Why American shoppers are picking Costco and Walmart over Goal

Retailer Goal is under pressure on multiple fronts: it’s facing pushback after rolling back its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; it’s fighting off stiffer competition from nimble competitors like Amazon; and the corporate has higher exposure to a decline in consumer spending amid inflation and tariff volatility than rivals like Walmart and Costco.

Goal’s decision to reduce key DEI programs sparked nationwide boycotts and a decline in foot traffic for 11 straight weeks between January 27 and April 13, in accordance with Placer.ai.  

Yet the corporate’s challenges go further than tariffs and politics. Experts say lots of its issues are self-inflicted. Excess inventory, a shortfall of staff and locked up inventory have all contributed to flat revenue and a tumbling share price.

“Goal has had several missteps for the reason that peak of Covid where their inventory position was too high,” said Joe Feldman, senior managing director at Telsey Advisory Group. “That they had to discount heavily to clear through lots of the inventory. Things were beginning to get back heading in the right direction. Then they get hit with DEI,” he said, referring to the boycotts.

While Goal’s customers have been spending relatively the identical amount per quarter in 2025 as they were in 2021, they’ve increased their purchases at competitors Walmart and Costco, in accordance with data from Indagari.  

Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData, said operational decisions like locking up products, an absence of latest and fresh partnerships with brands and designers, and staff shortages have led Goal to cede market share. Between 2021 and 2024, Goal lost 0.18% of market share, while Amazon, Costco and Walmart gained 0.07%, 0.15% and 0.75% respectively, in accordance with GlobalData.  

“There’s still lots of affection for Goal,” Saunders said. “But consumers are definitely spreading their spending around more thinly. They’re definitely diverting a few of that spending from Goal to other retailers.”

Goal declined CNBC Digital’s request for an interview but said in a press release that the corporate “entered 2024 with a commitment to remain nimble and generate profitable growth,” but that “those results got here with an unexpectedly high level of variability all year long.” It added, “by controlling what we are able to control, listening closely to consumers and staying focused on what differentiates Goal, we’re confident we are able to proceed to create value for our stakeholders,”

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