A grassroots movement led by John Schwarz of The People’s Union USA is organizing a weeklong boycott against Amazon, starting Friday, following the viral success of a recent “economic blackout” campaign. Schwarz aims to challenge Amazon and its subsidiaries, claiming they harm small businesses, exploit workers, and resist unions despite substantial profits. The movement, which gained attention from celebrities and media, reflects widespread public discontent with corporations and the economy. However, experts doubt the boycott will significantly impact Amazon’s financial performance, as recent data suggests many retailers are facing declines due to other economic factors, making the boycott’s effect hard to assess.
New York
CNN
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A grassroots movement aimed at encouraging Americans to refrain from shopping at major retailers for a day during an “economic blackout” captured widespread attention last week. Now, its organizer is initiating a weeklong boycott against Amazon starting this Friday.
John Schwarz, the 57-year-old founder of The People’s Union USA, is urging Americans to refrain from purchasing from Amazon and its brands, including Zappos, Ring, Whole Foods, Twitch, and Prime Video, for an entire week.
The motivation behind the Amazon boycott is to “send a message strong enough to disrupt the system” and unsettle the company, Schwarz stated on his Instagram account Thursday.
“Amazon is one of the largest, wealthiest, and most powerful corporations globally,” he stated in a video. “It undermines small businesses. It takes advantage of its workforce. It opposes unions while profiting by billions. It has the potential to create a positive impact in the world, yet it chooses not to.”
Schwarz is capitalizing on the attention generated from the broader “economic blackout” which occurred on February 28. In an interview with CNN last week, he mentioned that he didn’t anticipate significant traction for his post, which ended up being viewed millions of times. Notable figures like Stephen King and Bette Midler endorsed the campaign, and media coverage followed.
On its website, The People’s Union USA describes the group as “a grassroots movement focused on economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform,” emphasizing the aim to unite Americans against the corruption and greed that has led to their struggles for decades.
Schwarz’s call for a boycott gained traction online last week as it resonated with widespread public discontent regarding the economy, corporate practices, and political issues in America.
Nonetheless, the “economic blackout” initiative appears to be somewhat uncoordinated and vague. Analysts specializing in consumer boycotts and corporate strategies express skepticism that it will significantly affect the profits of the large corporations it targets, let alone the broader U.S. economy.
According to Placer.ai, an analytics firm that tracks store traffic using phone location data, last week’s initiatives had minimal effect on the financial performance of those corporations.
The firm noted that “many retailers faced year-over-year declines in weekly foot traffic throughout February 2025,” attributing this to a combination of “post-holiday spending pullbacks, lowered consumer confidence, economic and tariff uncertainties, and unusually cold weather.”
Consequently, Placer.ai indicated that the specific effects of the February 28 event are complicated to pinpoint, as most retailers experienced year-over-year declines consistent with ongoing trends.
Amazon has yet to respond to CNN’s request for comment.