything they wanted. It was a small price to maintain sanity and get things done. I was thinking about buying extra snacks, a game here and there, and not making extravagant purchases.

I didn't realize that kids wanted everything eye-catching on the shelves. Saying no to their outlandish requests meant they'd throw temper tantrums in the store and get into screaming matches.

The toy section was especially my undoing. Often, the kids would want to get different versions of the same toys they had at home. When I didn't have money to spare, I got the occasional "I hate you," which broke my heart.

I vividly remember a complete meltdown over a Spider-Man doll collection that I didn't see the need to purchase, as my son had a similar one at home. Other shoppers had to intervene to calm him down, and it took us a long time to leave the store and return home. It was an embarrassing, hurtful, and eye-opening experience. Needless to say, he didn't get the toy.

Sometimes, I questioned myself and wondered whether I did a poor job raising my kids. Was their value system so messed up that they measured their love according to what I could purchase?

As these meltdowns went on for quite a while, shopping at Target became a devastating experience, and the happy-go-lucky relationship I once had with my kids was strained.

Communicating with my sons has helped somewhat

The situation was getting out of control, and I talked to my wife, who helped me find a way forward. She seemed to understand the kids better than I did. She reminded me that open communication is always the best path forward.

We eventually decided to sit down with my sons, discuss their bad behavior, try to understand their point of view, and continuously teach them not to place too much value on material things.

While some of these conversations were a struggle, other things we said hit home and opened up deeper discussions about finances and the fact that we all don't get everything we want in life. We also grounded them for the yelling and meltdowns, took away their toys, and revoked privileges for a while.

I've come to associate Target with negative feelings of failed parenting. Despite the great deals, I haven't shopped at the store for a while. It will take significant time and some healing for us to go back to our usual shopping routine. As they say, time's a healer.

• Target and Costco have responded in different ways to the changing politics around DEI.
• A recent survey indicated some customer foot traffic and market share shifted from Target to Costco.
• Meanwhile, Walmart — which hasn't made DEI a big part of its brand — has performed consistently.

The backlash to the backlash over DEI is starting to show up at Target and Costco.

While both retailers have long made so-called corporate social responsibility a big part of their brand identities, they responded in remarkably different ways regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion policies in the face of the second Donald Trump presidency.

In January, Target said it was scrapping some of its DEI-related programs, while Costco's shareholders successfully defended the wholesaler's against an activist shareholder proposal.

Now, a survey from the consumer analytics firm Numerator has found customer foot traffic and market share have shifted from Target to Costco, particularly among shoppers who say DEI is important.

In terms of year-over-year visits, the firm said Target saw nearly 5 million fewer shopping trips during the four weeks ending on February 9. By contrast, Costco saw nearly 7.7 million more visits during the same period.

Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment from Business Insider.

While Numerator said the changes "may be linked" to the companies' respective DEI stances, a number of other factors, such as persistently high consumer prices and the availability of eggs, may have contributed to the shifting market share between the two retailers.

Still, the shifts were most pronounced among Black and Hispanic/Latino households — especially during the first week of February. Specifically, Numerator said that Hispanic or Latino households drove more than one-third of Costco's gains, nearly twice the rate that would be expected based on demographic representation alone.

Meanwhile, Walmart — which never made DEI a big part of its brand identity — saw relatively consistent performance during the same four-week window, even though it scaled back some of its DEI efforts late last year.

Additionally, Numerator found that frequent Walmart shoppers were generally less concerned with DEI and social justice issues than frequent Target shoppers.

The numbers suggest that being known for one position and then changing course could push some customers away.

"That kind of seesawing back and forth and saying one thing and doing another, that's what gets brands like Target in trouble," Collage Group's chief insights officer, David Albert, recently told BI.

"We've seen here, especially with Target, is that they've eroded that trust because they're not doing what they say, and they don't say what they do," Albert said.

Numerator also found that more than one-third of consumers in the survey were aware of the February 28 economic blackout, with younger and more diverse households more likely to participate.

There are few activities more delightful than getting a little wine drunk and hitting up the local Target to go treasure hunting. Sure, you pretend you're there for a legitimate reason — to pick up toilet paper or trash bags. But whatever the plan was going in, you wind up with a basket full of random goodies: a bikini for a vacation you're not taking and party favors for a gathering you're not having. A yoga mat! Hot Cheetos! Five packs of gum! At Target, the world is your oyster in terms of stocking up on stuff you absolutely do not need. Even if you're doing Target sober, you wind up drunk on stuff.

But lately, that Target trip has been a little less joyful, if you're even going at all. The Minneapolis-based retailer has been going through a rough patch as price-conscious consumers cut down on just-for-funsies buys that fuel Target's sales. And in terms of politics, it seems like Target can't get anything right. For the past two years, it's found itself at the center of America's culture wars, drawing the ire of conservatives and progressives alike. For some consumers, popping into Target (or refusing to) has turned into a political statement, though it's not clear what statement it even makes.

Target can't decide what it stands for, ideologically. For many businesses, that's fine, but in Target's case, cultural relevancy is baked into the business model, and it keeps waffling on how it wants to be relevant. What Target stands for economically isn't working right now, either — it's operating from a place of weakness. The result: a Target that can't keep a, well, target off its back.

