Recent consumer backlashes against retailers injecting social activism into their product marketing has given credence to the notion of “go woke, go broke”. The phrase provides hope that we are reaching an inflection point where ordinary Americans have had enough of corporate virtue signalling. In times when businesses feel compelled to reflect political messaging in their commercial campaigns, corporate social justice has become the rage. 

Most of us simply want to make purchases without being lectured about issues having nothing to do with the transaction at hand. Fortunately, just as silent majorities make known their will at the ballot box, consumers still have power to buy elsewhere.

Recently-released reports reveal that the second quarter of this year marked a significant downturn for US retail titan Target, as the company experienced a 5 per cent drop in sales, its first decline in six years. This decline was attributed in part to the controversy surrounding its Pride merchandise. The introduction of products designed to support the LGBT+ community, including gender fluid mugs, “queer all year” calendars, and children’s books with titles like “Bye, Bye Binary,” drew criticism and even consumer boycotts. The display of this merchandise incited public fury, revealing the underlying tension between political messages and profit-driven commerce.

The impact of this behaviour on Target’s sales is undeniable. The company’s response was to remove certain products from its extensive Pride collection, supposedly due to concerns about staff safety through confrontations between customers and employees and damage to displays. Brian Cornell, Target’s CEO, acknowledged a clear connection between the controversy and the sales decline, conceding that, “…we’re applying what we’ve learned to ensure we’re staying close to our guests and their expectations of Target.”

The incident is hardly isolated. Bud Light, one of America’s leading beer brands, faced a similar decline in sales after an eye-roll-worthy social media campaign. Its collaboration with transgender TikTok influencer Dylan Mulvaney first sparked the backlash, contributing to a substantial drop in revenues for parent company Anheuser-Busch.

Entertainment giant Disney is also experiencing scathing criticism for injecting a socio-political agenda into its products, polarising fans and would-be patrons of its parks. Disney has made deliberate choices to recast its traditional characters through live-action remakes, with the latest example being the reboot of the classic movie Snow White. The princess had been refashioned as a Latina, while the beloved dwarves were portrayed as a hodgepodge of genders, races, and sizes, purportedly to avoid any stereotypes.  

Such moves earned a lashing in a Wall Street Journal editorial, which noted Disney has “elevated progressive pieties over originality and tradition, which may be alienating its customer base.” Indeed, in its latest quarter, Disney has lost $659 million across its streaming platforms.

Collectively, these incidents highlight a broader sentiment within American society: a growing revulsion towards the intertwining of politics and commerce leading to consumer boycotts.

Woefully, those on the progressive left have had some success in their efforts to radically redefine the purpose of corporations. Their endeavors have shifted away from the traditional focus on serving customers, owners and investors to promoting woke agendas. Until now, everything has been fair game in America’s high street retail venues, from stoking climate change hysteria to attempting to change societal values through disproportionally casting certain races and gender categories in advertising. But with the recent pushback from consumers, it is clear that woke corporations have overplayed their hands.

Historically, Western corporations have played a pivotal role in promoting economic freedom by producing efficient and reasonably-priced goods and services, contributing to global prosperity. The noble outcomes of the traditional capitalist system flow from creating societal benefits by delivering quality products and services at affordable prices. The alternative woke approach has as its objective a wholly nefarious purpose: to transmogrify society according to its dictates and to redistribute wealth accordingly, guided by its values. Freedom at the till is proving a formidable battleground against the heretofore unchallenged aspirations of the corporate elites in Silicon Valley, Orlando and Hollywood. Adam Smith would be proud.