Target put itself in the center of the national debate about bathroom use and gender and thanks to a boycott and lots of press, the retailer's consumer perception has declined.
The number of people who said they would consider shopping at Target the next time they needed something from a department store dropped from 42% to 38%, as measured by the YouGov BrandIndex.
Target said it will allow transgender visitors to its stores to use the bathroom and fitting room that best aligns with that person’s gender identity.
It posted the a statement on its website after North Carolina’s initiative to restrict public restroom use to the gender listed on a person’s birth certificate. That measure has sparked a national debate and many companies and celebrities have announced plans to pull business from the state or boycott.
Now Target is the target of a boycott. The American Family Association has gotten more than 1 million signatures from people saying they would boycott Target for its policy.
YouGuv measures customer perception and creates a "Buzz score" which asks respondents: "If you've heard anything about the brand in the last two weeks, through advertising, news or word of mouth, was it positive or negative?"
Target's Buzz score dropped eight points, from 19 to 11, in the past weeks. Although when broken down by gender, Target's image dropped more among women (by 12 points) than men (a 10 point decline).
But Target isn't backing down and it's worth noting that a good many people are pledging to shop Target more often in comments and online pledges because of its policy of inclusion.
YouGuv notes that Target's perception rating is at its lowest point in eight months, which is never a good thing. But eight months ago the company had a low rating and was free of controversy. And two years ago, Target also suffered from declining customer good will following a data breach that impacted the credit card information of 40 million Target shoppers and the personal data of up to 70 million additional customers.
It's very unlikely that Target will reverse this policy. It's in keeping with its brand image and inclusion is very important to its growing Millennial shopper base and the employee pool. Other companies including Starbucks and Barnes & Noble have stated similar policies, and no retailer has made a statement in support of the North Carolina legislation and its like.
Hobby Lobby tried to enforce a strict gender of origin only bathroom policy, but was sued for discrimination and lost. A judge ruled in May 2015 that it could not refuse a long-time employee Meggan Sommerville access to the women's restroom following her transition from male to female.