If you want to get a sense of how things have been going for Target lately, just take a look at its stock price. Target shares are down by more than 30% over the past year and by over 50% since their 2021 peak. While its most recent quarterly earnings were generally in line with Wall Street's expectations, it hasn't reported strong financial results since the pandemic. The retailer also said sales were off in February because of the weather and "declining consumer confidence," and it has anticipated tariff-related price increases in a matter of days. Things are not working in Target's favor, in part, because it relies on discretionary spending — basically, the nonessentials. As people pull back on that kind of spending amid inflation and worries about the economy, that hits Target where it hurts.

"People expect prices to rise, and that's causing people to spend more conservatively, and that's causing them to think twice about throwing this or that other thing into their cart," said Zak Stambor, a senior retail and e-commerce analyst at EMARKETER. "Target's business relies on people throwing this or that into their cart." (EMARKETER is owned by Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider.)

Target is struggling to differentiate itself and compete against Walmart, Amazon, and Costco, said Michael Baker, a managing director and senior research analyst at D.A. Davidson. If a consumer's focus is product selection and wowing customers with compelling offers, Costco's the answer (or at least as good as Target). If it's convenience, it's Amazon. If it's price, Walmart wins. "That doesn't mean that Target can't find their niche," Baker said, but the niche it does have — wants and not needs — is one that doesn't work great in this environment. "With the wind at their back and people spending a lot on discretionary items, we think Target can compete reasonably well, but in a more difficult environment, the increased competition over the past decade or so, I think, makes it that much more difficult for them," he said.

Target is also struggling to catch up in some booming areas that are working for its competitors, like groceries and e-commerce. Both efforts have been undertaken "halfheartedly," said Zhihan Ma, a senior research analyst at Bernstein. Target largely relies on its stores to fulfill online orders, which may be cheaper in terms of the up-front cost to implement, but it's very labor intensive, as associates are expected to deal with in-person shoppers and e-commerce customers in tandem.

Beyond the slow-walked investments, one of the key differentiators for Target — a relatively enjoyable shopping experience — has been undercut in recent years. Target's attempts to fight retail theft mean more merchandise winds up locked up. Like with other retailers, some locations have problems with inventory shortages or crowded aisles. The result is a shopping experience that isn't a bang-up time, which is especially damaging for Target, where a bit of fun is part of the point.

"The business is what the business is to a large extent," Stambor said. "Target is a place to find that cool other thing that you didn't expect to throw into your cart."

While Target has been having a tough time financially over the past couple of years, it may be even worse when it comes to the news. Yes, there are some positive headlines about Stanley's "Wicked"-themed cups and everything it's doing with Taylor Swift. But there are a lot more negative headlines Target would rather not see.

One of the ways Target has sought to differentiate itself from competitors is by embracing a rather cosmopolitan identity. It does collaborations and deals with designers, big-name brands, and celebrities. It tries to get higher-end consumers in the door. It's a bit fancy — there's a reason people use a little French accent to call it "Tar-jay." That means some of its consumers, particularly those who are more progressive leaning, expect more from it, and in some cases, Target has been happy to oblige.

"In some ways, they're victims of their own success," Baker said. "Target has come to stand for fashion and fun and it is really a very culturally relevant retailer," he said, which puts it more in the crosshairs than Walmart and Amazon.

As recently as 2020, Target was leaning into this identity. The Minneapolis-based retailer had positioned itself as a leader on racial justice in response to George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. The moves seemed to go over well until 2023, when it stumbled into a series of culture-war woes. That year, many businesses faced a backlash after a Bud Light marketing campaign featuring the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked outrage among some consumers in the spring. Heading into the summer, Target's Pride month collection — something it's been doing for years — became the subject of right-ring focus. Some of the hullabaloo was completely made up, such as false social media reports that Target was selling "tuck-friendly" bathing suits for children. But the dust-up also moved from social media to the real world: Some angry shoppers were actually attacking associates and destroying store displays. Target scaled back its Pride collection, moving items to the back of the store in some locations and pulling some items altogether. It later said the backlash hurt sales.

Since then, Target's been stuck in a loop of corporate identity indecision that it seems unable to get out of. The decision to scale back on Pride made no one happy — some consumers were already upset about the merchandise's existence in the first place, and others were upset because Target backed down. Target declined to comment for this story, but with regard to its diversity strategy and business outlook, a spokesperson pointed to links to its "Belonging at the Bullseye Strategy" and its fourth-quarter results.

Target has taken a similar please-no-one approach when it comes to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. In January, the company said it was axing multiple DEI initiatives, including ending its three-year DEI goals, wrapping up a program to invest in Black-owned businesses, and stopping participation in external diversity-focused surveys. Target's DEI efforts and reversals have been met by resistance on several fronts. On the right, the retailer has been hit by a lawsuit brought by the state of Florida, among others, saying investors weren't made aware of the risks of Target's DEI initiatives and potential backlash. On the left, the Atlanta pastor Jamal Bryant has called for a 40-day boycott of Target over its DEI rollback.

"Any time a company is visible, it's a target for activists who have one agenda or another," said Brayden King, a management professor at Northwestern.

At a moment when much of corporate America is anxious about the political environment, Target, in particular, seems to be bearing the brunt of all these swirling emotions. Many people feel powerless when it comes to actual politics, so pouring their frustrations into things they can control — where and how they shop — turns into an outlet for some sort of action.

