Why Boycotts Eventually Fall Into 'the Dustbin of Outrage'

BBC ^ | 29th August 2023 | Meredith Turits

[nickcarraway]

Some boycotts garner a lot of attention. Yet people generally move on, leaving even the hottest-button issues of consumer umbrage in the past. F For the first time in six years, Target announced a sales drop: a decline of 5% in the April to June 2023 period, compared with the same time in 2022. During that time, the big-box retailer was also embroiled in a controversy over their collection of merchandise for Pride Month, which spurred consumer backlash and boycotts from some politically conservative shoppers.

Coincidence? Perhaps not, said Christina Hennington, Target's executive vice president, on the company's Q2 2023 earnings call. She attributed the sales decline in part to a "strong reaction to this year's Pride assortment" that affected store traffic, and also cut the company's full-year forecast.

A couple weeks before Target announced its sales slump, international beverage giant Anheuser-Busch InBev also noted a sharp decline in US sales and profits, in part due to a conservative-led boycott of Bud Light. After collaborating with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the brand said its Q2 revenue had fallen 10.5% compared to the same period last year – "primarily due to the volume decline of Bud Light", according to the earnings report.

These high-profile boycotts are just two in a string of recent consumer pushbacks that have put popular brands in the crosshairs. Yet as powerful as these movements seem while they're in motion – and as much they can cut into companies' bottom lines – expert say many eventually pass.

[Skywise]

Ur boycotts don’t work - says the BBC.

Meanwhile it thinks people protesting for and organizing for “muh civil rights” is effective.

Huh…

[piytar]

This idiot has the economic insight of roadkill. This was not some short term boycott in either case. It was a likely permanent shift in brand loyalty by many. They won’t be coming back.

[MeganC]

I boycott the BBC.

[Ge0ffrey]

If the company mends its ways, people forgive and forget.

[DIRTYSECRET]

And Cuba? Looks like they won.

[zeugma]

This is why what is happening to Budweiser is so sweet. It’s NOT a boycott. It’s a successful rebranding of their product. Not quite the way they intended though.

[GailA]

STILL BOYCOTTING BUDLIGHT. Have no plans to stop. Will BOYCOTT CASHLESS TOO, I’M NOT SHOPPING, CHECKING, AND BAGGING AT 75, NO DISCOUNT FOR WAGES OF THE FIRED CHECKERS/BAGGERS WAGES.

[TexasFreeper2009]

it all depends on how easy it is to find an acceptable alternative

Bud was EASY because it was CRAP to begin with that people only bought out of nostalgia and there are TONS of alternatives.

Supporting Chic-Fil-A is EASY because it makes the BEST chicken sandwiches and the service is INCREDIBLE

But target.. yeah.. what is the alternative? walmart? and then what nothing really. And I am not sure Walmart is any better when it comes to “woke”

[T.B. Yoits]

Meredith Turits from the BBC is a paid hack. She's trying to downplay some of these boycotts (and outright divorces) because she's paid to by their advertisers. They know very well how damaging the boycotts have been.

InBev / Budweiser / Bud Light is in it's own category. The latest sad attempt from InBev to steer attention toward their Stella Artois beer (instead of wasting advertising on Bud Light) is a commercial with Matt Damon and Ludacris pimping themselves out as buddy "Stella" drinkers. It's so sad to see it.

InBev's choice of selecting Matt Damon shows a particular myopia considering the memes that have been online for almost 20 years from the "Team America - World Police" movie. This is who they want to promote a beer in a "catch a falling knife move" after their last promotion with a transvestite who acts like a 6-year-old girl cost them billions and likely an entire brand?

[jimfree]

Boycotts that do not dissolve into new brand preferences perhaps.