Boycotts have occurred forever, but the ongoing implosion of the Bud Light brand is something we have never quite witnessed before. Sales continue to fall, and layoffs have begun to happen. It is a bit of a double-edged sword, no one wants people to lose their jobs, but for maybe the first time, a group of people whose voice is often ignored, conservatives, made their presence, or the lack of it, known like never before. So you might think that more American companies and corporations would take note of the story of Bud Light and plan accordingly. Then again, maybe not.

On Wednesday, Target reported that its quarterly sales fell for the first time in six years by 5.4 percent, and stock prices were expected to be around seven to eight dollars a share, down from a previously expected price of $7.75 to $8.75 a share. The dip in sales and stock prices comes after the discount chain saw major backlash from conservatives protesting the sale of LGBT merchandise, much of it marketed to kids, during pride month in June.

Brian Cornell is the chair and chief executive of Target. He had this to say about the lower-than-expected second-quarter earnings report:

We continue to take a cautious approach to planning our business, and have therefore adjusted our financial guidance in anticipation of continued near-term challenges on the topline. This approach, along with the long-term investments we’re making in our business and strategy, position us to deliver sustainable, profitable growth in the years ahead.

NEW — Target Posts First Quarterly Revenue Miss In Six Years, Citing Inflation and Consumer Boycotts

“Target CEO Brian Cornell pointed to macro pressures including inflation for tempering sales but also ‘negative guest reaction to our pride collection’…The last time Target’s… pic.twitter.com/j7beojNROF

— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) August 16, 2023

In an interview with CNBC, Cornell did admit to "negative guest reaction to our pride collection." Ya' don't say? No one really expects the higher-ups at Target to admit out loud that conservatives were making it known that they would take their business elsewhere if Target continued to cave to the rainbow mob, but they don't seem to have a real grasp on why sales have dropped. John Hulbert is Vice President and head of investor relations. He had a thought on what might have caused the decrease in sales:

Our team continues to face an unacceptable amount of retail theft and organized retail crime. During the first five months of this year, our stores saw a 120% increase in theft incidents involving violence or threats of violence.

Unfortunately for Target, the numbers don't lie. Total second-quarter revenue for the company was 4.9 percent lower than last year. And there are other ways being woke is not working out for Target. The Target Corporation and its board of directors were recently sued by the America First Legal Foundation on behalf of a shareholder. The suit claims that the company's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), as well as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) policies were not in the interests of all shareholders, and only advanced a certain ideological agenda.  

Target is targeting a small percentage of the population with their Woke gender products, and they are surprised that their earnings are in the dumps? pic.twitter.com/xy8sfKik1f

— Dr. Dawn Michael (@DawnsMission) August 16, 2023

Target may want to start paying attention to Bud Light because life has not gotten any easier for that brand, whose troubles began in early April. For the week ending August 5, sales had dropped 26.5 percent, lower than the week-on-week drop of 25.9 percent for the week ending June 17. Anheuser-Busch offered rebates for the July 4 holiday and has continued to offer discounts at retailers since then, but it seems Bud Light's customer base might have spoken. Bud Light also lost its top selling spot and in late July, laid off around 350 mainly corporate employees.

Claims of increased theft at Target may work in places like San Francisco, but again, the numbers tell the tale. The last time Target sales dropped in this fashion was six years ago, when they announced that guests could use the restroom according to the gender they identify with. Target claimed at that time that the drop in sales was not significant enough to report. I am no marketing expert, but isn't it someone's job to look at the ups and downs of sales and notice trends?

Bud Light and now Target may finally be waking conservatives up to the fact that their numbers and their voices have power. But surely, there is another woke company who will take that definition of insanity to heart, do the same thing and expect a different result.

**BREAKING** Target had its first quarterly revenue miss in 6 years...

Turns out people didn't want to buy trans clothes and tuck-friendly bathing suits for kids.

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) August 16, 2023