Here’s what to know about the Target Fast

A 40-day fast or boycott of Target starts Wednesday as Black faith leaders call on members of their congregations to protest the retailer’s retreat from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

The Minneapolis-based retailer in late January joined several other major companies in announcing that it would ends efforts focused on DEI. The move was met with particularly harsh criticism from some who noted the company’s reputation for inclusiveness has helped it attract a younger, more diverse consumer base.

The boycott action comes as other groups of consumers and activists have been engaging in broader one-day boycotts against a wider array of companies, as well as Target and a separate boycott by Minnesota activists against Target, which began Feb. 1 to coincide with Black History month.

What is the 40-day Target Fast?

Jamal-Harrison Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia and an activist and author, has called on the Black faith community to start a 40-day fast from shopping at Target during Lent starting on March 5, which is Ash Wednesday. The website targetfast.org has been created to offer information.

“In recent days, we have witnessed a disturbing retreat from Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives by major corporations – companies that once pledged to stand for justice but have since chosen the path of compromise,” said the Targetfast.org website. “As people of faith, we cannot be silent. We are called to resist systems that perpetuate exclusion and inequity.”

The site continued, saying Black America are “strong consumers with astounding brand loyalty. To see companies we’ve supported heavily – like McDonald’s Ford Motors, Amazon, Meta, and Walmart – betray our long-standing relationship is beyond disheartening.”

“The greatest insult comes from Target, which pledged to spend over $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025, only to find out that Target stopped the program at the start of the year. Black people spend over $12 million a day at Target,” Targetfast.org said.

Bryant’s group is calling on 100,000 Black Americans to take the pledge not to shop at Target for 40 days. Consumers who have signed a pledge on the website will receive a digital business directory from the Black Chamber of Commerce with 300,000 Black-owned businesses along with a 40-day prayer journal. Participants are also encouraged to sell any Target stock they may own.

The action is making four demands of Target:

1. Honor the $2 billion dollar pledge to the Black Business community by purchasing products, services, and making Black media buys.

2. Deposit $250 million among 23 Black banks.

3. Completely restore the retailer’s commitment to DEI.

4. Create community centers at 10 HBCU (Historically Black colleges and universities) to teach retail business at every level.

Target reports drop of sales in February

The 40-day fast of Target comes at a tough time for the retailer. On Tuesday during an earnings call, Target reported that its sales had dropped slightly in February. A nationwide boycott of Target by Minnesota activists protesting Target’s rollback of DEI initiatives began Feb. 1 and another consumer group had a broader one-day economic blackout on Feb. 28.

“In light of ongoing consumer uncertainty and a small decline in February net sales, combined with tariff uncertainty and the expected timing of certain costs within the fiscal year, the company expects to see meaningful year-over-year profit pressure in its first quarter relative to the remainder of the year,” Target said in a press release. Company CEO Brian Cornell also warned that prices could increase within days, due to new tariffs imposed on goods from Mexico and Canada.

Target has not responded to multiple messages seeking comment about boycotts against the retailer.

Feb. 28 economic blackout: What are the results from the Feb. 28 economic blackout? See what data shows.

Foot traffic has dropped at Target, according to one firm. Placer.ai, uses a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for in-store visits to locations across the country.

Foot traffic at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, McDonalds and Starbucks fell for the month of February compared to January. Target’s decline in foot traffic was the largest with a 9% drop, compared to a 3.6% increase in January. That was followed by an 8.7% drop for McDonald’s, which was up 2.1% in January.

Walmart’s foot traffic dropped in February by 5.8% compared to a 3.0% increase in January, while Best Buy’s foot traffic dropped 6.8% in February compared to a 0.4% increase in January.

Costco, which has seen some extra support from some consumers after its board of directors voted down an effort to drop diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, had an increase in foot traffic in February of 2.2%, following an increase of 7.9% in January.

