Target released its earnings for the June quarter earlier today, and while earnings came in a bit higher than anticipated, the company notably lowered its overall guidance for the full year. Additionally, year over year revenue fell by 7.2%. What’s particularly interesting about Target’s earnings is that sales of electronics experienced a double-digit decline year over year. All the more interesting is that Target attributes this drop-off to a surprising and marked decline in sales of Apple products.
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Specifically, Target said that sales of Apple products fell by more than 20% compared to the same quarter a year-ago. What’s more, Target CEO Brian Cornell added that declining sales could be seen across the entirety of Apple’s product line, which is to say that consumers weren’t flocking to Target to purchase iPhones, MacBooks or any other products for that matter.
“Our guests come to us looking for those products,” Cornell said during an earnings conference call. “They’re looking for the newness and the innovation. We’re putting together plans with Apple and our merchandising teams to make sure we’re ready to take advantage of that in the back half of the year.”
Of course, it’s not as if a sales drop-off is unique to Target. Apple this year famously experienced its first annual decline in iPhone sales in history. On top of that, iPad sales have been trending downward for quite a few years now.
It’s also worth pointing out that foot traffic at Target stores declined by about 2.2% year over year, perhaps adding another layer to lower than anticipated sales of electronic devices in general and Apple products in particular.