The big issue, however, isn't that Target sold Pride merchandise or undertook DEI initiatives, it's that it so openly waffled on all of it. Again, it's similar to Bud Light: The near-ubiquitous beer brand did a tiny marketing campaign with a transgender influencer, and when that caught fire online among right-wing personalities, the company panicked and backed down instead of keeping calm and staying the course. When a company capitulates to backlash and cowers, it suggests what it initially did was incorrect — and ultimately pleases nobody.

Wavering draws more attention to the issue. It signifies weakness — which, in the case of Target's business, is part of the problem. It also degrades trust with consumers and turns the company into a more obvious target for activists down the line.

"That kind of seesawing back and forth and saying one thing and doing another, that's what gets brands like Target in trouble," said David Albert, the chief insights officer at Collage Group, a consumer research firm that focuses on multicultural audiences. "We've seen here, especially with Target, is that they've eroded that trust because they're not doing what they say and they don't say what they do."

It's not clear how much the political noise will impact Target's bottom line. The 2023 Pride backlash did ding sales, but that was a temporary problem. As a general rule, the vast majority of boycotts don't work. Consumers are set in their ways and often prioritize convenience. If there's a Target down the street or a Walmart 30 minutes away, most people will stick with Target. Also, if you really start to worry about whether each and every business you interact with aligns exactly with your values, you will likely find there is nowhere on Earth you can shop.

"Boycotts, of course, are very effective tactics for drawing attention to a cause," King said. "It will have this effect of making Target look bad. But do I think that it will affect what Target does? Probably not."

Just because boycotts rarely work doesn't mean they never work. Bud Light, for one, really did see a decline in sales. The evidence is mixed on whether February's single-day "economic blackout" was effective, but there are at least some signs it may have moved the needle. Ma, from Bernstein, said it's too early to tell if the DEI-related backlash will hurt Target's long-term financials, but she acknowledged that it may introduce more "volatility" into its shorter-term results if it continues to find itself embroiled in cultural backlashes. "It doesn't help, for sure," she said.

In terms of the business basics, Target has plans to get back some of that Tarjay sheen. It's amping up its private-label offering, creating more in-house brands that resonate with consumers and give them a reason to go to Target, specifically, rather than somewhere else. It's seeking out more flashy collaborations and partnerships, like with Warby Parker. It's scaling Target Plus, its third-party marketplace. It's still hoping consumers will do a spin around the store for those glorious little splurge buys on top of the basics.

Still, in the retail landscape, Target isn't in a highly enviable position. Between price-sensitive consumers and tariff whiplash, the macroeconomic landscape is not stacked in its favor. And its soft business outlook means that in terms of the culture war, it's operating from a place of weakness, which raises the chances of making a misstep. Instead of companies worrying they're going to be the next Bud Light, they're likely starting to worry they'll be the next Target.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• Some Americans have promised to boycott companies that dropped their DEI policies.
• A pastor in the Atlanta area is encouraging his congregation to "fast" from Target for 40 days.
• The timing of the boycott aligns with Lent, which started on Wednesday.

Thousands of people have committed to boycotting corporations in the name of now-defunct diversity, equity, and inclusion policies that companies have dismissed since President Donald Trump's rise.

Now, some are boycotting in the name of the Lord.

Jamal Bryant, the pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church outside Atlanta, is calling on his congregation to "fast" from Target this Lenten season, which began Wednesday. Christians who observe Lent, the 40 days leading up to Easter, typically do so by fasting or giving something up.

"Lent is a holy season of prayer and is about sacrifice," Bryant told Business Insider. "So not only are we picketing with our pocketbooks, but partitioning with our prayers." Bryant said Target has "put consumerism over decency."

Target did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Target announced in January that it would be rolling back several DEI initiatives. Some Target shoppers were outraged that the company followed the lead of several others that have dismantled their DEI policies, many of which were bolstered in 2020 amid the Black Lives Matter movement.

During his first week back in office, President Donald Trump promised the end of DEI programs in the federal government and reversed a 1965 order that barred government contractors from engaging in employment discrimination. Many major companies were quick to pull back on their diversity programs to remain in the good graces at the White House.

About 1 in 8 Target shoppers is Black, according to a data analysis from Numerator, which assesses retail consumers.

"The way that the Black community has had brand loyalty to Target, but them to not express that same loyalty to our community," Bryant said, "we felt was a slap in the face."

Bryant started a pledge to encourage people to fast from Target, and he said 110,000 people have signed on thus far. Those who commited to the fast received a digital directory of Black businesses they can support instead, Bryant said.

"People are still spending," he said. "They're just being more mindful about where they spend and how they do it."

• President Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs is a hot topic for corporate executives this week.
• Leaders at companies like Target, Best Buy, Chipotle, and more have shared their thoughts.
• We rounded up their most interesting quotes from earnings calls, investor conferences, and media appearances.

You know something is a hot topic of discussion when a CEO thanks a Wall Street analyst for not asking about it.

"Thank you for the question that wasn't tariff-related, Anthony," Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said during an earnings call Tuesday, during which she fielded multiple queries on the topic.

Indeed, President Donald Trump's trade war is the new elephant in the room this week as executives field questions on earnings calls, investor conferences, and media appearances.

