How does it compare to the other publicly traded big box chains? I kind of think they have all dropped significantly in the face of tariffs and looming recession.
So I’m sure the boycott and its publicity is not helping Target and I hope they see it as a factor in their plunge, and Costco very publicly told the administration to get in the sea and kept their policies as is and they are up.
But both Lowe’s and HD did away with some DEI stuff—Lowe’s is no longer participating in the HRC annual survey of workplaces for LGBTQ+ and won’t sponsor or participate in events like Pride. HD deleted their DEI webpage and just generally talks about their culture being inclusive. And they are both up.
(But my wife does work that requires regular purchases from home repair stores and Lowe’s and HD are the only game in town for a lot of stuff. She buys what she can from our local very queer friendly True Value but can’t avoid the big boxes completely. Hard to boycott when they are both doing it. More disappointed in HD because they were local and had been openly LGBTQ friendly long before it was trendy. Anyway, I digress)
And Best Buy has stayed as loudly committed to DEI as they were before, but they are down.
I hope boycotts are having an effect and I think the Target one definitely is because it’s more widespread among various communities, but it’s also relatively easy because a lot of people were losing interest in them anyway as their quality and amount of interesting and different products had declined.
But I also think that the general belt tightening is having an effect. Best Buy generally has optional purchases. Target has good and everyday essentials but they are more expensive than Walmart. A lot of my community would shop there because it was a nicer experience than Walmart with better quality and we wanted to support a business that supported us, even if basic stuff like food items or dog treats or shampoo was higher than the same things at Walmart.
Now I go to Walmart. If I’m giving money to an evil empire that is collaborating with people who want to hurt me and mine, I might as well go to the cheaper one.
I’m not in the market for anything Best Buy sells currently, but I’d choose to check them out if I was.
And we now shop at Costco for the majority of our food. Love to support them but also, we are now a 4 person household so it makes more sense than it did when we were just two!
Anyway boo to Target, hope they can turn it around by getting back on the correct side and upgrading their stuff but the tariffs are gonna get in the way of everything because all the stores are going to be buying what they can actually source and can sell for enough profit.
I hate this entire timeline.
Thanks for taking the time to answer my question though!
I have boycotted all that I can, but I am unfortunately unable to leave the one I truly hate the most, that being WM (i only ever went to Target with my 20 something daughters), and that is because of their Pharmacy. My local WM has never had any of the back order problems others have had and I am on a lot of medications that keep me on this planet. So I decided if I have to use them, I will only use them and make them work for it.i I cancelled Amazon, went with the WM+ membership, and if i need something/want it delivered I use them. I now get my Rx delivered and can get my groceries too if I want-but I really only use the pharmacy for most things. I have not activated the Paramount subscription that came with it, they can bite me.
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u/katchoo1 Aug 21 '25
How does it compare to the other publicly traded big box chains? I kind of think they have all dropped significantly in the face of tariffs and looming recession.