Walmart is facing a massive boycott threat from consumers

Walmart, the largest retailer in the U.S., recently saw increased momentum from consumers, which boosted its sales and profits during the last few months of 2024.

The retail giant’s fourth-quarter earnings report for 2024 revealed that its U.S. comparable sales increased by 4.6 percent during the quarter, which it claims is mainly the result of higher consumer transactions and more profit from upper-income shoppers.

As Walmart attracted more shoppers during the holiday season, it generated an operating income (profit after expenses) of $6.5 billion in the U.S., which is a 7.4 percent year-over-year increase compared to the same quarter in 2023.

“Customers are shopping with us more often and buying more items, including in general merchandise categories, which were up low single digits in Walmart U.S. and Sam’s U.S.,” said Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon during an earnings call in February.

Walmart faces a major threat

Despite this recent success, Walmart is staring at a significant boycott threat from consumers, which could negatively impact its sales.

The People’s Union USA, a group that has recently organized boycotts or “economic blackouts” of large corporations nationwide, has Walmart next on its list.

The boycott kicks off on April 7 and ends on April 14. The group is encouraging consumers to boycott Walmart due to the belief that it has contributed to corruption in the economy.

“We’ve been watching prices rise while wages stay the same,” said The People’s Union USA founder John Schwarz in an Instagram post. “We’ve watched these companies rake in billions while families can barely afford groceries, and Walmart, just like the rest of them, has been a part of that problem. So this is where we, once again, draw the line.”

The group is encouraging consumers to not only boycott Walmart stores but other entities the retailer operates such as Sam’s Club, Walmart Pharmacy, Walmart+, etc.

“Seven days of economic resistance, and not just Walmart,” said Schwarz. “It’s time to get serious across the board. Start pulling back, stop spending on what you don’t need. Start saving every dime we can, and stop feeding the beast that’s been feeding off of us my friends. Hit them where it counts because money is the only language they understand, and we only will support small, independent businesses.”

Last month, The People’s Union USA organized seven-day boycotts of Amazon and Nestlé. On Feb. 28, it organized an “economic blackout,” which targeted many large retailers.

According to the group’s website, it claims that large corporations have “driven up prices, underpaid their workers, and outsourced jobs while raking in record profits,” which is the motivation behind these boycotts.

Some consumers have also been participating in these boycotts to express their frustration with retailers that have either removed or scaled back their diversity, equity, and inclusion policies.

Walmart scaled back a number of DEI initiatives in December last year.

Walmart is already battling another big threat to sales

A boycott isn’t the only major threat that Walmart is currently facing. The retail giant is also scrambling to minimize the threat of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Tariffs are taxes companies pay to import goods from overseas, and the extra cost is often passed down to consumers through price hikes.

On April 2, Trump imposed a 10 percent “baseline” tariff on all countries importing goods to the U.S., with roughly 60 countries seeing higher tariff rates.

Walmart previously warned that tariffs could cause it to hike its prices, which threatens to drive away price-conscious customers who are already battling inflation and higher costs of living.

“We never want to raise prices,” said Walmart Chief Financial Officer John Rainey in an interview with CNBC in November. “Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”

To keep prices low, Walmart is pressuring some of its suppliers to cut their prices by up to 10 percent, which would essentially shift the burden of tariffs onto those suppliers.