Target, on the back of a massive data breach, may have suffered another blow — reduced customer traffic over one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
The number of transactions at Target slipped to nearly 4 percent compared with the final weekend before Christmas last year, estimates retail consultancy Customer Growth Partners.
By contrast, transactions at other retailers were strong.
A spokeswoman for Target declined to comment specifically on this weekend’s results, saying the retailer reports sales on a quarterly basis.
Target tried to limit the damage by offering a 10 percent discount to all customers in its US stores over the weekend, and analysts said that effort helped.
“This is the worst possible time something like this could happen,” said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners.
His firm estimates that total US retail sales on Saturday totaled $17 billion, exceeding those on Black Friday by $2 billion.
This article originally appeared on Marketwatch.com.