C-suite execs at companies like Target, Chipotle, and more have shared their thoughts on how the new policies will impact their businesses, their customers, and the US economy.

While their approach and strategies vary, a common theme emerged among some of the business leaders: This is uncharted territory.

"We've not seen this level of tariff before," RBC CEO David McKay said Tuesday at a conference hosted by the bank in New York. "And it's a real departure from what's built, I think, some of the great pillars of success in this country."

Still, he added, "Even with all the tariffs, we're going to have a lot of trade."

And don't be surprised if companies hike prices — fast.

Here's what business leaders are saying.

AutoZone

CFO Jamere Jackson said during an earnings call Tuesday that AutoZone intends to raise prices in order to offset any tariff impacts.

"To be clear, we intend to maintain our margin profile post tariffs, and we expect the entire industry will behave in a rational way as our historical experience has shown," he said.

CEO Phil Daniele said on the call that new autos are more expensive than ever, giving US consumers less of an option about whether to repair or replace their aging vehicles.

Best Buy

Best Buy's Corie Barry told investors on an earnings call Tuesday that price increases on imported products are now "highly likely."

"Tariffs at this level will result in price increases," she said.

Barry said Best Buy directly imports about 2% to 3% of its products, primarily from China and Mexico, but its vendors will likely experience new costs and pass those along.

"We've never seen this kind of breadth of tariffs — and this, of course, impacts the whole industry, so it's not just a Best Buy question," she said.

Target

Target's Brian Cornell said in an interview with CNBC Tuesday that some grocery costs could go up as early as this week, especially in fresh categories that are typically imported from Mexico.

"Those are categories where we'll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days," he said.

"If there's a 25% tariff, those prices will go up," he said.

Stanley Black & Decker

Speaking at the Raymond James Institutional Investors Conference on Tuesday, CEO Don Allan said Stanley Black & Decker was in a "little bit of a wait and see" situation, especially regarding tariffs on Mexico.

"We do have a fairly substantial Mexican footprint, primarily for our DeWalt power tool business that serves the US market, and so we'll see how the negotiations happen between the two countries and where this lands," he said.

Chipotle

CEO Scott Boatwright told NBC Sunday that Chipotle would absorb costs from tariffs unless they become a "significant headwind" for the burrito chain.

He previously said that the company had reduced its sourcing of avocados from Mexico to 50% while increasing its supply from Colombia, Peru, and the Dominican Republic.

"We don't think it's fair to the consumer to pass those costs off to the consumer, because pricing becomes permanent," he said. "And so again, back to the idea of delivering extraordinary value to the consumer. We're going to stay the course."

Campbell's

CEO Mick Beekhuizen said in an earnings call Wednesday that Campbell's imports two key supplies from Canada: tinplate steel for its cans and canola oil for its chips.

"On the flip side, with some of the reference to the retaliatory tariffs, those mainly relate to Canadian exports," he added. "So we are producing our soup in the United States and we're importing it into Canada, and that would obviously have an impact on that business."

Beekhuizen said the company is working with suppliers to soften the impact of new tariffs, but didn't rule out price hikes.

"Now that being said, I'm obviously going to be very focused to make sure that we provide a good value to our consumers," he said.

• The CEOs of Target and Best Buy each addressed Trump's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China.
• Target's chief executive, Brian Cornell, said some grocery costs could go up as early as this week.
• Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said price increases on imported products are now "highly likely."

Don't be surprised if your Target or Best Buy cart costs more than usual this month.

President Donald Trump's trade war has arrived, and retail CEOs say higher costs are soon to follow.

The chief executives of Target and Best Buy each addressed Trump's new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, which went into effect early Tuesday ahead of both companies reporting their fourth-quarter earnings.

Best Buy's Corie Barry told investors on an earnings call that price increases on imported products are now "highly likely."

"Tariffs at this level will result in price increases," she said. "I think it is very difficult to say — given the backdrop that we're in — exactly, precisely how big that is."

Barry said Best Buy directly imports only about 2% to 3% of its products, primarily from China and Mexico, but that its vendors would likely be experiencing new costs and passing those along.

"We've never seen this kind of breadth of tariffs — and this of course, impacts the whole industry, so it's not just a Best Buy question," she said.

Target's Brian Cornell said in an interview with CNBC that some grocery costs could go up as early as this week, especially in fresh categories that are typically imported from Mexico.

"Those are categories where we'll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days," he said.

"If there's a 25% tariff, those prices will go up," he said.

Imports from Canada and Mexico are now subject to a 25% charge, while new duties on imports from China bring the total to 20%. Both Canada and China have since responded with retaliatory tariffs of their own, and Mexico said similar measures would be announced soon.

Target's chief commercial officer, Rick Gomez, said on the earnings call that the company now sources about 30% of its store brand products from China, down from 60% in 2017.

Gomez also explained that Target has stepped up its sourcing from countries like Guatemala and Honduras, among others, which are not currently affected by Trump's tariffs.

Shares of Target stock opened the day down roughly 5%, while Best Buy fell by nearly 14%.

Two-thirds of US shoppers surveyed by consumer analytics firm Numerator said they were concerned that tariffs would lead to higher prices on everyday goods, with more than half saying they're worried most about their grocery bills going up.

There's a pretty clear sentiment in America's corporate world these days: anxiety.

