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Black shoppers’ spending habits have changed at retailers no longer upholding DEI. Amazon, Walmart, and Target have scaled back their DEI commitments, leading some shoppers to take their dollars elsewhere. This also prompted several boycotts, including one on Feb. 28 by The People’s Union USA, which held a 24-hour boycott of major retailers and chains, refraining from both in-person and online purchases, notes PBS. According to Retail Brew, Black shoppers spent under $1 billion on Feb. 28, leading to a $220 million decline. A drop of this magnitude had not been seen within the past year. The outlet also notes that Black shoppers contributed to an 18.7% decline in sales and a 17.6% decline in trips particularly to Amazon, Walmart, and Target, and they are leading the way in the “economic blackout.” Furthermore, for Target particularly it has experienced a great blowback, with 10 straight weeks of its foot traffic in decline across all demographics. CBS News reports it has lost over...
Ross Dress for Less has long been a dominant player in the low-price retail space. It offers a broad selection of products at compelling discounts. Its value proposition, driven by significant cost savings, has made it a popular choice among budget-conscious consumers, particularly within Black communities. Over time, Ross has solidified its position as a go-to destination for those seeking both variety and affordability. However, as the retail landscape evolves, questions are emerging regarding the company’s stance on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) , particularly in light of recent regulatory changes. The new Trump administration’s ban on DEI initiatives has triggered a wave of corporate reassessments . Many businesses are either willfully or forcefully publicly stating their position on DEI policies. As a result, consumers are increasingly scrutinizing the values of the brands they support. This shift in consumer behavior signals that buying decisions are no longer solely...
UI and web designer Dacia Petrie is behind an app that makes it easier for shoppers to buy from Black-owned businesses. Black shoppers are looking for more ways to support some of their favorite brands beyond major retail. This comes after several companies, including Walmart and Target, announced plans to roll back their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) commitments. In fact, entrepreneur and graphic designer Danielle Coke Balfour pulled her products from Target shelves and directed buyers to her online storefront, as AFROTECH™ previously reported. “All products pictured are retired at this time except the Good Work Journal. My licensing agreement was with a vendor, not Target directly. Target has described their changes as ‘concluding’ specific DEI initiatives, which I’ve expressed my personal disappointment with. I stand by my message about the importance of supporting Black-owned brands and businesses,” Balfour wrote on Instagram. In a follow-up video, Balfour reveals that...
A recent TikTok video had users in a frenzy over one customer’s tedious Instacart demand. According to a screenshot posted by TikTok user Violetta Le’Mone (@_instaqueen_), one Instacart customer posted a series of commands to be followed by a shopper. The screenshot listed requirements such as a mandatory image of cooling bags prior to shopping, banning the shopper from batching the order, and live updates by the shopper throughout the grocery spree. “Please send me a photo of your insulated cooling bags in your shopping cart IMMEDIATELY before shopping otherwise I will call Instacart promptly and cancel this order to reschedule with a different shopper. If you don’t have the insulated cooling bags or enough of them to keep my food items temperature-controlled, or you do not have the insulated cooling bags, but only plan on using them during delivery then DON’T PICK UP MY ORDER,” the note read. Violetta Le’Mone added she did not pick up this order. Since the video’s initial posting...
A sponsored picture is worth a million dollars. Just ask Beyoncé, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and professional footballer, Neymar. According to Hopper’s annual Instagram Rich Lists , Johnson has officially dethroned former billionaire Kylie Jenner as the highest-paid celebrity on Instagram, says ELLE Australia . With each post the Hollywood A-lister and wrestling icon rakes in a cool $1,015,000 while Jenner pockets just under the seven figures. “Following the unceremonious stripping of her billionaire status by Forbes , Kylie Jenner has been dethroned after two years on top,” Hopper HQ wrote in a blog post. To round out the list, whose results are calculated based on internal data, agency rate cards, and public information, Beyoncé ranks No. 7 with $770,000 per post. Though Neymar comes in at the bottom of the top 10, he takes home $704,000 every time he shows his roughly 139,000 followers his abs. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dwayne Johnson (@therock) View this post...
Shopping on Instagram just got a lot easier. The app has added a new checkout feature. Users can now buy from their favorite store directly through the app. H&M, ColourPop Cosmetics, Nike and other brands are already using the feature to cash in on customers. Merchants will have to pay a fee to sell their items through the app, which make it another benefit for Instagram’s business offerings. Users can store their PayPal, Mastercard and Visa payment information within the app. The newest feature comes almost a week after Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp crashed following a “ server configuration change.” Some users who run their businesses solely through Instagram ran to Twitter to complain about how the crash negatively impacted their engagement and sales numbers for the day. “Once your first order is complete, your information will be securely saved for convenience the next time you shop,” Instagram said on its blog. “You’ll also receive notifications about shipment and delivery...
As some corporations move to align with President Donald Trump ‘s agenda, manufacturing giant Caterpillar Inc. stands firm on its diversity, equity, and inclusion ( DEI ) commitments. According to Manufacturing Digital, at the company’s recent shareholder meeting, investors rejected a proposal aimed at dismantling Caterpillar’s DEI programs . The motion — Proposal 6 — received 3% of shareholder support, with 97% voting against it. The proposal was introduced by the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR) through its Free Enterprise Project (FEP). It called on Caterpillar to abolish its DEI department, policies, and related goals. FEP Associate Bennett Nuss presented the motion and referenced what he described as the company’s prior “significant revisions” to its corporate sustainability programs in September 2024 — noting his approval of actions it appeared to take in reducing its diversity efforts. “I’d like to thank the Board for this, as it shows that they are...
