NEW YORK (AP) — An “economic blackout” promoted on social media was underway Friday but with no clear indication of how many people took part or whether national retailers and restaurant chains noticed any effect from the grassroots protest.
A fledgling activist group encouraged U.S. residents refrain from spending for 24 hours as an act of resistance against what the group’s founder described as the malign influence of billionaires, big corporations and both major political parties on the lives of working Americans.
The day of spending abstinence appeared to strike a nerve online. Former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich and personal finance educator Tiffany Aliche were among those who publicly endorsed the idea, which also received plenty of criticism and snarky suggestions for counter-protest shopping sprees.
As of mid-day, any retrenchment on the part of consumers wasn’t visible, according to Marshal Cohen, chief retail advisor at market research firm Circana. The assessment was based on phone calls with retail executives and reports from his network of analysts monitoring malls and stores, Cohen said.
“It doesn’t look like anybody’s really pulling back,” he said. “If you get 5% or 10% of the people that don’t shop, that could happen on any given day…
