NEW YORK (AP) – With Pride Month In full gear, American shoppers can find the usual merchandise that many stores are stocking for the June celebration. LGBTQ+ culture and rights. But analysts and advocates say the marketing is toned down compared to previous years and at some chains there is no trace of pride.
The calmer atmosphere highlights the difficulty many retailers have in meeting the needs of different customer groups in an era of extreme cultural divisions. This year’s Pride Month takes place amid a sea of legislation and litigation regarding LGBTQ+ rights, particularly the ability of transgender youth participate in sports or receive gender affirming care.
In this context, Target has reduced the number of its stores offering pride-themed products this year after facing backlash in 2023. Nike, which like Bud Light, faced calls for a boycott last year in because of its marketing partnership with a transgender influencer, also pulled out after offering Pride collections since 1999. The sports brand said it would not have one this year; instead he said he was focused on programming and continued support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Some brands and influencers who work with the community report a notable drop within the framework of partnerships with companies. Rob Smith, founder and chief executive of The Phluid Project, a gender-neutral clothing brand, cited a 25% drop compared to last June in the number of stores carrying his collection.
“I guess they just decided this year, especially around election time, with what’s going on, to just play it safe,” Smith said. He declined to reveal the names of his former private clients.
But he and other advocates see a glimmer of hope. They believe this low-key landscape partly reflects some companies’ desire to move beyond month-long expressions of support toward more enduring acts of allyship, such as regularly showcasing community-owned brands and designs LGBTQ+.
Here’s what you need to know about the world of retail and Pride Month:
What is the history of Pride merchandising?
Many major retailers, including Levi’s, Old Navy and Urban Outfitters have been offering Pride collections for years. Some brands limited their storefronts to areas with large numbers of LGBTQ+ residents or visitors and expanded them to more locations as LGBTQ+ rights advanced.
Many more brands eventually took action, especially after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriages in 2015. But as Pride became more commercialized, some advocates questioned the hypestating that supporting the LGBTQ+ community should not be a seasonal marketing opportunity.
What happened with Target?
Target launched an annual collection of rainbow-branded fashion and accessories starting in 2015. This sparked occasional opposition, but the reaction became “volatile” before last year’s pride monththe company said.
Customers at a handful of stores confronted employees and toppled Pride displays, threatening workers’ sense of safety, Target said. The discounter responded last year by removing certain items and moving certain displays.
Target declined to disclose how many of its stores are not carrying Pride products this year; stocked locations accounted for 90% of Pride’s 2022 and 2023 sales, it says. Pride items are also available on Target’s website.
Meredith Browand, 47, who lives outside Seattle, was disappointed when she saw no Pride displays at her local Target. Browand, who considers herself an LGBTQ+ ally, said Target is where she always buys matching outfits for herself and her 5-year-old daughter.
“I’m disappointed there’s nothing for us,” she said. “But what’s even more disappointing is that this isn’t visible to the broader community.”
Where are Pride products available this year?
Many retailers contacted by The Associated Press said they have not changed their approach to commemorating Pride Month.
Macy’s said its namesake department stores, upscale beauty stores Bloomingdale’s and Bluemercury each feature products from LGTBQ+-owned, founded and designed brands in select stores and online.
Walmart has an assortment of LGBTQ+ brands and designers available online and in select stores nationwide. Adidas, Converse and Levi Strauss & Co., who have presented Pride Month collections for many years, have done it again.
Teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters plans to offer a year-round Pride collection to “promote acceptance and equality,” said Jennifer Foyle, president and executive creative director of American Eagle and Aerie, which sells women’s clothing.
What are the signs of a decline in pride?
Marketing experts and LGBTQ+ rights advocates say that overall, brands aren’t promoting their Pride Month products on social media as much as in previous years.
“It doesn’t remove support.” said Barbara Kahn, professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. “But they’re dimming the spotlight.”
It’s possible that this change reflects a natural progression, Kahn said. If lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people are considered part of the norm, there’s no point in making a big statement, she said.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community who previously obtained Pride month-related work cite a marked shift in demand for their services. Not everyone interprets the decline as positive.
Alysse Dalessandro, a plus-size fashion and travel blogger and LGBTQ+ content creator who posts under the handle @readytostare, said 35 clients have hired her as a model for their 2022 Pride Month social media campaigns. That number dropped to nine last year and five so far this year, the Cleveland, Ohio, resident said.
“The hardest thing for me as a creator is that I can’t change my identity. This is who I am,” Dalessandro said. “How I make money also depends on who I am and who I love.”
GLSEN, a nonprofit advocacy and education group that works to improve the academic lives of LGBTQ+ students, also helps businesses develop campaigns for Pride Month. The group began seeing a decline in revenue from these activities last year and has seen a larger decline this year, according to Paul Irwin-Dudek, GLSEN’s deputy executive director for development.
He declined to give further details. Irwin-Dudek said some companies have backed off, but many others have doubled down on their commitment to LGBTQ+ rights.
Meanwhile, GLSEN National Student Council members who provided feedback to fashion brand Hollister called for fewer prominent rainbows and more messages of love, acceptance and of individuality. The result: “Unapologetically You,” a summer campaign launching this month.
How do retailers recognize other heritage months?
Experts say special merchandising and marketing campaigns held during other months to honor specific groups, including racial minorities and women, are also fading.
Target CEO Brian Cornell told reporters last year that the company had learned from the reaction of pride and planned to be more thoughtful in how he approached every heritage month.
Smith, of The Phluid Project, said his own brand was moving away from rainbows and moving toward a year-round fashion collection.
Swedish discount retailer H&M sold a Pride collection in 2018 and 2019, but stopped doing so because it “chose not to market Pride or other cultural months,” Donna Dozier Gordan said. head of inclusion and diversity at H&M Americas.
The company is now working to reaffirm its dedication to the LGBTQ+ community in other ways, including taking significant part in Pride marches around the world. He said he would continue to donate and promote partnerships with groups like The Trevor Project, a US non-profit organization that focuses on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth.