On the Call: Target's CEO Gregg Steinhafel

NEW YORK (AP) -- Target Corp. said Wednesday that its first-quarter net income fell 29 percent as cool weather and economic pressures chilled shoppers' appetite for spending.

Revenue at stores open at least a year slipped 0.6 percent as the number of transactions fell 1.9 percent. That's considered an important measure of retail performance because it strips out the effect of stores that have recently opened or closed.

Gregg Steinhafel, Target's chairman, CEO and president, discussed the quarterly results with analysts.

Question: What were the trends in the quarter?

Answer: "In much of the U.S., traffic in our seasonal categories was unexpectedly soft as guests held off purchasing spring items in the face of cold and wet weather. Our merchandising teams did a great job reacting to the pace of sales in these categories, retiming receipts and adjusting them downward so we are still in a healthy inventory position today. Despite the weather impact on seasonal categories, sales and traffic in our digital channels continued to grow at a robust pace. Overall, first-quarter digital sales grew in the high teens and increased more than 20 percent net of our most seasonally sensitive categories."