The Heart of Retail: Why Boycotts Like “We Ain’t Buying It” Hurt the People Who Can’t Afford It

After years as a Walmart Store Manager, one truth became crystal clear to me: the heart of every big retailer isn’t the CEO, the shareholders, or the corporate office. It’s the hourly workers. The cashiers who greet you with a smile. The stockers who lift heavy freight through the night. The associates who clean spills, run returns, and keep shelves full. They are the engine that keeps these stores alive. And when the recent “We Ain’t Buying It” protest called for a boycott of Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Amazon over the holiday weekend, my first thought wasn’t about the corporations — it was about those workers.

The protest aims to make a statement by urging people not to shop from Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday. People have every right to speak up on issues they care about. But having spent years in the trenches of retail, I know exactly who feels the impact first. It isn’t executives in office towers — it’s the people standing on tile floors for eight hours, earning hourly wages they rely on to pay bills, buy groceries, and support their families.

In retail, hours are everything. Most hourly workers don’t have set salaries; their income depends entirely on how many hours they’re scheduled each week. And schedules depend on store traffic and sales. When a protest like “We Ain’t Buying It” encourages thousands to skip shopping altogether, the result isn’t a corporate revelation — it’s immediate hour cuts. I’ve had associates come into my office worried because losing just three or four hours meant the difference between paying a bill or falling behind.

The painful part is this: hourly workers have absolutely no say in the corporate decisions people are protesting. They don’t choose what political causes the company supports. They don’t decide on corporate partnerships. They don’t set policies, and most of the time, they don’t even hear about them until customers bring them up. Yet protests aimed at the corporation punish workers who had nothing to do with the reason people are upset.

And these workers are often the most vulnerable. In my years of managing a store, I worked with single parents who picked up every hour they could, students trying to afford tuition, grandparents working part-time to stretch their fixed income, and veterans transitioning into civilian life. These are the people who stock holiday shelves at 4 a.m. and push carts in freezing weather. When a boycott cuts traffic, these workers lose the stability they depend on — sometimes for months.

Communities feel the impact too. Big retailers play a massive role in local economies. They provide accessible jobs, affordable groceries, pharmacy services, and everyday necessities. When a protest causes a store to lose revenue, it doesn’t just shrink the payroll — it shrinks the store’s ability to serve the community. Over time, it can lead to reduced hours, smaller staffs, fewer stocked items, and in the worst cases, store closures. And when a store closes in a small or rural town, the people who suffer most are the workers and residents who depended on it.

Customers also experience the fallout. With fewer employees scheduled, checkout lines get longer, shelves take longer to restock, and assistance becomes harder to find. What starts as a temporary boycott can snowball into long-term declines in service — not because employees don’t care, but because there simply aren’t enough of them on the floor. Again, the burden falls squarely on hourly workers doing their best with less support.

Do I understand the desire to push back against corporations? Of course. People want their voices heard. But I also know that harming the workforce isn’t the way to do it. The hardworking people running registers, unloading trucks, and helping customers aren’t responsible for corporate decisions. They are simply trying to make an honest living. And they deserve better than to become collateral damage in a fight they never asked to be part of.

If we want to create change, we need to do it in ways that hold the right people accountable — not the ones earning $14–$18 an hour who keep these stores running every day. Write to corporate offices, support legislation, engage respectfully, support small businesses — but don’t strip hours and income from the very people who make retail possible.

Because retail isn’t built by boardrooms. It’s built by hourly workers. They are the backbone of the industry. They are the ones who show up, day after day, to serve their communities. And they are the ones most harmed by boycotts like “We Ain’t Buying It.”

Heavenly Father,
We lift up every retail worker—the cashiers, stockers, and associates who serve our communities every day. Bless their hands, strengthen their spirits, and protect them through long hours and stressful moments.

Give them peace, fairness, stability, and the support they deserve. Remind them that their work matters and that they are seen, valued, and appreciated.

Watch over them and their families today and always.
Amen.