What are the results from the Feb. 28 economic blackout? See what data shows.
Data is starting to come in from the Feb. 28 consumer one-day economic blackout as more boycotts of specific retailers prepare to launch, including a 40-day fast against Target that starts Wednesday and a one-week Amazon boycott that begins Friday.
During the Feb. 28 event, consumers participating in the boycott were encouraged not to spend any money anywhere for one day. If they had to spend, they were encouraged to buy from a local business.
It is difficult to gauge the economic impact of a one-day action with data. But information from several different firms shows both some potential impact from the one-day action in affecting in-person and e-commerce traffic at some retailers, as well as Amazon sales staying roughly the same.
What economic impact did the blackout have?
At least one measure showed Amazon sales were slightly higher on Feb. 28.
Momentum Commerce, a digital retail consultancy company, said its analysis of Amazon sales on Friday did not show a measurable difference from previous Fridays.
Overall, during the 24-hour period, sales on Amazon U.S. across Momentum Commerce's client base were 1% higher than the average over the previous eight Fridays.
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"The minimal impact on Amazon sales during the one-day boycott isn't surprising," Momentum Commerce CEO John T. Shea told Paste BN. "Just in the US, Amazon rakes in north of $1B in retail sales every single day, making it naturally resilient particularly when it comes to short-term disruptions. We'll certainly be tracking the upcoming week-long, Amazon-specific boycott action, but given what we just observed, I'm skeptical it will have a significant, broad effect. Amazon also has the benefit of its (upcoming) Big Spring Sale...an event that drove a 6% year-over-year increase in sales back in 2024."
Another company, Similarweb, a digital marketing intelligence company, compared e-commerce traffic on several major retailers' sites, including Amazon, Walmart, Target, Costco, Kroger and Home Depot. Analysts looked at both online traffic on Feb. 28 compared to previous weeks and also compared to the similar Friday a year ago.
Additionally, Similarweb analyzed traffic at the top 100 e-commerce sites and found that overall traffic was down 6% on Feb. 28 when compared to a year ago. It was down 4% in aggregate on Feb. 28 compared to the Friday before.
"There was a slight impact" year over year," Similarweb principal data-driven equity analyst Aria Ertefaie told Paste BN. "I wouldn't necessarily call it a huge impact since negative 6% is not unheard of, but it is still a weakness." Ertefaie called the Feb. 28 action a "mild impact."
Here's some more data from Similarweb:
- Target web traffic was down 1.0% to 4.7 million on Feb. 28 compared to the previous Friday's 4.8 million and traffic on the Target app was down 10.9% to 3.5 million users compared to 3.9 million the previous Friday.
- Walmart web traffic was down 6.5% to 11.2 million on Feb. 28 compared to the previous Friday's 11.9 million. Walmart app users were also down 2.5% to 13.6 million compared to 13.9 million the previous Friday.
- Amazon's web traffic was down 4.6% to 65.9 million on Feb. 28 compared to 69.1 million the previous Friday. The Amazon app traffic was also down 1.7% on Feb. 28 to 51.4 million compared to 52.2 million the previous Friday.
- Costco, which has seen some extra support from some consumers after its board of directors voted down an effort to drop diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, saw an 8.3% increase on its website traffic on Feb. 28 at 2.9 million compared to 2.7 million the previous Friday. Its app traffic, however, dropped 6.9% to 1.3 million on Feb. 28 compared to 1.4 million.
Was foot traffic in stores affected by the economic blackout?
Another firm, Placer.ai, uses a panel of tens of millions of devices and utilizes machine learning to make estimations for in-store visits to locations across the country.
Here's what Placer.ai found:
- Target in-store foot traffic was down 9.5% on Feb. 28 compared to March 1, 2024 (the same Friday a year ago). Traffic was also down 10.7% on Feb. 28 compared to the average of the previous five Fridays and down 4.1% on Feb. 28 compared to the year to date daily average from Jan. 1 through Feb. 27.
- Walmart foot traffic was down 6.3% on Feb. 28 compared to the same Friday a year ago, down 2.5% compared to the average of the previous five Fridays and up 7.2% when compared to the year to date daily average.
- Starbucks foot traffic was down 3.2% on Feb. 28 compared to the same Friday a year ago, up 1.8% compared to the average of the previous five Fridays and up 15.5% compared to the year to date daily average.
