The biggest rivalry in the retail industry — Wal-Mart Stores (ticker: WMT) versus Amazon.com ( AMZN) — is leeching one retailer’s shoppers. And that retailer is Target Corporation ( TGT).
There’s been a dip in shopper traffic at Target “for the first time in years,” Business Insider reports. This comes after Target’s recent transgender welcoming initiative where people can choose bathrooms or fitting rooms according to the gender they identify with.
However, analysts say that’s not what’s driving the decreased traffic: It’s the higher-caliber convenience and pricing factors that are working in other stores.
Target customers’ “fill-in” trips, where they are only buying a select number of items, are now taking place at Wal-Mart (lower prices) and Amazon (convenience), per Cowen & Co. data.
But could Target’s plans to improve its grocery sector keep it on pace with the competition? Analysts are wary, thinking that it could take the retailer too much time to reach that point.
Target’s problems speak to larger growing pains for both the retail and food industries. Between the rise of e-commerce and the consumer quest for ” healthier” foods, companies must try to appease and anticipate consumer needs while increasing revenue and (ideally) profit to impress investors.
While Wal-Mart’s stock is up 16.8 percent on the year, investors hold Amazon to a higher standard. That said, it’s jumped about 13 percent this year. Target, for its part, is down 5.1 percent.
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Target Corporation Has Another Problem (TGT) originally appeared on usnews.com
