Last week, there was a call for a one-day economic boycott on Feb. 28. Now, the organizer of a grassroots boycott aimed at corporate greed has bigger plans, with the People’s Union USA calling for a boycott of mega-online retailer Amazon for an entire week. The suggested boycott starts today, March 7. But will Amazon feel it?
The weeklong avoidance of Amazon is “not just a boycott,” but rather a “calculated strike,” People’s Union USA founder John Schwarz wrote in a March 4 Instagram post.
“Any type of drop in sales would be a success to us,” Schwarz told CNET in an email.
He called out Amazon’s impact on small businesses, treatment of workers and record profits. “This blackout is another massive message,” he posted on Instagram.
The first major message from People’s Union USA came on Feb. 28 with a 24-hour economic boycott aimed widely at big corporations. Schwarz encouraged followers to shop at small businesses instead. News of the effort spread over social media with celebrities such as John Leguizamo, Bette Midler and Mark Ruffalo throwing their support behind the movement.
The group doesn’t claim any political affiliation.
“We are not a political party. We are not a protest,” the People’s Union USA wrote on its website. “We are a movement of people, organizing to take back control of our economy, government and future of our country.”
What an Amazon boycott could look like
The boycott also calls for avoiding Amazon-owned Whole Foods.
Schwarz’s vision for the next boycott means more than cutting out toilet paper deliveries or impulse kitchen gadget purchases from Amazon’s main website. He wants consumers to avoid Prime Video, Whole Foods, Zappos, Twitch, Alexa, Audible, Ring and IMDb, all of which are owned by Amazon or a subsidiary. Amazon’s tendrils run deep. It even has creative control over 007 superspy James Bond through its ownership of MGM Studios.
For someone tied into Amazon’s ecosystem, this would mean unplugging Alexa devices, turning off Ring cameras and holding off on the third-season premiere of Wheel of Time. The fantasy series returns March 13.
Will Amazon feel the boycott?
The Amazon boycott has a David and Goliath feel to it. The retail and entertainment juggernaut reported net sales of $638 billion in 2024. That was an 11% increase over 2023.
Schwarz has 366,000 followers on Instagram and 341,000 followers on TikTok — his main social media vehicles for getting the word out. Meanwhile, Amazon has hundreds of millions of customers worldwide.
Momentum Commerce, a digital marketplace consulting and data services company, tracked hourly sales data from its client base during the Feb. 28 boycott. The company compared that data to average sales from the prior eight Fridays. Momentum’s analysis showed Amazon sales were up 1% versus the average during the boycott.
“I’d say the minimal impact on Amazon sales during the one-day boycott isn’t necessarily surprising,” lead researcher Andrew Waber told CNET. Waber points out how Amazon exceeds $1 billion in sales every day. “This size makes the retailer naturally resilient, particularly when it comes to short-term disruptions.”
Momentum Commerce will track sales data during the weeklong boycott to see if trends from the one-day event play out over the longer period.
General Mills, Nestle, Target, Walmart boycotts
The Amazon boycott is just the beginning of a series of boycotts. The People’s Union USA laid out a schedule for future boycotts, including:
- Nestle (which owns brands including Carnation and Gerber) from March 21-28.
- Walmart from April 7-13.
- Another wide-ranging economic boycott for the weekend of April 18.
- General Mills (known for Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury) from April 21-27.
Those companies aren’t the only subjects of boycott efforts. Atlanta, Georgia, pastor and activist Jamal Bryant is promoting a 40-day Target “fast” starting this week to protest the retailer’s move away from diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Boycotts are a way for consumers to call attention to concerns and find ways to align their spending with their political, economic and social goals. It may not hurt the bottom line of a company such as Amazon but the economic boycotts are certainly generating social-media-fueled discussions. If nothing else, it asks consumers to consider where they want their money to go.
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