Target can’t keep up with its customers’ changing shopping habits

Target wasn’t ready for how quickly its US customers would change their shopping habits in 2022.

Earlier in the pandemic, locked-down Americans flush with cash from government stimulus checks invested heavily in upgrading their houses. But this year, US shoppers have cut their spending on home goods like TVs and kitchen appliances—and left retailers like Target holding extra inventory they can’t sell and don’t have space to store.

“While we anticipated a post-stimulus slowdown and we expected consumers to continue refocusing spending away from goods and into services, we didn’t anticipate the magnitude of that shift,” Target CEO Brian Cornell told investors on a May 18 earnings call.

The company’s net income fell 52% in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

Link to Full Story >