Target’s sales and profits surged in the first quarter as its customers, emerging from the pandemic, returned in big numbers to its stores for dresses, cosmetics and luggage.
Sales at stores opened at least a year jumped 18 percent in the three-month period that ended May 1. That follows a 6.9 percent increase in the previous quarter. Online sales soared 50 percent after rocketing 118 percent higher in the final quarter of 2020.
The Minneapolis chain also offered an upbeat sales outlook Wednesday and shares jumped to an all-time high.
“With vaccinations rolling out across the country and consumers increasingly comfortable venturing out, we’ve seen an enthusiastic return to in-store shopping,” CEO Brian Cornell told industry analysts Wednesday. That’s a big contrast to a year ago when shut-in shoppers relied heavily on delivery, he said.
Almost all retailers reporting quarterly earns this week have put up enormous sales figures, evidence of a migration from time spent shuttered indoors to something closer to normalcy.
Walmart, the nation’s largest retailer, boosted its profit expectations for the year Tuesday, while Macy’s surprised almost everyone by swinging back into the profit column. It also boosted its 2021 guidance. TJX on Wednesday said that it
