Survey: 9% of Amazon shoppers to participate in planned 'blackout'
A weeklong boycott of Amazon has been planned by an activist group – but only a select number of consumers are aware, and even fewer plan on participating.
The People’s Union USA, which says it supports “economic resistance, government accountability, and corporate reform,” has planned a blackout of the e-commerce giant from March 7-14, 2025. According to new survey data from Numerator, 43% of Amazon shoppers said they were aware of planned boycott activity in the next few weeks with awareness waning as generations age. Gen Z is most aware (61%), followed by 51% of Millennials, 44% of Gen X, and 37% of baby boomers.
Just over a quarter (27%) of those surveyed are aware of The People’s Union USA’s specific boycott against Amazon from March 7-14, and 53% of those say they support its purpose. However, only 9% of Amazon shoppers intend to participate.
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Intent to participate is slightly more likely among light Amazon shoppers (10%), who tend to place only one order per month on average, while heavy Amazon shoppers who place orders on a weekly or more frequent basis are less likely to participate (7%). Those who intend to participate plan to avoid placing any Amazon orders (90%), avoid shopping at Whole Foods (48%), avoid streaming any Prime Video content (45%), avoid any Audible purchases/subscriptions (32%), and avoid any Kindle purchases/subscriptions (29%). Only 13% of participants say they’ll cancel their Prime subscription altogether, which translates to 1% of Amazon shoppers overall.
If any planned/desired Amazon purchases overlap with the boycott period, participants are most likely to make those purchases at local retailers or small businesses instead (28%). However, some participants told Numerator that they plan to simply shift the timing of their Amazon purchases to before or after the boycott window (22%).
Numerator found that intent to participate in the weeklong boycott is much higher among Amazon shoppers who are Black (23%), Hispanic (13%) and Asian (11%), as well as among Gen Z (17%) and millennials (12%).
Amazon shoppers were more likely to have been aware of and participated in the Feb. 28 Economic Blackout. More than half (54%) of those surveyed by Numerator were aware, and 22% say they participated. Crossover between the two boycotts is high – 72% of those who plan to participate in the Amazon boycott also participated in the Feb. 28 Economic Blackout.