Today is the broadly advertised economic blackout, widely known as a boycott for, among other things, large companies like Amazon, Walmart, and Target. I am fully prepared to participate today, but I did want to know more information about it. For example, will it really make a difference? Will it negatively affect the small businesses and my beloved Sapphic authors? I certainly do not wish to do that. So…I did some research and here is what I learned.

The People’s Union USA takes credit for initiating the no-spend day, which was founded by John Schwarz, a meditation teacher who lives near the Chicago area.
In addition to this economic blackout, more is planned by this grassroots movement, including specific weeklong boycotts of major companies like Amazon and Walmart, which includes Whole Foods, owned by Amazon. Side note: We haven’t shopped at Whole Foods for a very long time, ever since Bezos took it over. It isn’t the same, at all.
Other boycotts of places such as Target have been led by faith leaders and labor advocacy groups such as the one led by Nina Turner due to the controversy over abandoning DEI initiatives.
Despite all these efforts, sadly, many believe it will have only a slight effect. However, because the market slice of the overall pie is so small now with all the competition, Marshall Cohen, a chief retail advisor at a market research firm, believes it will have some impact. Other marketing professionals claim the economic blackout day might have an impact, but it won’t be sustainable.
However, boycotts have been known to be effective in varying degrees. Unfortunately, the major boycotts as a result of backlash to the support of LGBTQ+ in recent years (Target and Bud Light) have had the most impact. Bud Light is still feeling the outcry. GOYA, which was boycotted after praising Trump, actually saw a small increase, especially in red areas of the country. Thankfully, that small increase was not sustainable. This is not good news for us. If we’re going to make an impact, we need to be as steadfast as MAGA and the hard right.
As many have suggested, if you’re not on board with the economic blackout today but want to still make your voice heard, the suggestion is to make a point of purchasing from small businesses, items from Amazon that support LGBTQ+, sapphic authors and books, or businesses owned by persons of color.

My book, The Love Demand, goes live tomorrow. I suppose that is the good news because the timing is better for me. Holding off on purchasing the book until it goes live versus pre-order may be a good thing to boost the numbers if you choose to purchase from Amazon because I am, of course, a sapphic author. And, if you choose to purchase the book through another avenue, like directly from my publisher or Bella which will also be carrying the book, those options are also available tomorrow. Links are below. Side note: Dani, the narrator who did Unconventional Lovers, is currently working on the audible version of the book! It sounds awesome so far. Ultimately, I support any and all boycotts that will help this country move in the opposite direction of where it is currently headed. If only we could all get our shit together to achieve this goal. We must surgically boycott, protest, call the injustices out, and do everything we can because the consequences of sitting on the sidelines and moaning about what is happening to our country are not going to turn the tide.