Yes, big business generally welcomes the deregulatory promise and likely lighter tax bill that comes with Donald Trump's second presidency. But the accompanying uncertainty of Trump 2.0 is also leaving corporate America slightly on edge. The president is issuing executive orders at a breakneck pace, but vague wording, court battles, and questions of legality mean the significance of these orders is unclear. Trump has promised to take big swings on tariffs and immigration, but how those swings actually manifest is in flux. Elon Musk is a similarly disruptive figure, with his DOGE staff firing federal workers and slashing funding for various programs at a head-spinning rate. Given the bum-rush first month, many corporate leaders are scrambling to gain some favor with Trump or, at the very least, avoid his ire.

In short, we're in an era of scaredy-cat capitalism. American business isn't moving boldly and swiftly — it's acting slowly and timidly, waiting for the uncertainties to shake out and trying not to call much attention to itself in the meantime.

When Trump took office in 2017, many CEOs were alarmed by his immigration and climate policies. When Trump was inaugurated in 2025, some of America's most recognizable corporate executives were seated behind him. Major companies and leaders donated millions of dollars to Trump's inauguration fund and have visited the president's Mar-a-Lago club. If companies appeared somewhat willing to strike a tone of defiance in 2017, the vibe this time around is one of compliance.

In December, ABC News, owned by Disney, agreed to pay $15 million to Trump's future presidential library in order to settle a defamation lawsuit. Meta similarly cut a deal in January to give $22 million to settle a 2021 suit. CBS's parent company, Paramount, has thus far held out on settling a lawsuit Trump filed over a "60 Minutes" segment, though some observers believe it's only a matter of time before it folds, possibly in hopes that the administration will look more kindly upon a pending acquisition by the studio Skydance. As my colleague Peter Kafka has pointed out, these Trump lawsuits are the type that typically would not get very far — but now that he's back in the White House, the risk-reward calculus is different.

"Powerful companies with enormous legal resources are deciding that they're better off making a payment — in the form of a donation — to Trump than fighting him," Kafka wrote.

In an attempt to head off Trump's anti-DEI campaign, several companies have backed away from diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. Companies including Target, Walmart, and Meta have announced policy rollbacks. Others, such as GM, PepsiCo, and Disney, have taken a subtler approach, quietly axing DEI language and programs. The US Chamber of Commerce has pulled much of the information about its Equality of Opportunity Initiative, announced in 2020 to "help close race-based opportunity gaps," from its website.

This isn't happening in a vacuum: The right has been increasingly vocal in its opposition to DEI efforts in recent years, and Trump has put that opposition into overdrive — and in writing. He's signed executive orders seeking to root out DEI practices in the private and public sectors, including barring government contractors from engaging in them and asking federal agencies to identify corporate targets for potential lawsuits over DEI. The plan, according to Trump, is to stop "illegal DEI." It's not clear what that means, and the underlying law hasn't changed, but it still makes companies nervous and has had a chilling effect. No one wants to be the government's target — or draw the conservative internet's ire and become the next Bud Light. Agencies may be looking for low-hanging fruit to make an example out of in order to scare others off. And regardless of what the government does, negative publicity and social media campaigns are a threat in and of themselves.

Some business leaders may remember some of the vindictive nature of Trump's first term, such as the president's opposition to the AT&T-Time Warner merger, reportedly partly because of his dissatisfaction with CNN. In an interview with Bloomberg last July, Ken Chenault, the former CEO of American Express, cited it as cause for trepidation about a second Trump term. "The fear is real," he said.

Daniel Kinderman, an associate professor at the University of Delaware who studies business responses to right-wing populism, said companies may regret cozying up with Trump and being quick to bend to his will.

"What the government's doing is so radical that I think a lot of companies will be sorry that they got on the bandwagon or did not keep a greater distance," he said. "It's not reducing their risks."

On the domestic and foreign fronts, the perception of Trump as a loose cannon may give him an advantage in negotiations — acting unpredictable and volatile is a way to throw, say, China off balance. But for business, it can be challenging to navigate.

"Businesses like predictability, and that's not what they're going to get from Trump," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who was the communications director for Marco Rubio's 2016 campaign. "Trump is highly unpredictable, which creates a challenging business environment."

In a note on Tuesday, David Kelly, the chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Asset Management, said that the policy uncertainty created by the Trump administration could slow economic growth, affect hiring, and stunt investment. He pointed to tariff threats, immigration crackdowns, federal workforce reductions, and federal budget uncertainties as areas where action could be cause for business hesitancy.

"The rapid pace of these moves, along with frequent reversals, court challenges and mixed signals on future policy actions, make it difficult for economists to assess their cumulative effects," he wrote. "Also important, and even harder to analyze, is the potential for policy uncertainty to delay business decisions."

If you're an automaker, for example, you're staring down the potential of steel and aluminum tariffs, separate tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, and reciprocal tariffs from trading partners. Plus, you're not sure what's going to happen with electric vehicle tax credits. It's hard to know where to begin or whether to make an investment at all. At a conference in February, Ford's CEO, Jim Farley, said Trump's moves had created "a lot of costs and a lot of chaos" for the industry.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Walmart's chief financial officer, John David Rainey, said the retailer was "not going to be completely immune" from tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada. Tariffs on imports from China would likely affect the company, too. He said that there was "far from certainty in the geopolitical landscape" and that Walmart hadn't calculated tariff increases into its financial expectations for the year.

