What to know about the no-shopping ‘economic blackout' on Feb. 28
A social media campaign has sparked plans for an 'economic blackout' on Friday, one of several boycotts planned by activists intent on sending a message to large corporations at a time when many Americans are struggling to keep up with costs.
The initiative calls on consumers to suspend all spending, both online and in-person, for one day. Its organizer, The People's Union USA, bills itself as a nonpartisan, grass-roots movement dedicated to economic resistance.
Here's what you need to know about the economic blackout.
John Schwarz is the founder of the Peoples Union USA and lives in the Chicago area.
The 57-year-year-old meditation teacher said he came up with the idea for a boycott as he was searching for a way to take action in response to the tumultuous start of the Trump administration, which has moved aggressively to shrink the federal government.
'They're dismantling so many things in this country,' said Schwarz, 57. 'If people are going to step in and make a change that benefit the people, it's now.'
His posts on Instagram and TikTok — under the handle TheOneCalledJai — quickly went viral. In the span of a few weeks, he has accumulated 255,000 new Instagram followers and more than 100,000 new TikTok followers. The feedback from followers has been 'overwhelming,' he said, from thousands of comments to a GoFundMe that has raised more than $65,000.
'We're all exhausted. We're all tired. Enough is enough,' Schwarz said. 'We can't sit back and watch these people boast about their wealth … and then we're all sitting at home in anxiety and fear, not knowing how we're going to make it 'till the end of the month.'
The initiative is a way for consumers to flex their economic power, Schwarz said, by not spending any money for 24 hours starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday.
The point is not to affect the stock market, he told The Washington Post, but to get 'corporations to at least pause and stop and notice.'
The effort comes at a time when many consumers are feeling uneasy about the economy. Consumer sentiment fell in February, according to the Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, amid fears that new tariffs could worsen inflation. Americans now expect prices to rise another 4.3 percent in the coming year, a full percentage point higher than they did in January. That is more than double the Federal Reserve's 2 percent inflation goal and higher than January's 3 percent reading.
'We are the economy. We are the workforce,' Schwarz said. 'They benefit only because we get up every day and do what we do. If we stop, they have nothing, and it's time for them to accept that truth.'
Don't spend any money on Friday, the group's website says. That includes no shopping online, ordering from restaurant chains or filling up at the gas station.
If you do need to buy something, shop local. And if you can, take the day off from work.
'This is about solidarity and sending a clear message: We have the power,' according to the website.
It's unclear how impactful such movements can be on a company's bottom line. Though there is precedent: For example, Target saw sales tumble in 2023 after its Pride Month collection got caught in the crossfire of the culture wars.
Americus Reed, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, noted that protesting movements and collective organizing 'takes time,' especially as consumers deal with 'the normal pressures of life.'
It's also difficult to parse which online campaigns simply amount to virtue signaling — or 'moral peacocking' — or actually motivate consumers to commit, he said.
'The ultimate test is: Are you willing to inconvenience yourself for your ideological point of view and to protest against something?' said Reed, who studies how consumers' identities and values influence their spending decisions. 'And for most people, the answer is no, especially if they can't buy eggs and yogurt, they're worried about other things.'
The People's Union USA website lists boycotts throughout the spring, including:
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