Amazon faces a week-long “economic blackout” with consumers urged to boycott the retail giant and some of its biggest subsidiaries.
Advocacy group The People’s Union USA is calling on Americans to abstain from making purchases from Amazon’s main site as well as the other companies it owns including Amazon Alexa, IMDb, Prime Video, Ring, Twitch, Whole Foods and Zappos.
John Schwarz, 57, the leader of the protest, told his 370,000 Instagram followers that the boycott would begin on Friday and run until March 14.
The dad-of-three from Chicago, told CNET Wednesday that the objective of the “calculated strike” is simple: for Amazon to record a dip in sales.
In a post on Tuesday, Schwarz described how to “hit” Amazon the hardest and take a stand against its impact on small businesses and treatment of workers after the company reported a 10 percent year-on-year increase in net sales in Q4 2024 to almost $188 billion last month.
“If you want to focus your firepower, you target what you use the most,” he said.
It was not immediately clear how many people were due to participate in the boycott.
Schwarz founded the self-described “movement of the people” last month, which in itself has raised more than $120,000 on GoFundMe to pay for costs such as registering as a legal entity.
The People’s Union USA said its mission, according to its website, is to “take back control of our economy, government and future of our country.” “The system is designed to keep all of us trapped. That is why I started this organization,” Schwarz added in his bio section.
Last month, the grassroots organization took aim at corporate giants with a sweeping consumer blackout which urged consumers against making purchases at major retailers for 24 hours.
Schwarz told CNN that the movement “went international,” adding: “Every country has messaged me, people from all over the world commenting on the videos. ‘How can we stand in solidarity?’”
However, an analysis from digital retail consultancy company Momentum Commerce, showed Amazon had slightly higher sales that day.
Schwarz has organized a Nestle blackout – which owns the likes of Nescafé and KitKat – from March 21 until March 28 and a Walmart blackout from April 7 to April 13.
It comes as Target faces a possible 40-day nationwide boycott after the retail giant ditched its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives last month. The two boycotts are not linked.
Approximately 110,000 people, including many parishioners at Black churches, have signed up to join the “Target Fast” which began on Wednesday, aligning with the first day of Lent.
Consumers pledging to abstain from shopping at Target are instead being urged to spend their money at Black-owned businesses – in the wake of President Donald Trump’s DEI crackdown.
Amazon, Google, Meta, McDonald’s and Walmart also began winding down their DEI programs in recent months, sparking backlash from many consumers.
The Independent has contacted The People’s Union USA, Amazon and its subsidiaries listed above for more information.
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