“Placer.ai’s data reveals that many retailers experienced year-over-year declines in weekly visits throughout February 2025, driven by post-holiday spending pullbacks, decreased consumer confidence, economic and tariff uncertainty, and unseasonably cold weather," R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai told Paste BN. "While 'Economic Blackout' day on February 28, 2025, may have been influenced by these factors, its specific impact is difficult to isolate, as most retailers saw year-over-year declines in line with recent weekly trends.”
Amazon and Target did not return messages seeking comment about the Feb. 28 economic blackout or other boycotts. A Walmart spokesperson declined comment.
Target, which has been singled out by some boycotts, including one that started Feb. 1 in conjunction with Black History Month, said during its earnings call on Tuesday that its sales fell in February. Additionally, Target's CEO Brian Cornell said in an interview with CNBC Tuesday that President Donald Trump's tariffs on Mexico, which went into effect that same day, may force the company to raise prices on fruits and vegetables as soon as this week.
Did AI have a role in spreading information about the blackout?
Posts about the Feb. 28 economic boycott spread widely on social media among consumers, but one firm said it's possible the effort also got a boost from social media bots.
Cyabra, an AI disinformation detection platform, said it found 391 fake profiles on X promoting the boycott using the hashtag #EconomicBlackout, with #BoycottWalmart, #BoycottTarget and #BoycottBestBuy being targeted the most.
The bots influenced real accounts with content shared by fake profiles reaching 5.33 million views, Cyabra said.
"As the number of accounts participating increased, other social media accounts – both real and fake – joined the conversation using the same hashtags, but with other grievances towards the companies such as their DEI policies, causing an even bigger brand reputation challenge for the companies targeted," the company said.
"The presence of fake profiles in this discourse was particularly concerning, as those coordinated accounts often seek to incite anger and confusion and create polarization," the company told Paste BN. Fakes "have also become harder to identify as fake, and therefore pose a bigger than ever challenge for brands, that often try to mitigate the crisis without realizing they are interacting with fake profiles."
What other boycotts are planned?
The Feb. 28 boycott was one of several planned by different groups. A national boycott of Target started Feb. 1 to coincide with Black History Month. It was launched by civil rights activists in Minneapolis who were upset that Target has rolled back its DEI programs. Another boycott that lasts through the end of the year was outlined on Instagram by comedian and actress Leslie Jones. It encourages consumers to buy directly from Black-owned businesses and outlines planned protests in certain months against Amazon, Target and Walmart.
Some members of the the Black faith community also plan a 40-day fast or boycott of Target because of its retreat from DEI initiatives starting Ash Wednesday, March 5. A website, targetfast.org, has been created with more information.
Bishop Reginald T. Jackson, leader of the African Methodist Episcopal Church's Second District, announced the 40-day fast against Target last month at the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.
The Latino community has also been active on social media using the hashtag #LatinoFreeze, encouraging supporters to "hold your money'' amid freezes on DEI initiatives, reduced funding for the National Institutes of Health and actions on immigration.
The movement encourages Latino Americans to shop only for essentials and to be thoughtful about where to buy with a focus on supporting "Latino American, Black American and Allied American Businesses that are supportive to this movement."
The Rev. Al Sharpton and the National Action Network also have held a few "buy-cotts" to bring supporters to Costco to spend money in support of the company's board of directors, which voted down an effort to drop DEI initiatives.
The National Action Network also said in a news release that it would lead "a strategic boycott in the next 90 days of two companies that have dropped their DEI commitments amid public pressure." No details have been released.
The People's Union USA, an organization started by John Swartz, who organized the Feb. 28 one-day blackout, has since expanded its boycotting efforts. It includes boycotts of various companies and retailers during different time periods including Amazon (March 7-14), Nestle (March 21-28), Walmart (April 7-14) and a second broader one-day economic blackout on April 18, among others. A website, thepeoplesunionusa.com, has more information on the group's efforts.
Do boycotts work?
Boycotts can have mixed results.
Conservative activists have successfully rallied in recent years to force retailers and companies to rein in their DEI efforts by staging boycotts to hurt sales.
Professors have previously told Paste BN that boycotts can be successful in shaming a company into reversing decisions or taking action, but they don't always work. There needs to be clear demands outlined, they say. But consumers do like being able to take action against something they feel strongly about.
This story has been updated to add information.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for Paste BN. Reach her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her on X, Facebook or Instagram @blinfisher. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.