Foot traffic at US retailer Target is down for the 10th successive week, as customers boycott the chain over a decision to axe diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) policies.

According to data from analytics firm Placer.ai, reported by CNN, footfall at Target stores had fell by nine per cent year-on-year in February and 6.5 per cent year-on-year in March.

Just four days after Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, Target announced plans to end its three-year DEI goals: eliminating hiring goals for minority employees, closing down an executive committee focused on racial justice and ceasing to take part in external diversity surveys such as the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.

In the replacement strategy, called Belonging at the Bullseye, Target said the company was still committed to “creating a sense of belonging for our team, guests and communities”.

The decision to roll back equality polices came after the Trump administration announced a crackdown on DEI in the government, military and wider American society, as well as in the face of right-wing pundit Robby Starbuck’s campaign to “bring sanity back to corporate America”.

The attacks on DEI from right-wingers has led to several big name brands – including Ford, Lowe’s, Harley-Davidson and Jack Daniel’s – to scrap and polices that supported minority employees.

But Target customers who are unhappy with the decision have spoken with their feet and wallets, giving shops the cold shoulder and launching a national boycott of the brand in February, to coincide with Black History Month.

Rev Jamal Bryant, the pastor at a Georgia megachurch, who led a 40-day “fast” of Target during Lent, told CNN: “They hear me, the cash register hears me. We saw [Target] as a friend. They championed diversity, so we were in shock when they reversed their stance.”

Fellow retail giant Costco, which has continued to stand by its DEI policies, has, by contrast, experienced 16 weeks of increased foot traffic, The Advocate reported.

According to Placer.ai’s report, footfall at Costco’s rose by 2.1 per cent year-on-year in February and jumped 7.6 per cent in March, compared with the same period last year.

Research has previously revealed that DEI is good for busy, and LGBTQ+ customers generate $1.4 trillion (£1.06 trillion) in spending power. Close to 30 per cent of Gen Z adults identify as LGBTQ+.

Studies have also shown that 80 per cent of LGBTQ+ consumers are not only opting to boycott companies that roll back their equality programmes, but more than half will urge others to do the same through social media and negative reviews online.

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