Companies are tasked with laying out various scenarios of what might happen next — and reassuring their shareholders that they're prepared for whatever's ahead. Elaine Buckberg, a former chief economist at GM, has been in this situation before: the trade war with China that Trump kicked off during his first term.

"I feel like I was doing scenarios on China tariffs back and forth, basically, until COVID came and took away all the attention," she said. "I would prepare presentations the night before, and they'd be updated by the next morning."

Buckberg pointed to a 1983 paper from Ben Bernanke (who would go on to be the chair of the Federal Reserve) on investment decisions and uncertainty. "If there's this irreversible investment and there's uncertainty, you'd rather wait until the uncertainty clears up," she said. "And so that means you should expect lower business fixed investment, which hurts growth until this uncertainty resolves."

Congress and Trump will need to negotiate through at least one tax bill this year, as Trump's 2017 tax law is set to expire. Conant pointed out that this fight will be more uncertain for businesses. Congress may look to find ways to raise revenue — whether from higher taxes on certain activities or by eliminating tax credits. That could make for some winners and losers, and pit various industries against each other. "I don't think the business community is going to be as united this time as they were last, because there's going to be winners and losers," he said.

To be sure, businesses are benefiting from plenty of Trump's actions, uncertainty and all. He signed an executive order halting enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which bars companies from bribing foreign government officials. The Trump administration is likely to be more hostile toward unions than the labor-friendly Biden administration and take a hands-off approach to regulation. Still, the insecurity of it all remains a challenge.

"I've been in Washington for 15 years, and this is the most chaotic time, where there's so many surprises that are happening on a weekly basis," said Nick Nigro, the founder of Atlas Public Policy, a research firm in Washington, DC. "There's too much uncertainty for meaningful decisions to be made right now."

The global Economic Policy Uncertainty Index, which tracks news coverage of economic policy uncertainty, has risen sharply since the 2024 election. The National Federation of Independent Business' optimism index ticked down in January, though it remains well above where it was during the Biden administration. The National Association of Home Builders survey that tracks sentiment among homebuilders found that confidence fell in February. The University of Michigan's consumer sentiment indexes dropped in February as people began to worry about tariffs and inflation concerns bubbled back up. As Americans contemplate the landscape, optimism remains, but reality is setting in, and it's a bit unnerving.

Across corporate America, a pervasive sense of unease is setting in. Businesses do not want to call negative attention to themselves, even on what many might consider run-of-the-mill diversity programs. They don't want to become a target of the president or of angry people of any political persuasion online. Meanwhile, they're managing an outlook where it seems like anything could happen — an executive order here, a court battle there, an immigration raid, a new tariff, an axed tax break. The feeling permeates through consumers and workers, too. If the federal government is taking a slash-and-burn approach to its workforce, what's stopping business from following suit? Many companies have been cutting their workforces. Plenty of consumers have wondered if they should stock up on stuff before tariffs take hold, and some have taken action.

Scaredy-cat capitalism doesn't mean panic mode — but it's a scenario where everyone's a little insecure about what comes next.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• Florida's pension board has sued Target over its DEI practices.
• The complaint argues that Target misled investors about the impact of backlash to its Pride collection.
• The suit blames Target's stock price troubles on DEI, rather than other business challenges.

The state of Florida has joined the growing legal challenges against Target.

The State Board of Administration of Florida, an agency that oversees public pension funds that own Target stock, has sued the retailer, arguing it misled investors about the impact of backlash to its Pride campaign and DEI initiatives.

Florida argues Target's handling of its 2023 LGBTQ Pride collection was uniquely harmful to shareholders.

"The Campaign provoked immense consumer backlash and boycotts that caused Target's sales to fall for the first time in six years and wiped out over $25 billion in Target's market capitalization—leading Target's stock to experience its longest losing streak in 23 years," the complaint says.

Target did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

The proposed class action lawsuit is related to an earlier shareholder lawsuit filed in August 2023 against Target, as well as one filed last month by the City of Riviera Beach police pension fund. All three lawsuits were filed in federal court in Ft. Meyers.

Target executives did say during an August 2023 earnings call that traffic and top-line trends were affected by backlash to its Pride collection, but added that "it's not possible to reliably quantify the separate impact."

The company has also recently struggled to compete for inflation-weary consumers against larger rivals like Walmart and Amazon, among other business challenges.

Target may be facing the reverse backlash as well, as numerous employees and customers have told Business Insider they no longer support Target after they feel it has caved to anti-DEI pressure.

Last month, Target said it was retiring several DEI initiatives to remain "in step with the evolving external landscape."

Many other retailers have similarly been retooling their approach to DEI following President Donald Trump's executive order announcing the termination of these practices in the federal government.

The January 22 order directs all government departments and agencies to "take strong action to end private sector DEI discrimination."

• As America's grocery king, Walmart sources a high share of its products from within the US.
• Target, by contrast, relies more on merchandise that is often imported, such as apparel and housewares.
• The difference puts more of Target's business at risk from Trump's promised tariffs.

For all their similarities, Walmart and Target have key distinctions that could spell big differences in how each could be affected by rising import costs as President Donald Trump introduces new tariffs.

