Poll results: What's your strategy for dealing with boycotts?

Consumers have a lot of clout these days and they know it. Money talks; shoppers can use their buying power to protest or punish a company when they think it’s been misbehaving. As a tactic to bring about change, boycotts are nothing new. But in the current climate, barely a week goes by without a new boycott surfacing. Uber, Starbucks, United Airlines and YouTube are just a smattering of companies that have recently found themselves shunned by consumers.

So we asked our readers on CanadianGrocer.com: How would you deal with a boycott of a brand or product?

• 39%  Take a neutral position. I’m a grocer, not an activist.


• 24%  Wait and see. These things tend to blow over.


• 20%  Don’t know. It’s tricky—there are two sides to every dispute and I don’t want to alienate any of my customers.


• 17%   Drop it immediately. I don’t need the hassle and there are plenty of other products to fill its place.