By: David Tuchman
Black Friday this year may have a special twist, thanks to president-elect Donald Trump.
A boycott of all products bearing Trumps name, called #GrabyourWallet, has hit major retailers such as Amazon, Nordstroms and Hudson’s Bay.
In total, the list includes nearly 50 companies.
Since the election, the boycott, which launched last month to protest Donald Trump’s statements about sexual assault, has significantly gained traction.
The co-founder of the campaign, Shannon Coulter, says that there are lots of consumers who are looking for ways to express their disappointment in Trump’s victory, women shoppers in particular.
“College-educated women in particular are well aware of the epic consumer power they wield, and they’re flexing that power,” Coulter told CBS.
“Flexing our consumer power is one of the primary ways we can lobby for an inclusive, big-hearted America over a hateful, divisive one,” she said.
Raphael Nackson, a Seneca College student who plans on attending a planned anti Trump protest in Toronto on Saturday, said the boycott could be a great step in the right direction for the anti Trump movement.
“Right now there are so many people in some of the minority communities that are so afraid and are wondering what—if anything—can be done to convince him to not move forward on his bigoted policies,” he said.
“A boycott…[could] be a great next step. It is something we can mobilize for,” Nackson continued.
The campaign scored one victory earlier this month when retailer Shoes.com, said it would remove Ivanka Trump’s shoes from its site.
On Friday, Bellacor, a retailer that sells home furnishings, also succumbed.
While some companies caved into the pressure, Humber College marketing professor Paul Harris says he doesn’t expect the boycott to work out.
“No I don’t think it will be successful,” Harris told Humber News.
“Certain things may work like high end hotels and products bought by wealthy people – that may work. I think it will make a bump in things like right after the election people threatened that no one will go to his hotel anymore. Businesses are not likely to say ‘We are going to leave our business office here because of Trump,” Harris said.
While the mayhem begins late next week, many retailers are already getting ahead of the curb starting their sales today.
Some online retailers such Microsoft have already announced massive deals on the Xbox store, and Amazon has begun a week of deals leading all the way up to Cyber Monday.
The movement isn’t the only way dismayed voters are expressing their anger and sadness.
For example, many are also donating to charities like Planned Parenthood and Greenpeace, both of which could face serious damage in a Trump administration.