Customers Are Sticking With Target

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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A recent Bloomberg poll suggests that most Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) customers are willing to forgive the massive data breach that came to light over this past holiday season, perhaps seeing such incidents as a part of modern life.

The theft of data concerning more than 40 million payment transactions did hurt the company’s reputation, as evidenced by a drop in sales in the fourth quarter, as well as the congressional hearings and a flood of lawsuits. However, the poll taken in early May showed that 85% of customers expect to shop about the same amount at the stores over the next year. Only about 7% planned to reduce spending at Target in that period.

One in two customers said they were confident that Target could keep credit and debit-card information safe going forward, the survey found. Only 15% were “very confident” the retailer could do so.

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The survey also found that the company’s decision to oust CEO Gregg Steinhafel, who held himself personally accountable for the breach, had little effect on whether customers planned to shop at the stores. Some 84% said it made no difference to them.

CFO John Mulligan was named interim CEO on May 5, but Steinhafel will stay on as an adviser until Aug. 23, with the same base salary and benefits he had as CEO. The retailer is known for promoting from within but said it will also conduct an external search for a new chief executive.

Target shares are down 7.7% year to date and closed Monday at $58.29. They have traded in a range of $54.66 and $73.50 in the past year.

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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