In a recent research note, Truist Securities analyst Scot Ciccarelli said Walmart is better positioned to deal with new tariffs than Target, especially since inflation-weary shoppers are likely to be more sensitive to price hikes.

While some of the new tariff costs could be passed on to customers via higher prices, Ciccarelli said retailers are more likely to put pressure on their vendors to absorb some of the pressure.

As the largest retailer in the world, Walmart has shown itself to be particularly effective at negotiating favorable deals from its suppliers.

And if retailers do wind up raising prices, that could tilt in Walmart's favor.

"Higher costs via tariffs would likely further accelerate the consumer search for 'deep value,' and further increase the wallet share for top value providers, including Walmart," Ciccarelli said.

The differences go beyond the price tags. Where a product comes from is increasingly important in the new trade landscape.

"Target is actually much more exposed than Walmart because Walmart is grocery-heavy and groceries are predominantly domestic," Jason Miller, supply chain professor at Michigan State University, told Business Insider.

As America's grocery king, Walmart US makes nearly 60% of its revenue from the grocery category and only about a quarter of sales from general merchandise.

In addition, grocery as a share of sales has been increasing in recent years as the general merchandise share has declined, according to Walmart's annual report.

Target, by contrast, relies much more heavily on merchandise that is often imported, such as apparel, housewares, and beauty. Food and beverage sales accounted for less than a quarter of Target's sales last year.

TD Cowen retail analyst Oliver Chen told BI that Target's apparel segment presents another potential complication, as fashion is more sensitive to seasonality. That could make it more difficult to reschedule orders or reshuffle suppliers and still be on-time and in-style.

"When you miss apparel timeline, you don't get it back, and Target has more apparel exposure," he said.

Beyond its grocery-to-merchandise ratio, Walmart has another key advantage over Target: scale.

"Walmart is much bigger," Kantar analyst Gina Logan told BI. "And I'm not just talking about sales.

"They have a much more advanced supply chain," she added. "They have a wider range of suppliers, they have more ability to pivot and predict demand, and can use their automation and forecasting in order to react to this in a much faster, more predictive way than Target."

This is not the first time the Spark has found a competitive advantage over the Bullseye in the grocery aisle.

When US shoppers began to cut spending back in 2023, prioritizing essentials like groceries in their weekly budgets, sales at Walmart chugged along while Target struggled.

Target has since found success by taking a much more Walmart-like stance with price cuts and bargain brands, and its share of grocery sales has increased by 1-2 percentage points per year over the last three years.

Logan says tariffs could push Target harder into the grocery game, especially with its portfolio of private-label food brands.

Walmart reports its earnings next week and declined to comment. Target, which reports on March 4, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Neither company mentioned tariffs during their respective third-quarter earnings calls, both of which took place after the US presidential election.

However, Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC later in November that Trump's sweeping tariff plan could lead the retailer to raise prices on a portion of its products.

"We never want to raise prices," he told CNBC. "Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers."

Before that, the last time the companies' executives discussed tariffs on earnings calls was in 2019, according to data from AlphaSense.

At the time, Walmart said it would not raise prices on food impacted by tariffs and would instead look to offset the cost elsewhere.

"As a guest-focused retailer," Target CEO Brian Cornell said in May 2019, "we're concerned about tariffs because they lead to higher prices on everyday products for American families."

He later said in a November 2019 call that then-President Trump's tariffs were amounting to $50 million to $60 million in added costs per quarter, adding that "obviously we're all facing the same tariff issues together."

But as Target's and Walmart's financials show, not everyone will be impacted by tariffs to the same degree.

• The daughters of one of Target's cofounders say they're "alarmed" at the company's DEI rollback.
• In letters to two newspapers, they said their father believed in clear principles.
• Target is among the companies scaling back diversity efforts amid political pressures against DEI.

The daughters of one of Target's cofounders say they're "shocked and dismayed" at the company's recent DEI rollback.

In letters to the editor published in the Financial Times and the Los Angeles Times, Anne and Lucy Dayton said their father, Bruce Dayton, believed in clear principles of happy customers and strong communities.

"We are alarmed how quickly the business community has given in to the current administration's retaliatory threats," they wrote. "It is not 'illegal' for a company to create a business model based on what it believes to be important ethical and business standards."

Bruce Dayton, who died in 2015 at 97, was one of five brothers who grew their father's Minneapolis department store into a national brand.

Neither the sisters nor Target immediately responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Target is one of several companies scaling back diversity efforts amid wider political scrutiny of DEI programs following Donald Trump's reelection.

CEO Brian Cornell said in 2023 that DEI was "the right thing for society, and it's the great thing for our brand."

Days later, the company began pulling LGBTQ+ pride merchandise after conservative activists mounted a campaign against the celebration.

In late January, a police pension fund in Florida filed a proposed class-action shareholder lawsuit against Target, alleging the company made "false and misleading" statements about its DEI strategy's effect on its financial results.

While some companies have announced their moves, others have discreetly removed references to DEI from their communications.

Some companies, including Deloitte and Google, have said that as federal contractors, they're required to follow Trump's recent executive order to end DEI programs at federal agencies.

"By cowering," the Dayton sisters said, "Target and others are undermining the very principles that have made their companies a success."

