Shoppers are boycotting Walmart over rollbacks in DEI efforts from April 7 to 14
A boycott against Walmart and its affiliated stores is underway this week as some shoppers protest what they call corporate greed, companies that have rolled back their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and President Donald Trump's efforts to eliminate federal DEI programs since taking office.
The boycott of Walmart, which runs from April 7 to April 14, is organized by The People's Union, the same grass-roots group that coordinated the one-day economic consumer blackout on Feb. 28. The boycott includes Walmart retail and online stores, Sam's Club and other affiliated Walmart-branded companies and private label brands such as Great Value and Equate. The People's Union has had weekly boycotts since Feb. 28, including two aimed at Amazon and Nestle.
Boycott plans continue through July 4 for the group, including a three-day economic blackout from April 18 through April 20 focused on no consumer spending, similar to the Feb. 28 effort. Shoppers are encouraged to buy local if they need something.
These boycotts are in addition to separate actions by other organizations protesting Target and other retailers.
Why is there a Walmart boycott?
John Schwarz started The People's Union, which has been coordinating many of the boycotts. Schwarz has previously told Paste BN that he did not know that his first video suggesting a national one-day consumer blackout on Feb. 28, would gain so much traction.
Schwarz on Tuesday said he was not available for an immediate interview, but he has posted many video messages on social media.
"Seven days. No Walmart. No more funding the very corporations that hoard billions while your families and mine work two jobs just to survive," Schwarz said on an Instagram post on Tuesday. "This is not just a boycott. This is a message. We are the economy. We are reminding these corporations and the politicians they sponsor that without us, they truly are and have nothing.
"We are not asking for handouts. We are demanding accountability. These corporations must pay their fair share in taxes. . They must fight manufacturers for a reasonable profit cap, and there must be a return to human dignity in this country, across the board," Schwarz said.
A Walmart spokesperson on Tuesday provided a statement to Paste BN in response to the one-week boycott and some of Schwarz's allegations.
"As one of the largest corporate taxpayers in the country, not only do we pay our fair share, we are an economic force multiplier strengthening communities nationwide through job creation, supplier growth, and over $1.7 billion in cash and in-kind donations last year,'' it read. " We remain dedicated to earning the business of all Americans and giving our time and resources to causes that uplift and unite communities who rely on us every day."
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Boycotts can be successful, but for different reasons
Boycotts can be effective, but not in the way that consumers think, Brayden King, a professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, previously told Paste BN.
The boycotts create attention for the cause, including from the media, which "puts a negative spotlight on the companies they're boycotting, and that could in the long run have reputational consequences," King said. "What boycotts don't seem to do is have much of an impact on consumer behavior."
Shoppers can usually handle a boycott for a day, "but over longer periods of time, most boycotts don't have any kind of impact on sales."
That's because consumer purchasing, especially for online shopping, "tends to occur in private where others can't see or judge them."
But boycotts have worked for the political right.
In campaigns using hashtags and slogans like “go woke go broke,” boycotts waged by conservative activists have taken aim at some of the nation’s largest consumer names, including retail chain Target. Some have succeeded in slashing sales and forcing policy changes.
Now Target and other companies find themselves under attack from the other side, facing calls for boycotts from DEI supporters angry over the rollbacks.
Have the boycotts been successful?
While it is difficult to gauge the economic impact of a one-day action with data, one measure showed Amazon sales were up slightly instead of down on Feb. 28, the day of the one-day economic blackout.
Momentum Commerce, a digital retail consultancy company, said its analysis of Amazon sales on Feb. 28 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.
Another firm, SimilarWeb, said data showed web traffic was down on Feb. 28 at several retailers including Target, Amazon and Walmart.
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. It found foot traffic was down at Target, Walmart and Starbucks on Feb. 28.
What other boycotts are planned?
Future boycotts from The People's Union include:
- April 18-20: Three-day economic blackout. Consumers are encouraged to shop local if they need to spend money.
- April 21-28: General Mills boycott
- May 6-12: Amazon boycott #2
- May 20-26: Walmart boycott #2
- June 3-9: Target boycott
- June 24-30: McDonald's boycott
- July 4: Independence Day Blackout
Full information about the planned boycotts by The People's Union can be found on the website, https://thepeoplesunionusa.com or Schwarz posts videos on Instagram and TikTok using his @theonecalledJai handle. The group's website includes a section called "Consumer Awareness," which lists and ranks companies based on criteria such as unethical practices, as well as businesses it deems to be "doing it better."
What is the 40-day Target Fast?
A separate 40-day Target Fast or boycott, organized by Black faith leaders protesting the retailer's retreat from DEI efforts, started on March 5 and continues through Easter, April 20. Organizers of that boycott said they could extend it if Target doesn't take action.
Jamal-Harrison Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Georgia and an activist and author, called on the Black faith community to start the fast on Ash Wednesday, during Lent. The website targetfast.org has been created to offer information.
A different boycott against Target, which started on Feb. 1 to coincide with Black History month, also continues. Civil rights activists in Minnesota have encouraged consumers to not shop at the Minneapolis-based retailer. that boycott started in response to Target's decision to phase out DEI initiatives and is an indefinite boycott until Target changes its actions, Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and founder of the Racial Justice Network, has told Paste BN.
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.
This story has been updated with new information and to fix some typos.
Jessica Guynn contributed to this story. 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 and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, which will include consumer news on Fridays, here.