In an effort to offset inflation and declining retail sales, Target is slashing prices on some of its most popular items.

This week, the chain announced it will cut prices on 5,000 popular items across a range of categories – 1,500 items will see immediate price reductions, while another 3,500 items are set to be at lower prices until the end of the summer .

“We know consumers are feeling pressured to make the most of their budget, and Target is here to help them save more,” said Rick Gomez, EVP and head of food, essentials and beauty at Target. in a release. “These new lower prices on thousands of items will add up to great additional savings.”

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Price cuts will affect popular food finds from sports drinks to bagels and include toiletries and housewares from popular brands, including Clorox and Huggies.

Target-owned in-house brands Good & Gather and Everspring will also see discounts on key items.

The decision to cut prices comes ahead of Target's Q1 2024 earnings call, expected to happens on Wednesdays at 10am EST.

The aim reported a stronger-than-expected fiscal 2023 and Q4 2023, thanks to “efficiency efforts” that saved the company more than $500 million year-over-year, a big focus of which was doubling retail theft.

However, even as profits were up, overall retail sales fell 1.7% in 2023 for the first time since 2016.

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“Our team's efforts changed the momentum of our business, further improving our sales and traffic trends in the fourth quarter, driving profitability well ahead of expectations,” Brian Cornell, Target's chairman and CEO, said in an earnings release. in that time. “Looking forward, we will continue to invest in the strengths and differentiators that have delivered strong financial performance over time.”

The aim it was upstairs up 2.2% year over year as of Tuesday afternoon.