There are few activities more delightful than getting a little wine drunk and hitting up the local Target to go treasure hunting. Sure, you pretend you're there for a legitimate reason to pick up toilet paper or trash bags. But whatever the plan was going in, you wind up with a basket full of random goodies: a bikini for a vacation you're not taking and party favors for a gathering you're not having. A yoga mat! Hot Cheetos! Five packs of gum! At Target, the world is your oyster in terms of stocking up on stuff you absolutely do not need. Even if you're doing Target sober, you wind up drunk on stuff.But lately, that Target trip has been a little less joyful, if you're even going at all. The Minneapolis-based retailer has been going through a rough patch as price-conscious consumers cut down on just-for-funsies buys that fuel Target's sales. And in terms of politics, it seems like Target can't get anything right. For the past two years, it's found itself at the center of America's culture wars, drawing the ire of conservatives and progressives alike. For some consumers, popping into Target (or refusing to) has turned into a political statement, though it's not clear what statement it even makes.Target can't decide what it stands for, ideologically. For many businesses, that's fine, but in Target's case, cultural relevancy is baked into the business model, and it keeps waffling on how it wants to be relevant. What Target stands for economically isn't working right now, either it's operating from a place of weakness. The result: a Target that can't keep a, well, target off its back.If you want to get a sense of how things have been going for Target lately, just take a look at its stock price. Target shares are down by more than 30% over the past year and by over 50% since their 2021 peak. While its most recent quarterly earnings were generally in line with Wall Street's expectations, it hasn't reported strong financial results since the pandemic. The retailer also said sales were off in February because of the weather and "declining consumer confidence," and it has anticipated tariff-related price increases in a matter of days. Things are not working in Target's favor, in part, because it relies on discretionary spending basically, the nonessentials. As people pull back on that kind of spending amid inflation and worries about the economy, that hits Target where it hurts."People expect prices to rise, and that's causing people to spend more conservatively, and that's causing them to think twice about throwing this or that other thing into their cart," said Zak Stambor, a senior retail and e-commerce analyst at EMARKETER. "Target's business relies on people throwing this or that into their cart." (EMARKETER is owned by Axel Springer, the parent company of Business Insider.)Target is struggling to differentiate itself and compete against Walmart, Amazon, and Costco, said Michael Baker, a managing director and senior research analyst at D.A. Davidson. If a consumer's focus is product selection and wowing customers with compelling offers, Costco's the answer (or at least as good as Target). If it's convenience, it's Amazon. If it's price, Walmart wins. "That doesn't mean that Target can't find their niche," Baker said, but the niche it does have wants and not needs is one that doesn't work great in this environment. "With the wind at their back and people spending a lot on discretionary items, we think Target can compete reasonably well, but in a more difficult environment, the increased competition over the past decade or so, I think, makes it that much more difficult for them," he said.Target is a place to find that cool other thing that you didn't expect to throw into your cart.Target is also struggling to catch up in some booming areas that are working for its competitors, like groceries and e-commerce. Both efforts have been undertaken "halfheartedly," said Zhihan Ma, a senior research analyst at Bernstein. Target largely relies on its stores to fulfill online orders, which may be cheaper in terms of the up-front cost to implement, but it's very labor intensive, as associates are expected to deal with in-person shoppers and e-commerce customers in tandem.Beyond the slow-walked investments, one of the key differentiators for Target a relatively enjoyable shopping experience has been undercut in recent years. Target's attempts to fight retail theft mean more merchandise winds up locked up. Like with other retailers, some locations have problems with inventory shortages or crowded aisles. The result is a shopping experience that isn't a bang-up time, which is especially damaging for Target, where a bit of fun is part of the point."The business is what the business is to a large extent," Stambor said. "Target is a place to find that cool other thing that you didn't expect to throw into your cart."While Target has been having a tough time financially over the past couple of years, it may be even worse when it comes to the news. Yes, there are some positive headlines about Stanley's "Wicked"-themed cups and everything it's doing with Taylor Swift. But there are a lot more negative headlines Target would rather not see.One of the ways Target has sought to differentiate itself from competitors is by embracing a rather cosmopolitan identity. It does collaborations and deals with designers, big-name brands, and celebrities. It tries to get higher-end consumers in the door. It's a bit fancy there's a reason people use a little French accent to call it "Tar-jay." That means some of its consumers, particularly those who are more progressive leaning, expect more from it, and in some cases, Target has been happy to oblige."In some ways, they're victims of their own success," Baker said. "Target has come to stand for fashion and fun and it is really a very culturally relevant retailer," he said, which puts it more in the crosshairs than Walmart and Amazon.As recently as 2020, Target was leaning into this identity. The Minneapolis-based retailer had positioned itself as a leader on racial justice in response to George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer in 2020. The moves seemed to go over well until 2023, when it stumbled into a series of culture-war woes. That year, many businesses