• Target said Friday that it is ending multiple diversity-related programs.
• A memo said the moves help the company remain "in step with the evolving external landscape."
• The reversal follows moves by several major retailers, including Walmart and Tractor Supply Co.

Target is the latest major retailer to reverse course on its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

In a Friday memo to staff, Target's chief community impact and equity officer, Kiera Fernandez, said the company is ending multiple diversity-related programs, including the planned conclusion of a racial equity initiative and the end of all external diversity surveys.

Fernandez said the strategy was based on "many years of data, insights, listening and learning" to help the company remain "in step with the evolving external landscape."

In addition, the memo said Target is renaming its "Supplier Diversity" team as "Supplier Engagement" and will evaluate its corporate partnerships.

The reversal follows moves by several major retailers in recent months, including Walmart and Tractor Supply Co., as well as this week's sweeping new rules from President Donald Trump ordering the end of DEI programs at federal agencies.

Not all companies are bowing to the mounting anti-DEI pressure. On Thursday, Costco shareholders overwhelmingly rejected a proposal from a conservative think tank to evaluate the potential legal and financial risks of the wholesale club's DEI-related policies after the company recommended investors vote against it.

In finance, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon affirmed his company's commitment to DEI and dismissed a conservative shareholder group's criticisms. "Bring them on," he said.

Target has faced pressure from conservative groups over the years in response to issues ranging from what shelves toys are sold on to the company's offering of LGBTQ+ merchandise during Pride month.

CEO Brian Cornell previously defended DEI as "good business decisions, and it's the right thing for society, and it's the great thing for our brand."

Read the memo sent to Target employees:

From: Kiera Fernandez
Subject line: Belonging at the Bullseye

Hi team,

As we close the fiscal year and welcome 2025, I want to share how my team and I have been planning for the year ahead and beyond, ensuring even closer connections to our enterprise roadmap for growth.

For more than 20 years, Target has fueled our business by building teams with diverse perspectives and experiences, creating inclusive work and guest environments that welcome all, and developing strategies that represent the U.S. consumers we serve.

We've also deepened our understanding of how building a sense of belonging for every member of our team, guests and communities can help drive our business and strengthen our culture. So, as
we kick off the new year, we will further our commitment to growth and opportunity for all through our strategy, Belonging at the Bullseye.

Many years of data, insights, listening and learning have been shaping this next chapter in our strategy. And as a retailer that serves millions of consumers every day, we understand the importance of staying in step with the evolving external landscape, now and in the future — all in service of driving Target's growth and winning together.

You can find more here, including details on the actions we're taking, with the goal of driving growth. In the coming weeks and months, you'll see me and my team continue to guide and partner across the enterprise to bring this strategy to life.

In my 23 years as a team member, there are so many things I have loved about Target and our culture. At the top of the list is our conviction to always move forward — listening, learning, growing and setting standards of excellence. I am excited about this next chapter, and confident that our business and culture will continue to be strengthened through the power of belonging.

Onward,
Kiera

If you are a Target worker who wants to share your perspective, please contact Dominick via email or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Responses will be kept confidential, and Business Insider strongly recommends using a personal email and a non-work device when reaching out

• Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco plan to open new stores in 2025.
• New store openings are planned in over 10 states, including California, Texas, and Michigan.
• Walmart told Business Insider it plans to open six Supercenters and three Neighborhood Markets.

Some of America's favorite grocery store chains could open up stores near you in 2025.

Walmart, Target, Trader Joe's, and Costco have all announced several new stores they expect to open in the new year across more than 10 states.

Here's the full list.

Walmart

Walmart has more than 4,600 locations in the US and plans to open nine new stores in 2025 and one Sam's Club, which Walmart also owns. Walmart told Business Insider it plans to open in the following locations in 2025:

Walmart Supercenters

• Mountain View, California
• Eastvale, California
• Cypress, Texas
• Frisco, Texas
• Melissa, Texas
• Celina, Texas

Walmart Neighborhood Markets

• Tuscaloosa, Alabama
• Milton, Florida
• Pace, Florida

Sam's Club

• Tempe, Arizona

Target

With 1,963 locations in the US, Target says most American households are located within 10 miles from at least one of its stores. Still, the grocery giant plans to open more than 30 new locations. A Target spokesperson said the company could not confirm when those stores were expected to open, but at least three are expected to open in 2025, according to the hiring page on the company's website. Those three are located in:

• South Lake Tahoe, California
• Surprise, Arizona
• Denton, Texas

Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's, which has hundreds of locations around the US, said it expects dozens more to open in 2025. The company's website lists 12 new locations expected to open soon, though it does not specify an exact date. The locations include:

• Northridge, California
• Sherman Oaks, California
• Tarzana, California
• Seattle, Washington
• Bellingham, Washington
• Murfreesboro, Tennessee
• Berwyn, Pennslyvania
• Staten Island, New York
• Hoover, Alabama
• Two locations in Washington, DC
• Rockville, Maryland

Costco

As of November 2024, Costco had 896 locations worldwide, with 616 in the US. The wholesale warehouse giant has said it plans to open about 30 new locations in 2025, with six set to open in March. The locations set to open in March are:

• Brentwood, California
• Genesee County, Michigan
• Highland, California
• Prosper, Texas
• Sharon, Massachusetts
• Weatherford, Texas