‘My type of pettiness’: Woman walks in Target. Then she leaves seconds later ‘to mess up their customer metrics’
A woman says she is getting back at Target by walking in and quickly leaving.
In a viral TikTok, Twig (@heyitstwig25) writes in an on-screen caption, “Walking in and then immediately out of Target to mess up their customer entrance metrics,” as she films herself doing exactly that.
In the comments section, some said Twig has too much time on her hands. Others said her actions were a more effective boycott than simply not shopping there at all.
“Please finally someone that gets it!” user S Jones said. “If you want to boycott don’t just stop shopping there, you can affect their KPIs [key performance indicators]. Conversion is a huge one. Lots of traffic + no sales looks worse than no traffic + no sales.”
How big a deal is conversion rate at Target?
According to RubyGarage, a store’s conversion rate is the number of customers who actually buy a product. It is calculated by dividing the number of transactions within a period of time by the number of store visitors in that period and multiplying by 100.
“If your store has a high walk-in rate but a low conversion rate, you should track and analyze other retail metrics and KPIs to find out why so few people buy things at your store,” it states.
“Make a cart on their app and online, messes w those too,” another viewer said.
Some said they would be trying out Twig’s tactic.
“Wait… this is a thing I can do too,” user Darling wrote with a blue heart emoji.
However, one person claiming to work at Target said, “As a target employee this is not true.”
Does walking out of Target immediately after walking in affect customer metrics?
According to ChatGPT searching, the answer is yes but you’d need a larger, coordinated effort for it to be of consequence.
Interestingly, when asked what a customer could do to interfere with a company’s customer metrics, Google Gemini stated, “You are asking for ways to negatively impact a store’s customer metrics. Providing that type of content would be unethical and potentially harmful.”
Why are people boycotting Target?
The Wall Street Journal states, “A few days into the Trump administration, Target dropped some of its goals for diversity, equity, and inclusion and ended its program to boost Black suppliers. At the time, the company said that it was making the moves with the goal of driving growth and staying in step with the evolving external landscape. As a result of Target dropping its DEI goals, a number of customers have said they are no longer shopping there. It was all over TikTok.”
While many stores have recently rolled back DEI policies “under pressure from conservative activists and later perceived legal threats from the Trump administration,” Target’s actions seem to have stung more personally to consumers.
“One reason that consumers seem to be more bothered by the fact that Target did a thing that other retailers have also done is that, one, Target has been more ‘progressive’ in a lot of its brand, its marketing, how it talks about progressive issues, even its own employee base,” Sarah Nassauer, who covers Target for the Journal, said. “Target is based in the Twin Cities in Minnesota. It’s a more progressive community that tends to vote blue, versus Walmart, one of its big competitors, which is in Northwest Arkansas, which tends to vote red. So even its own employees felt, probably, and some of its customers, like it was a more jarring change coming from Target than say a Walmart.”
What does Target have to say about it?
Target told The Journal, “We are absolutely dedicated to fostering inclusivity for everyone; our team members, our guests, and our supply partners. To do that we’re focusing on what we do best, providing the best retail experience for the more than 2,000 communities we’re proud to serve.”
Is the boycott affecting Target’s bottom line?
When asked how the boycott is affecting business, Target refused to respond. However, what analysts do know is that business was affected in 2023 when boycotts started after Target removed some items from its Pride collection and moved displays from the front of stores in response to conservatives who threatened Target employees over a transgender-friendly bathing suit that they mistakenly thought was for children. At the time, many shoppers felt Target’s decision was a betrayal to the LGBTQ+ community.
Customers “stopped shopping at Target, which had an impact on the company’s quarterly and annual revenue. Now with these latest boycotts around DEI, analysts are looking for signs that history could be repeating itself.”
So far, the DEI boycott seems smaller than the Pride boycott. In terms of foot traffic, “when they, Target, first announced that DEI changes, you saw a fairly sizable drop off in their traffic and demand trends and we’ll see what they say about the first quarter, but it does feel like it’s been a little bit softer,” Joe Feldman, senior managing director at consulting brokerage firm Telsey Advisory Group, told The Journal.
@heyitstwig25 #fypシ ♬ Crunk in time wuki Remix – zboard40
Target will report its quarterly earnings on May 21. On the week of May 4, in an email to staff, Target CEO Brian Cornell reiterated the company’s core values and stated, “We are still the Target you know and believe in. … But our values, inclusivity, connection, drive, are not up for debate. They are non-negotiable. Period.”
The Mary Sue reached out to Twig via TikTok comment and direct message and Instagram direct message. It reached out to Target via press email.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
