Consumers are increasingly using boycotts, but do they actually work?

While there are plenty of examples to the contrary, the general academic consensus is that boycotts don’t work for a sustained period, as consumers eventually disengage and reprioritize brand loyalties or price. According to a recent poll, however, the Globe and Mail reports that the Buy Canadian movement shows no signs of slowing down.

One major factor to consider when gauging the likelihood of success: a target as broad as the entire U.S. consumer goods space spreads out the impact of individual consumer choices and may limit the movement's impact, the Globe points out, especially as boycotters are seeking to indirectly influence the U.S. government rather than a company.

Another concern is the potential for unintended consequences, such as consumers turning away from products that are mainly or entirely made here but owned by U.S. firms. “We can think about Frito-Lay’s potato chips,” economist and agronomist Pascal Thériault, Director of McGill University’s Farm Management and Technology program told the Globe. “By boycotting that American company that’s processing Canadian inputs in Canada, with Canadian workers, you end up hurting your own economy.”

He adds that Canada's huge food processing industry can be compared to the auto sector, with elements of the final product going back and forth across the border. For example, Alberta-born calves may cross the border for testing, return to be raised in Canada on grain that comes from both countries, then shipped back to the U.S. for slaughter. “Is it American or Canadian beef in the end?” Thériault asks. “It’s extremely complicated to decide.”

For now at least, the Canadian boycott of U.S. goods shows no sign of letting up. Thériault points out that all three major Canadian supermarket chains have added signage indicating Canadian products. “None of the three wants to be the one that will not identify its Canadian products, right? So that becomes a movement that touches everyone and all the food retailers,” he says.