A 24-hour boycott called "Economic Blackout" has swept across the United States, calling on consumers to stop all consumption on February 28 (Friday), mainly targeting retail giants such as Walmart and Amazon. The current slump in consumer sentiment is casting a pall over the U.S. economic outlook, but can the activity really hit retailers?
The American people were intolerable to the continued rise in prices, and a nationwide "economic blackout" protest broke out.
On February 28, a 24-hour boycott called "economic blackout" swept the United States, calling on consumers to stop all consumption on February 28 (Friday) and press the pause button on the economy to put pressure on businesses and governments.
“Economic Blackout” is a protest initiated by People’s UnionUSA:
The American people are called on to stop any form of consumption, including online and offline shopping, throughout the day on February 28, and avoid consumption in large shopping malls, gas stations and fast food restaurants. If you must buy necessities, choose local small businesses and pay with cash whenever possible.
It is worth mentioning that the "American People's Alliance" also plans to launch another "economic blackout" campaign on March 28 and launch a boycott against retail giants such as Walmart and Amazon, as well as global food giants Nestlé and General Mills.
The "economic blackout" protests are fueled by inflation anxiety. Currently, U.S. consumer confidence continues to decline, and consumers are generally worried that high prices will continue to exist.
Consumer spending is the main driving force of the U.S. economy, accounting for about 70% of GDP in the fourth quarter. The sluggish consumer sentiment has undoubtedly cast a shadow on the U.S. economic outlook.
So, can the "economic blackout" really plunge the economy into darkness as its name suggests?
Inflation anxiety breeds anger and consumer boycotts erupt
At the moment, American consumer sentiment is sluggish, and the protests have triggered a series of resonances.
In February, the U.S. consumer confidence index fell to its lowest level since November 2023. At the same time, people are worried that high prices will persist, and the overall inflation rate is expected to reach 3.5% in the next 5 to 10 years, higher than the 2% target set by the Federal Reserve.
Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, said:
Consumers across all demographics, age groups and household wealth levels are expressing dissatisfaction and are less optimistic about economic conditions, and the potential impact of the Trump administration's increased tariffs remains a concern.
In addition to the "economic blackout" protests, there are many other boycotts brewing, especially against companies that scale back diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
According to media reports, some consumers are organizing boycotts to protest companies’ scaling back of DEI programs and to oppose Trump’s move to abolish all federal DEI programs and policies. Target, for example, has faced resistance from multiple organizations for scaling back its DEI initiatives.
The labor advocacy group WeAreSomebody launched a boycott against Target, and the National Action Network also announced that it will identify two target companies that will be boycotted in the next 90 days for abandoning their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.
Will the "economic blackout" plunge the economy into darkness?
Will the "economic blackout" really hit retailers? This is still unknown.
On the one hand, it may have some impact. After all, consumer spending is the main driver of the U.S. economy, accounting for about 70% of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. In addition, U.S. retail sales in January hit the largest decline in two years, and consumers began to tighten their wallets after the holidays. Retail giants like Amazon and Walmart rely on consumers spending money in their stores.
On the other hand, this impact may be limited. Analysts believe that some consumers who originally wanted to express their attitude on the day of the event may just postpone their consumption to the next day, so retailers will eventually get the money.
Marshal Cohen, chief retail consultant at market research firm Circana, believes the overall impact may be limited, with meaningful sales declines more likely to occur in liberal-leaning coastal areas and large cities. Anna Tuchman, a marketing professor at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, also believes that the "economic power outage" may have a certain impact on retail sales that day, but it will not be sustainable.
Some netizens said that they have families to feed and jobs to keep, so the "economic power outage" will not have any impact on them.
Some netizens said that systemic change is difficult to achieve.
Some netizens said that this was completely performative.
Historically, consumer boycotts have had mixed results. Target's spring/summer 2023 sales fell due to customer backlash against its Pride line of products for the LGBTQ+ community. In the summer of 2020, consumers launched a boycott after Goya Foods CEO praised Trump. But the study found that the brand's sales increased, however, this increase was temporary.
Although it is uncertain whether the "economic blackout" protests can actually affect corporate sales, the consumer sentiment they convey cannot be ignored.
RajAnanthanpillai, CEO of Trua, said:
Trust is the new currency, and businesses that don’t earn it will have only a few days left. The boycott is part of a shift in society in which consumers are becoming more cautious and conscious about where their money is spent.