faced a backlash after a Bud Light marketing campaign featuring the transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney sparked outrage among some consumers in the spring. Heading into the summer, Target's Pride month collection something it's been doing for years became the subject of right-ring focus. Some of the hullabaloo was completely made up, such as false social media reports that Target was selling "tuck-friendly" bathing suits for children. But the dust-up also moved from social media to the real world: Some angry shoppers were actually attacking associates and destroying store displays. Target scaled back its Pride collection, moving items to the back of the store in some locations and pulling some items altogether. It later said the backlash hurt sales.Since then, Target's been stuck in a loop of corporate identity indecision that it seems unable to get out of. The decision to scale back on Pride made no one happy some consumers were already upset about the merchandise's existence in the first place, and others were upset because Target backed down. Target declined to comment for this story, but with regard to its diversity strategy and business outlook, a spokesperson pointed to links to its "Belonging at the Bullseye Strategy" and its fourth-quarter results.Target has taken a similar please-no-one approach when it comes to its diversity, equity, and inclusion policies. In January, the company said it was axing multiple DEI initiatives, including ending its three-year DEI goals, wrapping up a program to invest in Black-owned businesses, and stopping participation in external diversity-focused surveys. Target's DEI efforts and reversals have been met by resistance on several fronts. On the right, the retailer has been hit by a lawsuit brought by the state of Florida, among others, saying investors weren't made aware of the risks of Target's DEI initiatives and potential backlash. On the left, the Atlanta pastor Jamal Bryant has called for a 40-day boycott of Target over its DEI rollback."Any time a company is visible, it's a target for activists who have one agenda or another," said Brayden King, a management professor at Northwestern.At a moment when much of corporate America is anxious about the political environment, Target, in particular, seems to be bearing the brunt of all these swirling emotions. Many people feel powerless when it comes to actual politics, so pouring their frustrations into things they can control where and how they shop turns into an outlet for some sort of action.That kind of seesawing back and forth and saying one thing and doing another, that's what gets brands like Target in trouble.The big issue, however, isn't that Target sold Pride merchandise or undertook DEI initiatives, it's that it so openly waffled on all of it. Again, it's similar to Bud Light: The near-ubiquitous beer brand did a tiny marketing campaign with a transgender influencer, and when that caught fire online among right-wing personalities, the company panicked and backed down instead of keeping calm and staying the course. When a company capitulates to backlash and cowers, it suggests what it initially did was incorrect and ultimately pleases nobody.Wavering draws more attention to the issue. It signifies weakness which, in the case of Target's business, is part of the problem. It also degrades trust with consumers and turns the company into a more obvious target for activists down the line."That kind of seesawing back and forth and saying one thing and doing another, that's what gets brands like Target in trouble," said David Albert, the chief insights officer at Collage Group, a consumer research firm that focuses on multicultural audiences. "We've seen here, especially with Target, is that they've eroded that trust because they're not doing what they say and they don't say what they do."It's not clear how much the political noise will impact Target's bottom line. The 2023 Pride backlash did ding sales, but that was a temporary problem. As a general rule, the vast majority of boycotts don't work. Consumers are set in their ways and often prioritize convenience. If there's a Target down the street or a Walmart 30 minutes away, most people will stick with Target. Also, if you really start to worry about whether each and every business you interact with aligns exactly with your values, you will likely find there is nowhere on Earth you can shop."Boycotts, of course, are very effective tactics for drawing attention to a cause," King said. "It will have this effect of making Target look bad. But do I think that it will affect what Target does? Probably not."Just because boycotts rarely work doesn't mean they never work. Bud Light, for one, really did see a decline in sales. The evidence is mixed on whether February's single-day "economic blackout" was effective, but there are at least some signs it may have moved the needle. Ma, from Bernstein, said it's too early to tell if the DEI-related backlash will hurt Target's long-term financials, but she acknowledged that it may introduce more "volatility" into its shorter-term results if it continues to find itself embroiled in cultural backlashes. "It doesn't help, for sure," she said.In terms of the business basics, Target has plans to get back some of that Tarjay sheen. It's amping up its private-label offering, creating more in-house brands that resonate with consumers and give them a reason to go to Target, specifically, rather than somewhere else. It's seeking out more flashy collaborations and partnerships, like with Warby Parker. It's scaling Target Plus, its third-party marketplace. It's still hoping consumers will do a spin around the store for those glorious little splurge buys on top of the basics.Still, in the retail landscape, Target isn't in a highly enviable position. Between price-sensitive consumers and tariff whiplash, the macroeconomic landscape is not stacked in its favor. And its soft business outlook means that in terms of the culture war, it's operating from a place of weakness, which raises the chances of making a misstep. Instead of companies worrying they're going to be the next Bud Light, they're likely starting to worry they'll be the next Target.Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.