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Did the Target boycott work? Could it become permanent? What to know before new freezes

Did the Target boycott work? Could it become permanent? What to know before new freezes

Yahoo24-04-2025

A Georgia pastor wants a 40-day boycott of Target to become permanent unless the major retailer brings back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
According to foot traffic data from Placer.ai, Target stores in Mississippi had a 13.1% year-over-year decline in traffic in March 2025. Atlanta Pastor Jamal Bryant points to national data to say it's a success, he wants it to keep going until the company makes changes.
Nationally, most spending freezes have been tied to bringing back DEI initiatives. Multiple companies, like Walmart, Lowe's and Meta, eliminated or scaled down DEI programs, some of which were dropped last year.
When President Donald Trump took office in January, he started rolling back DEI at the federal level. He also is encouraging a culture shift away from the practices, arguing America is a meritocracy.
People who support the policies argue that the programs benefit women, minorities, the disabled and veterans. Those against DEI say people who don't deserve specific jobs or rewards are reaping benefits that should go to someone more deserving.
Now, advocates want people to vote with their dollars. A series of small spending stops against Amazon, Walmart and Nestlé have finished, and more are scheduled later in 2025. They were spaced out among larger-scale boycotts.
It all started with a nationwide 24-hour economic blackout of major corporations on Feb. 28. A 40-day spending freeze at Target just ended April 17. The three-day Economic Blackout 2.0 just ended on Sunday, April 20.
A seven-day boycott of General Mills products is also happening now. Unlike other economic protests trying to bring back DEI, this one has a different goal.
The NAACP also urges people to shop with Black-owned businesses and others that still have DEI programs.
Here's what you should know about the Target and General Mills boycotts, other economic protests planned across the country later in 2025 and the potential effectiveness of the boycotts.
The Target boycott was organized by Bryant and other faith leaders. They encourage people to avoid shopping at the major retail chain in stores and online for the duration of Lent. They also ask investors to sell off their Target stock.
It started on Ash Wednesday, March 5 and ended April 17.
After the fast, Bryant shared updated at targetfast.org. He thanked about 150,000 people who signed the petition, and he said Target's valuation fell by $2 billion, stock dropped by 57% and the company lost $4 billion since January.
On March 5, Target stock was valued at $116.56 per share. At its lowest value during the freeze, it was valued at $88.76 per share, and it rebounded to $93.11 by April 17.
In February 2025, Target's foot traffic was down 9.5% compared to the year before, according to Placer.ai. In March, it was down 6.5% year over year.
"We are entering a new phase of this movement. What began as the Target FAST — a moral witness and urgent call for justice — now evolves into a full Target BOYCOTT. This shift marks not an end, but a deepening of our commitment to justice and accountability," Bryant shared.
"Until Target comes to the table with serious, concrete proposals to meet our four demands, we will remain in this posture. Silence and delay are no longer acceptable. Our communities deserve action, not platitudes. Our demands are not radical — they are righteous, reasonable, and long overdue."
The General Mills boycott is set for April 21-28.
John Schwarz, the Chicago man who formed People's Union USA, said the major food company has toxic ingredients and dodges its fair share of taxes in addition to lobbying against transparency in GMO labeling.
"General Mills represents everything that is wrong with the corporate grip on our food system," Schwarz said in a Sunday, April 20, video. "This is a company that owns half the cereal aisle. Floods our stores with ultra-processed garbage and targets our children with sugary poison."
Schwarz, in his April 20 video, called General Mills "a symbol of unchecked corporate power." He said the company has disenfranchised farmers and contributes to the plastic pollution crisis.
He and People's Union USA are encouraging shoppers to skip all products made by the large company.
The group also led a seven-day boycott of Nestlé products earlier this year. But Schwarz listed multiple reasons for targeting the Swiss company in a March 17 Instagram video. Among other complaints, he cited the corporation continuing to use child labor in chocolate production. It also has drawn criticism for the low prices it pays for the water it uses when communities, like Flint, Michigan, need affordable, clean water.
The company name is mostly associated with cereals. Several iconic breakfast options are under the brand umbrella, but General Mills owns many other brands that cover a wide range of food products for families' baking needs, snacks and more. (They also make Blue Buffalo dog food.)
Cheerios.
Chex.
Cinnamon Toast Crunch.
Cocoa Puffs.
Cookie Crisp.
Golden Grahams.
Kix.
Monster Cereals: Count Chocula, Franken Berry, Boo Berry, Carmella Creeper.
Raisin Nut Bran.
Reese's Puffs.
Total.
Trix.
Wheaties.
Annie's.
Betty Crocker.
Bisquick.
Gold Medal.
Green Giant.
Old El Paso.
Pillsbury.
Autumns' Gold.
Bugles.
Chex Mix.
Dunkaroos.
EPIC.
Fiber One.
Gardetto's.
Häagen-Dazs.
Larabar.
Nature Valley.
Oui.
Progresso.
Totino's.
Yoplait.
Boycotts have been used across the political spectrum to make a point.
For example, in 2023 Bud Light sales dropped. Conservatives and anti-LGBTQIA+ activists called for a boycott after the brand partnered with Dylan Mulvaney, who is transgender, for a promotion.
Information on the Feb. 28 one-day blackout is mixed. Some trackers show an uptick in the number of sales while other metrics showed less traffic to online sales sites.
Data from Cardlytics, a commerce media platform that can access about half of all U.S. card-based transactions, showed no significant impact on consumer spending. In fact, more people might have shopped than normal.
"Cardlytics' consumer spend data from the first economic blackout in February actually showed an uptick in consumer activity: total spend rose 12%, transactions increased 16%, and the number of shoppers were up nearly 12% compared to the same day in 2024," Owen Braun, Head of Client Analytics at Cardlytics, said in a statement.
"While overall spend increased, spend per consumer stayed flat — which reinforces the fact that more people made purchases, not just that prices have increased or that the same consumers spent more.'
Momentum Commerce, a digital retail consultancy company, also saw slightly higher Amazon sales than usual on Feb. 28. It was about 1% higher when compared to the previous eight Fridays.
Similarweb, a digital marketing intelligence company, found that the top 100 e-commerce sites had about 6% less traffic on Feb. 28 than a year before. Traffic was down about 4% compared to the week before.
Placer.ai also tracked foot traffic in stores and saw decreases that day in Target, Walmart and Starbucks.
More: DEI explained: What is DEI and why is it so divisive? What you need to know.
The People's Union economic protests will include different companies throughout the spring and into summer, according to USA TODAY. A third large-scale economic blackout is set for July 4.
More boycotts and other actions are planned throughout the coming months. Organizers hope to gain momentum after other smaller-scale protests. Most of the protests argue that the businesses should reinstate DEI polices.
Here are more brand boycotts the group is planning:
Amazon: May 6-12.
Walmart: May 20-26.
Target: June 3-9.
McDonald's: June 24-30.
Social media posts — using #LatinoFreezeMovement and #LatinoFreeze — have also encouraged Hispanic consumers to "hold your money" to make statements about DEI initiatives, National Institutes of Health funding and immigration actions.
The National Action Network, founded by the Rev. Al Sharpton, has encouraged support of Costco, which has kept its commitment to DEI.
On April 4, Sharpton announced he was giving PepsiCo leadership three weeks to meet and discuss their decision to drop DEI and threatened a later boycott.
The brand includes many products, more than just Pepsi sodas, such as Mountain Dew, 7Up, Gatorade, Quaker and Frito-Lay chips.
Earlier this year, the company said it was ending minority representation goals in its workforce.
On April 15, NAN announced that Sharpton and other members met with PepsiCo Chairman Ramon Laguarta and CEO of PepsiCo North America Steven Williams. Follow-up meeting were reportedly scheduled in the following days.
NAN Chairman Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson and Sharpton were to make an announcement on PepsiCo soon.
Contributing: Rea Li
Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Target freeze over DEI could be permanent boycott. What to know in MS

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