Equity, inclusion everywhere ... but not for seniors

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Earlier this month, a front-page article described how Target has devoted billions of dollars to addressing racial equity since George Floyd was killed two years ago.

From reading that article, it would be easy to assume that Target really cares about equity and inclusion and not leaving anyone behind. But from what I keep seeing and experiencing, it appears that Target no longer cares about seniors or others who are being left behind by the digital divide.

I used to love ripping into the Target sales circular every Sunday morning. I loved it so much that when I spent two years in Japan, friends would wrap gifts for me in the Target circular. Like many things formerly provided in print, it has gone digital. If you don't have a computer, tablet or smartphone, you are out of luck.

For many years, my sister and I eagerly bought up Target gift cards when they were sold around the holidays at a discounted price. Now, you must have the Circle app on your phone. That assumes two things: 1) that everyone they are interested in reaching has a smartphone and 2) that those smartphones are expensive enough to provide enough storage for an app for every store you walk into.

It's not just Target, of course. Menards has recently removed prices on their outside pavers and edgers. Instead, signs invite you to scan the code. I have a smartphone but had to ask a sales assistant for help. He couldn't get it to work either.

My phone does NOT have enough storage to upload an app for every store I enter!

In 2021, Pew Research documented how many older and low-income Americans don't possess the technology many take for granted. They found that 39% of those 65 and older don't own a smartphone and 25% don't use the internet. Among low-income households (below $30,000 a year), 24% of adults don't have a smartphone, 43% don't have home broadband service and 41% don't have a desktop or laptop computer.

While it is properly unacceptable today to display racism, ageism is alive and well in America. A couple of years ago, I expressed frustration on Target's Facebook page that it no longer published the Sunday sales circular and also that I had to have the Target Circle app in order to get those gift cards on sale.

The responses I got from other customers were rude and dismissive. "Yes, I'm disappointed that the ice delivery man never comes around anymore." "Hey boomer. The world is changing. If you can navigate Facebook you can download and use the app."

Yes, I do live online … emails, social media, googling, etc. But I know many seniors who don't. Also, there are people with income and/or physical limitations that prevent them from using technology.

Target might also want to consider that some of the people they are leaving behind are in the Black community they claim to care so much about. Digital coupons and digital loyalty programs exacerbate the well-documented digital divide. And those left behind often need the savings the most.

I've heard some younger folks sneer that it's time for seniors to get with it and learn how to use technology. But it isn't always just about learning how to use it. It is also about being able to afford the devices and access to the internet.

A little over a year ago, I was in a great deal of pain and in need of hip replacement surgery. I was using those electric carts in the store and struggled to get around. Oddly enough, Target was the best store when it came to helping me get to my car after checking out at the register. Some stores just said, "Have a nice day." So I know they can care. So why don't they care about seniors?

Pamela J. Pommer lives in Bloomington.