“Placer.ai’s data reveals that many retailers experienced year-over-year declines in weekly visits throughout February 2025, driven by post-holiday spending pullbacks, decreased consumer confidence, economic and tariff uncertainty, and unseasonably cold weather,” R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, told USA TODAY.

Joseph Feldman, an analyst with Telsey Advisory Group, in a note to clients last week, said the Placer.ai data regarding Target’s foot traffic “shows a clear drop in traffic in late January into mid-February following the company’s step back from DEI.”

Could the boycott against Target work?

It makes sense that Target is being targeted because “in 2020, Target specifically ramped up their DEI efforts in the wake of the George Floyd murder because it was in Minneapolis and their base is there,” said Diane Merians Penaloza, doctoral lecturer in the Online Business Programs at City University of New York School of Professional Studies. ” They took it very personally and there was a reaction, which was they saw a huge increase in revenue.”

Target’s market share for Black consumers is around 18% and its core audience is millennials at around 38%, Merians Penaloza told USA TODAY. Those two groups tend to shop companies that align with their beliefs, she said, “so Target eliminating their DEI efforts takes them out of alignment with their core audience. This is something that can do some serious damage to the revenue in the long run.”

Because Target took such a significant stance on DEI efforts, the retreat from them “almost feels like it’s a personal afront in many ways,” Merians Penaloza said.

Target is also under additional pressure from tariffs and shrinking consumer demand, she said.

What other boycotts are planned?

The 40-day fast is one of several planned by different groups. A national boycott of Target started Feb. 1 to coincide with Black History Month. It was launched by civil rights activists in Minneapolis who were upset that Target has rolled back its DEI programs.

Another boycott that lasts through the end of the year was outlined on Instagram by comedian and actress Leslie Jones. It encourages consumers to buy directly from Black-owned businesses and outlines planned protests in certain months against Amazon, Target and Walmart.

The Latino community has also been active on social media using the hashtag #LatinoFreeze, encouraging supporters to “hold your money” amid freezes on DEI initiatives, reduced funding for the National Institutes of Health and actions on immigration.

The movement encourages Latino Americans to shop only for essentials and to be thoughtful about where to buy with a focus on supporting “Latino American, Black American and Allied American Businesses that are supportive to this movement.”

The Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network also have held a few “buy-cotts” to bring supporters to Costco to spend money in support of the company’s board of directors, which voted down an effort to drop DEI initiatives.

The National Action Network also said in a news release that it would lead “a strategic boycott in the next 90 days of two companies that have dropped their DEI commitments amid public pressure.” No details have been released.

The People’s Union USA, an organization started by John Swartz, who organized the Feb. 28 one-day blackout, has since expanded its boycotting efforts. It includes boycotts of various companies and retailers during different time periods including Amazon (March 7-14), Nestle (March 21-28), Walmart (April 7-14) and a second broader one-day economic blackout on April 18, which may be expanded to a weekend-long event, Swartz has said, among others. A website, thepeoplesunionusa.com, has more information on the group’s efforts.

Do boycotts work?

Boycotts can have mixed results.

Conservative activists have successfully rallied in recent years to force retailers and companies to rein in their DEI efforts by staging boycotts to hurt sales.

Professors have previously told USA TODAY that boycotts can be successful in shaming a company into reversing decisions or taking action, but they don’t always work. There needs to be clear demands outlined, they say. But consumers do like being able to take action against something they feel strongly about.

The Feb. 28 one-day economic blackout was interesting because it was coming from so many different audiences simultaneously, but Merians Penaloza said she is unsure if it had any real impact, other than a symbolic one.

“I think that an entire community of people getting together and saying ‘We’re not going to shop for 40 days this brand’ is impactful,” she said. “It will expand outside of just that audience and everybody who is sympathetic to that audience is also going to participate, so it has the ability to make a bigger impact.

The outcome will also depend however on the action getting lots of public and media attention, Merians Penaloza said.

Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: As Lent begins, so to does the Target Fast, a 40-day store boycott