MW Friday's 'economic blackout' boycott shows shoppers are fed up with high prices. Will it hit retailers where it hurts?

By Andrew Keshner and Weston Blasi

The biggest impact of the 24-hour economic blackout protest planned for Feb. 28 could be the strong message it sends about consumer mood right now

A grassroots effort wants people to protest high prices by buying absolutely nothing on Friday. But will companies listen?

After Americans have been stretching their wallets to keep up with rising prices for the past few years, the people behind a 24-hour "economic blackout" want consumers to temporarily close their wallets on Feb. 28.

In other words: Don't buy anything online or in person on Friday. Skip all major stores, gas stations and fast-food places. And if people must spend money on essential items, then they should spend it at small local businesses, and use cash instead of credit cards.

"If we disrupt the economy for just ONE day, it sends a powerful message," reads the message from the People's Union USA, which calls itself "a grassroots movement dedicated to economic resistance, government accountability and corporate reform."

There's no doubt that consumers mean a lot for the economy's direction. Consumer spending is the main motor of America's economy; it accounted for roughly 70% of gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. The financial health of consumers is an ongoing focus for Wall Street and Washington, D.C.

The "no-spend" Friday effort is a protest that alleges businesses are taking advantage of Americans' spending power with prices that are too high. "For one day we show them who really holds the power," says the People's Union USA message.

The People's Union was founded by John Schwarz, who runs the TheOneCalledJai social-media accounts, which have more than 500,00 followers on Instagram and TikTok. Schwarz, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment, said in a recent video posted to TikTok that "the greatest power we have is collective action. When we stand together and refuse to comply with a system designed to keep us struggling, we the people become unstoppable," Schwarz told his followers.

How much difference will the economic blackout make?

It remains to be seen if the "no spend" effort actually crimps sales, however. That could be a stretch. Shoppers who want to make a point Friday might just end up spending their money on Saturday instead - so the retailers will still get that money eventually.

But sometimes, a day can make a major difference for companies. The Feb. 29 leap day in 2024 helped some retailers heap on extra revenue, according to earnings reports. But getting an extra day for sales is different from trying to suppress sales - especially at mega-businesses.

The companies singled out for skipping during Friday's "economic blackout" boycott include behemoths like Amazon $(AMZN)$, which is worth $2.27 trillion, and Walmart $(WMT)$, worth over $770 billion. Neither company immediately responded to a request for comment.

But these retail giants rely on people spending money in their stores. For retailers specifically, last month's sales fell by the most in nearly two years. Generally January is a slower month for retail sales as shoppers tend to regroup and pay off debt after the holiday season.

Sometimes economic boycotts backfire, according to Carnegie Mellon University Professor Ari Lightman, who studies online communities, how protests form and brand perception.

The calls to skip a purchase may motivate other consumers to spend their money there, said Lightman. There may be shoppers looking to counter the protest or businesses that capitalize on the attention with promotional deals.

The People's Union has said this boycott, and the movement in general, doesn't have a political affiliation or allegiance.

Still, some have taken the boycott as a move against President Donald Trump and the current administration. This has led to a few posts on social media where people have said they plan to counter the boycott and actually save a few purchases they were going to make in the near term for Friday.

One X user said he wanted to buy a car this year, but now said he plans to buy it on Friday in support of Trump.

The no-spend protest is aimed at costs and consumerism, but Lightman said protesters need to think hard about what spending sacrifices they'd be willing to take for a large-scale economic overhaul. "We are creatures of habit," Lightman said. "We love convenience and we love low prices and we love the little brown box delivered to our door."

"If they can capitalize on this and grow it and mobilize efforts around regulatory reform, that's saying something," Lightman said.

What the economic blackout says about consumers' moods

The blackout is trying to tap the ongoing anger over affordability - or the lack of it.

February's consumer sentiment readings dropped to its lowest level since November 2023. Americans are worried about high prices sticking around, and expect overall inflation to be 3.5% over the next five to 10 years, higher than the 2% target that Federal Reserve policymakers consider ideal.

"We are seeing signs of dissatisfaction, absolutely," said Joanne Hsu, director of the University of Michigan's survey of consumers. It's cutting across demographics, age groups and household wealth. The potential impacts of more tariffs from the Trump administration remain a concern, though there are partisan gaps where Democrats and independents are particularly worried.

Hsu isn't tracing a line from consumer mood to the no-spend protest, but is certain consumers are in a sour mood. "They are not feeling good about the economy," Hsu told MarketWatch.

"Trust is the new currency, and businesses that don't earn it are on borrowed time," Raj Ananthanpillai, CEO of Trua, a company that specializes in survey- and consumer data-collection for businesses, told MarketWatch. "This boycott is part of a broader societal shift: Consumers are becoming more deliberate about where they spend their money."

-Andrew Keshner -Weston Blasi

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

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February 28, 2025 00:03 ET (05:03 GMT)

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