'Economic Blackout' Asks You to Boycott Amazon for a Week
It started with one day of an "economic blackout." Now, the organizer of a grassroots boycott meant to strike at corporate greed has bigger plans. The People's Union USA is calling for a boycott of mega-online retailer Amazon for an entire week starting this Friday, March 7. But will Amazon feel it?
People's Union USA founder John Schwarz described the weeklong blackout as "not just a boycott," but rather a "calculated strike" in an Instagram post on March 4. He called out Amazon's impact on small businesses, treatment of workers and record profits.
"This blackout is another massive message," he said.
The first major message from People's Union USA came on Feb. 28 with a 24-hour economic blackout aimed widely at big corporations. Schwarz encouraged followers to shop at small businesses instead. News of the effort spread over social media with celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, Bette Midler and John Leguizamo throwing their support behind the movement.
The group doesn't claim any specific political affiliation.
"We are not a political party. We are not a protest," the People's Union USA says on its website. "We are a movement of people, organizing to take back control of our economy, government and future of our country."
Schwarz's vision for the next blackout 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, 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 on March 13.
The Amazon boycott has a David and Goliath feel to it. The retail and entertainment juggernaut reported net sales of . 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 blackout.
"I'd say the minimal impact on Amazon sales during the one-day boycott isn't necessarily surprising," lead researcher Andrew Waber tells 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," he says.
Momentum Commerce will track sales data during the weeklong blackout to see if trends from the one-day boycott play out over the longer period.
The Amazon blackout is just the beginning of a series of boycotts. The People's Union USA laid out a schedule for future blackouts. That includes Nestle (which owns brands ranging from Carnation to Gerber) from March 21-28 and Walmart from April 7-13. The group has April 18 set for another wide-ranging economic blackout that could stretch to cover that whole weekend. General Mills (known for Cheerios, Betty Crocker and Pillsbury) is next 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 like Amazon, but the economic blackouts 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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