Unraveling brand boycotts: What are the top triggers for consumer boycotts across global markets?

From McDonald’s and Starbucks, to Coca-Cola and Unilever, a string of multinational brands have reported weaker sales in recent months, after facing boycott campaigns over their perceived support for Israel’s ongoing military offensive in Gaza.

But how likely are consumers across various markets to shun brands that do business with countries whose actions they disapprove of?

Now, an international study by YouGov sheds light on this question—and the top reasons that lead consumers in different countries to boycott businesses.

How likely are consumers in different markets to engage in brand boycotts?

Latest YouGov Surveys research has found that over seven in ten consumers across 17 international markets say they would boycott a brand—should the company or its leaders act in ways they object to.

Among the markets polled, UAE (88%) and Indonesia (86%) have the highest proportion of potentially activistic consumers at over six in seven, just ahead of Hong Kong, Australia (both 85%), Canada (84%), Denmark (83%) and Britain (82%). These markets also have the smallest share of consumers who would never boycott a brand: at 10% or less.

On the other hand, less than three-quarters of consumers in Poland (73%) and USA (74%) would boycott brands for any reason—the lowest among the markets polled—followed by Mexico, Germany (both 75%) and Spain (76%). These markets also have the highest fraction of consumers who would never boycott a brand: at 18-22%.

Meanwhile, Sweden has a significantly higher percentage of consumers who are unsure about whether they would ever boycott a brand for various reasons (11%), followed by Britain and Denmark (both 9%).

What are the top reasons for consumer boycotts across markets globally?

Boycotting a company whose products are found to have posed a health risk (e.g. contains toxic or cancer-causing substances) emerged as the most likely reason why consumers across all markets polled would stop or avoid buying a particular brand.

Except for Poland, India and Mexico, more than half of consumers across all other markets polled say they would boycott companies that peddle products shown to have health hazards—with consumers in consumers in Britain, Australia, Canada and Denmark most likely to say so.

Boycotting a company that engages in unethical practices (e.g. child labor, union busting, etc.) and does business with countries whose actions consumers disapprove (e.g., military aggression, terrorism, human rights issues, unfair trade practices, etc.) are the next most likely reasons consumers across markets would abstain from a particular brand.

While boycotting brands whose operations may be deemed unethical ranks second most common for most markets polled—with over half of consumers in Britain, Australia, Denmark, Canada, Spain, Sweden and the USA indicating so—shunning brands for dealing with countries whose actions may be deemed objectionable is the second most common motivation in Indonesia and Poland.

Staying away from companies whose operations or products are environmentally polluting or  damaging is another major motivation for consumer boycotts across markets—but especially so among consumers in Italy, Indonesia, Denmark, Britain and Australia—where over two in five indicate they could do so.

Sudden price raises round up the top five most common causes of consumer boycotts, with consumers in Australia, Britain, Canada, Singapore, France and Italy most likely to stop or avoid buying from brands who do this.

How likely are consumers to boycott brands for working with countries they disapprove of?

More than half of consumers in Indonesia (53%) and Denmark (52%) and close to half in Sweden (49%) and Britain (47%) would boycott brands which do business with countries whose actions consumers disapprove (e.g., military aggression, terrorism, human rights issues, unfair trade practices, etc).

On the other hand, only around a third of consumers in Hong Kong (34%), India (33%), Italy (31%) and just a quarter in Mexico (26%) say the same.

Defusing consumer boycotts: How can brands regain customers and bounce back?

In our earlier article, we explored the top triggers for consumer boycotts across markets, and how the overall risk of brand boycotts compares internationally.

But what actions can brands already snubbed by consumers take to recover from a boycott?

In this piece, we dive into YouGov’s latest international findings on what’s most likely to encourage consumers across international markets to stop boycotting a brand.

How likely are consumers across markets to reconsider a brand boycott?
Latest YouGov Surveys research shows that, across international markets, the vast majority of consumers who would boycott a brand for acting in ways they disapprove of are open to patronizing such brands again (“potential boycotters”—as long as they take remedying actions or are penalised for their objectionable behaviour.

However, about one in seven “potential boycotters” in France (14%) and the USA (13%) say they would not reverse a decision to boycott a brand under any conditions—the highest proportion among the 17 international markets polled—followed by Hong Kong and Spain (both 12%) where around one in six say the same. 

Under what circumstances would consumers across markets reverse a decision to boycott a brand?
Among consumers who would stop boycotting a brand in response to remedying or penalizing follow-up actions, most are willing to do so if the company in question provides a plan to address the issue they find objectionable or shares results on how they have taken steps to address the objectionable issue.

Unsurprisingly, sharing how the objectionable issue has been addressed persuaded more consumers to end their boycott, compared to a plan to address it, which was more persuasive than only issuing an apology as a rule.

Generally, having an outside entity (the government, NGOs, or a lawsuit) penalise a company for acting objectionably was least likely to encourage “potential boycotters” to reverse their decision in most markets. However, in Hong Kong, Poland, France and Mexico, such punitive action would promote more consumers than a company-issued apology to end their boycotts.

Methodology: YouGov Surveys: Serviced provides quick survey results from nationally representative or targeted audiences in multiple markets. The data is based on surveys of adults aged 18+ years in 17 markets, with sample sizes varying between 510 and 2,044 for each market. All surveys were conducted online during February 2024. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.