(Reuters) – Target revised its prospects for annual sales on Wednesday after posting a sharp drop in its quarterly sales at comparable stores, the group citing the weakening of consumer confidence and the impact of American trade policies.

The title was down 2% in the trade-offs.

The American retail giant declared to anticipate a drop from 1% to 4% (“Low Single Digits”) of its annual sales, a surprise for analysts who expected an increase of 0.27%, according to LSEG data.

Target previously planned net growth of approximately 1%.

Several American companies have suspended or lowered their forecasts recently, citing the Trump administration’s commercial strategy which has shaken the world markets.

These forecasts constantly contrast with those of Walmart, its competitor, which maintained its annual objectives last week but decided to increase its prices in the face of customs duties.

Asked at a press conference on a possible price increase, Target managers did not say if this was envisaged, just indicating that they were adjusted permanently.

In the first quarter, Target reported a fall of 3.8% of its comparable sales while analysts were tabling on a 1.08% drop.

The group’s results illustrate the pressure from American consumers, while consumer morale has collapsed in May and inflation forecasts to one year have increased.

Target comes out of a year when the regular growth of its sales has been disrupted, the group having experienced stock management problems and, more recently, has been confronted with boycotts and legal proceedings linked to its practices in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion.

Target provides an adjusted annual profit between $ 7.00 and $ 9.00 (between 6.18 and 7.94 euros) per share, against a previous forecast of 8.80 to 9.80 dollars. Analysts awaited $ 8.40.

(Written by Siddharth Cavale in New York and Ananya Mariam Rajesh in Bangalore, Etienne Breban, edited by Augustin Turpin)

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