NBA superstar Stephen Curry is experiencing considerable success with his business venture, Thirty Ink, which generated $173.5 million in revenue in 2024, according to CNBC. Thirty Ink is a brand conglomerate that encompasses Unanimous Media, Gentleman’s Cut bourbon, and Underrated Golf and Basketball, the outlet reported. A majority of the company’s revenue stems from Curry’s Under Armour partnership. As previously reported by AFROTECH™ , he has been signed to Under Armour since 2013, with the retailer establishing The Curry Brand in 2020. The Golden State Warriors point guard, who is also an 11-time NBA All-Star, serves as the president of The Curry Brand and was awarded 8.8 million Under Armour common shares in 2023, valued at $75 million at the time, which also included awards and incentives, CNBC reported. Now as Curry’s Thirty Ink portfolio continues to grow every business is making a profit. “It’s completely unique,” Suresh Singh, Thirty Ink’s secretary-chairman, told the...
Klarna’s plans to go public may need to be on standby. The Sweden-based fintech company has reportedly had a loss of $99 million in Q1 2025, according to Tip Ranks. In comparison, it saw a loss of $47 million in Q1 2024. There are several reasons for this decline. For one, customer credit losses increased by 17%, totaling $136 million, according to its Q1 report. However a spokesperson told The Tab this statistic was to be expected. “Bear in mind that we made 13% more loans than a year ago so, all else being equal, you’d expect credit losses to increase by at least 13%,” the spokesperson mentioned. Klarna And Artificial Intelligence While Klarna replaced human roles with artificial intelligence (AI), as AFROTECH™ previously reported, this decision was driven by a desire to increase operational efficiency and reduce overhead. As a result, 700 customer service representatives were replaced with tools that leveraged OpenAI. Tip Ranks notes that this move did help the company meet its...
Fans of the 1995 film “Clueless” are likely to fall in love with Google’s artificial intelligence (AI)-powered shopping experience, which is rooted in fresh, accurate data and a passion for fashion. Google I/O 2025 Launched on May 20 at Google I/O 2025 in Silicon Valley, CA, AI Mode combines Gemini capabilities with Google’s Shopping Graph to help customers browse for inspiration, consider options, and narrow down products, according to a news release. The Shopping Graph features over 50 billion constantly updated listings from global retailers and local shops, complete with reviews, prices, color options, and availability. “We’re using AI to help people shop in ways that once seemed impossible,” Lilian Rincon, vice president of consumer shopping product at Google, told AFROTECH™ via email. “Whether you’re trying on millions of items of clothing with our try-on tech, finding exactly what you need in AI Mode, or using agentic checkout to jump on a great price.” A new, experimental...
Jackson Aimiuwu was 19 years old when he first got his hands on a computer, and now he is paving the way at a major technology company. Aimiuwu attended the University of Calgary and earned a Bachelor of Science in computer science. His first year was the most challenging due to not having a computer, but it solidified his interest in the field. He also credits his cousin, who studied computer science and was able to bridge tech and business in his career. Aimiuwu is now doing the same through his role at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Prior to this, his career trajectory included a role at EMC’s (now part of Dell) headquarters in Toronto, Canada, as a senior solutions architect and team lead (pre-sales), which gave him the opportunity to manage a team at Canadian Tire — the second-largest retailer in the country — from 2016 to 2019. He provided support to the company’s chief technology officer and helped build its first private cloud. “They were trying to really change how they went to...
A Black Wall Street is establishing itself in Augusta, GA. According to WJBF Channel 6, an eight-step plan focused on Black entrepreneurship, proposed by Lawrence Freeman Jr. and Thelonious Jones, aims to create a business district encompassing Walton Way, Laney Walker, Broad Street, East Boundary, and other areas. The goal is to promote economic growth and help entrepreneurs generate wealth, with a district modeled after the original Black Wall Street in Tulsa, OK. The project is inspired by Viola Fletcher, “Mother Fletcher,” the oldest living survivor of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 2021, which saw more than 300 lives lost and the whole of Black Wall Street businesses destroyed, according to the Tulsa Library. Fletcher was 7 at the time and turned 110 in May 2024, notes People. She is still fighting to rewrite the wrongs of the massacre that left her family in poverty, per Justice For Greenwood. Fletcher lived in the Greenwood District, a predominantly Black neighborhood with...
A lawsuit has been filed against the University of Alabama for offering race-based scholarships. According to WDHN, the Equal Protection Project, a national organization focused on “fair treatment of all persons without regard to race or ethnicity,” filed a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) in regards to the school’s Norton-Textra Endowed Scholarship for minority students in English writing, which is awarded to African-American students enrolled full-time. The school received a letter on Feb. 14, 2025, from the Office for Civil Rights Acting Assistant Secretary Craig Trainor that stated higher learning institutions “have discriminated against students on the basis of race, including white and Asian students.” The office issued a call to action to end race-based preferences and stereotypes. “Proponents of these discriminatory practices have attempted to further justify them — particularly during the last four years — under the banner of...
If you’ve been plugged-in to the political side of the business world lately, you may have noticed a fundamental shift in how corporate culture is responding to DEI measures . DEI, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, has been the industry standard blanket term for the last several years regarding certain hiring practices, employee training routines and more. Major companies such as Target, Costco and Apple have utilized specific language upholding DEI in their company guidelines at one point or another, amid a national push to support BIPOC employees , those with disabilities and members of all other marginalized communities. Of course, when Donald Trump regained control of the White House in January, he issued a day-one decree that all companies must remove DEI protections from their charters, sparking a wave of discussion about government overreach and the future of diversity in the workplace. Some, such as Target, Walmart and Harley Davidson, were quick to discard...