Target introduces the genderless toy aisle

Retailers know the power of social media in influencing customer attitudes, but how many of them change their merchandising strategy seemingly based on one tweet?

That's just what Target did over the weekend, when the retailer said it will no longer beusing gender-based signage in some departments. Target's decision comes afteran Ohio mom's June tweet went viral: She called out Target for separating “building sets” and “girls’ building sets,” adding that separating products for girls and boys is unnecessary and maybe even harmful.

“We never want guests or their families to feel frustrated or limited by the way things are presented,” Target’s press release said. “Over the past year, guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer product suggestions based on gender. In some cases, like apparel, where there are fit and sizing differences, it makes sense. In others, it may not.”

Social media may still only drive a small share of total online retail sales, but its impact is becoming impossible to ignore. Social-driven retail sales and referral traffic are rising at a faster pace than all other online channels.

The top 500 retailers earned $3.3 billion from social shopping in 2014, up 26% from 2013, according to Business Insider. That is well ahead of the roughly 16% growth rate for the overall e-commerce market in the US.

At Target, the toy section will get the biggest makeover. Along with grouping all toys together, the aisles will no longer have colored backdrops to indicate gender, such as pink and yellow for girls or blue and green for boys.

It's clear that Target may be caving in to political correctness. What is unclear is whether the policy change will deter shoppers who may have appreciated the convenience of being able to quickly locate items based on gender.

"We heard you, and we agree. Right now, our teams are working across the store to identify areas where we can phase out gender-based signage to help strike a better balance,"Target’s press release said. "For example, in the kids’ Bedding area, signs will no longer feature suggestions for boys or girls, just kids. In the Toys aisles, we’ll also remove reference to gender, including the use of pink, blue, yellow or green paper on the back walls of our shelves. You’ll see these changes start to happen over the next few months."

In this blog post, the Ohio mom talks about her experience with the Target tweet.