Target is set to report its earnings on Wednesday, and all eyes are on how the company is doing as the holiday season approaches. The big-box store has been struggling to bring in consistent foot traffic and higher sales, with shoppers being more careful about how they spend their money.
To attract more customers, Target has been slashing prices on thousands of popular items, like milk, diapers, and toys. Back in May, they cut prices on about 5,000 everyday products.
In October, they did it again, lowering prices on more than 2,000 items for the holiday season, including things like cold medicine, toys, and even ice cream. By the time the holidays are over, Target plans to have dropped prices on over 10,000 items.
Even though they’ve tried to make shopping more affordable, these price cuts haven’t really turned things around.
The company did better than expected in August, but it still warned that sales might not be as strong as they hoped. They now expect sales to be flat or grow by just a little bit this year, instead of the bigger increase they were hoping for.
Despite this, Target raised its profit forecast for the year, now expecting to make between $9 and $9.70 per share. But with shoppers still watching their wallets, it’s unclear if these price cuts will be enough to bring in the sales Target is counting on for a successful holiday season.
