Foot traffic at Target fell year over year for the sixth consecutive month in July, and while the slump began the week after the retailer backtracked on its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts, some analysts say the real culprit is that Target is slipping on retail basics.

In July, foot traffic at Target fell 3.8%, according to Placer.ai. Since announcing it was curtailing DEI on January 24, foot traffic has been down YoY for 25 of the last 27 weeks.

While media outlets (including this one) have linked Target’s traffic losses to it eliminating some DEI initiatives (and the ensuing backlash and a boycott led by Black clergy), Walter Holbrook, an industry veteran whose resume includes 28 years as an executive at Kmart, believes that a bigger issue is Target struggling with the basics.

Holbrook makes regular visits to a Target store in Jacksonville, Florida, and said that twice while shopping there on Sundays after church in the last two months, the store’s shopping cart corral was completely empty, something he documented once in a LinkedIn post. For the average consumer, the not-OK corral might have been just an inconvenience, but for Holbrook, a retail standard-bearer, “I could have exploded,” he told Retail Brew.

“That’s the fundamentals,” Holbrook said. “If you can’t get that right, you can’t get anything right. If you don’t know that carts need to be kept filled on a Sunday afternoon, you’re in the wrong business.”

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Neil Saunders, retail analyst and managing director at GlobalData, visited a Target and posted 15 photos on LinkedIn that documented shelves that were understocked (or completely empty), soiled, and in disarray.

Target is “still not getting the basics right,” Saunders wrote in the post. “Fixture after fixture, including lucrative endcaps, are devoid of product. Essentials like kitchen paper are completely out of stock.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

With all the noise about how retailers are struggling and consumers are pulling back on spending, you might assume that malls are pretty much running on empty. But not over at Tanger, the open-air retail platform with 40 shopping centers across the US and Canada.

Don’t believe us? Just look at the company’s latest Q2 results that reported robust traffic alongside a 96.6% occupancy rate.

“We’ve already flipped the page to 2026…and we’re actually working on deals with tenants for 2027,” Tanger’s EVP of leasing, Justin Stein, told Retail Brew.

The company’s biggest strengths, according to Stein, have been its relationships with retailers, and its operational efficiencies that include consistently clean centers, a curated mix of brands, entertainment offerings, and an overall immersive shopping experience.

Keep reading here.—JS

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Anncy Rowe is chief commercial officer at skin and hair care company Rodan + Fields.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? As chief commercial officer at Rodan + Fields—a clinically driven luxury skin care brand—my focus is on delivering a cohesive, elevated brand experience across every consumer touchpoint, from digital to in store, with a clear goal: to drive growth. Achieving that requires deep cross-functional collaboration across creative, digital, social, sales, and consumer insights. My role is to ensure that the way we define the brand internally is fully aligned with how our customers experience it externally. And when there’s a disconnect, it’s my job to identify it and close the gap—deliberately, strategically, and consistently.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Although Rodan + Fields is a well-established, multimillion-dollar brand, the energy within the organization is distinctly entrepreneurial—faster-paced and more agile than many might expect. We’re in the midst of a strategic transformation, which means we’re continuously testing, learning, and evolving. That spirit of innovation is something I find especially energizing.

Keep reading here.—EC

From a law student’s first store in 2006 to powering 12% of US online sales today, Shopify has reshaped the DTC e-commerce landscape. Learn how the pandemic accelerated its growth, how simplicity fueled its success, and what top exec Harley Finkelstein reveals about Shopify’s evolution from startup to industry giant. Dive into the story behind the platform changing retail forever.