PETALING JAYA: Wars are fought on many fronts today, and soldiers are not just those who bear arms.

While bullets and bombs leave extensive physical damage in places from Gaza to the Ukraine, we can deliver an equally lethal blow without firing a single shot.

The weapon at our disposal is in our wallet. By simply not buying from selected brands, we bring businesses to ruins, leading to job losses and a significant impact on the economy.

From the 1791 campaign in England to stop buying sugar produced by slave labour, to the spurning of goods from South Africa by those opposed to apartheid, consumer boycotts have had a long history.

Political, racial and religious issues are fertile grounds for such campaigns. For instance, Rosa Parks’ refusal to give up her “whites only” seat in a bus in Montgomery, in the US state of Alabama in 1955, sparked a boycott of buses in the area.

Commuters began to carpool, to ride in Blacks-only cabs or even walk long distances. The bus company lost 30,000 to 40,000 passengers each day, leaving its fleet idle for months.

Global businesses in the crosshair

In the boycott battlefield, Malaysians are at the frontline. As a recent survey by Ampersand Advisory and InsightzClub shows, 52% of us have responded to the Middle East conflict by spurning international brands we believe are affiliated with Israel.

Ampersand Advisory is a consultagency that specialises in, among others, brand strategy, data analytics and public relations. InsightzClub is a global analytics platform that focuses on issues such as consumer sentiments and customer experience.

For Malaysians, the boycott is most effective at the checkout counter, according to InsightzClub CEO Mritunjay Kumar.

“Nine out of 10 persons are now choosing to protest through their wallets rather than on the streets,” he told FMT.

Hardest hit are US food and beverages (F&B) businesses, with coffee chain Starbucks getting the worst of it. Among all boycotters who responded to the survey, 83% have stopped drinking Starbucks coffee.

Of those who are actively boycotting products, 74% have stopped patronising MacDonald’s outlets and 46% are avoiding KFC fares.

Other foreign brands that have also faced boycotts are Coca-Cola, Pizza Hut and even Disney+. Most, if not all, have one thing in common — they are US brands perceived to be sympathetic to the Jewish cause.

The impact

For the targeted brands, the numbers must be disconcerting. Of those who are boycotting one or more brands, 90% say they have stopped buying their products in protest.

But Malaysians have taken their campaign a notch higher — rather than just not buying, they are also using social media to get others to avoid these brands.

Nearly a third of them have shared posts advocating boycotts, while a fifth of them are actively championing the same cause through their own online platform.

As Kumar puts it, when physical activism is limited, only sharing and conversations become the platform for digital solidarity and consumer-driven change.

For Malaysian companies that own the franchise for these brands, the red ink is spreading across their spreadsheets.

Berjaya Food Bhd, which runs the Starbucks chain in Malaysia, saw a RM33.7 milion net loss in the first quarter of their 2025 financial year (Q1 FY2025), its fourth straight quarterly loss.

Revenue for the same quarter dived 55% year-on-year to RM124.19 million.

It was equally challenging for QSR Brands Holdings Bhd, the operator of KFC restaurants. It has already closed more than 100 outlets temporarily, citing challenging economic conditions worsened by the boycott.

Why Malaysians boycott

Religious sensitivities and racial issues are mostly at the forefront of Malaysian boycotts.

In March 2024, the discovery of a pair of socks bearing the world “Allah” at a KK Mart outlet sparked a boycott of the supermarket chain.

At least 44% of those who admitted to engaging in boycotts said they were among those who had stopped patronising KK Mart stores.

While the Middle East conflict is a territorial matter, Malaysians identify with the Palestinians, who are mostly Muslims, making it a religious issue.

For the record, the war in Gaza also sparked off protest marches in Kuala Lumpur.

Another factor that leads to boycotts is the poor health outcomes of certain products. Health-conscious consumers tend to avoid fastfood and sugary drinks.

Who wins?

Consumers have to find a way to satisfy their needs and wants, and when forced to reject their usual fare, they turn to the best alternatives available.

For home-grown brands, this has been a windfall.

Respondents to the Ampersand-InsightzClub survey say they are now patronising local coffee outlets and restaurant chains as well as those from other countries.

For instance, 72% of those who now give Starbucks a miss are sipping ZUS coffee or Gigi coffee, while 58% of those who love chocolates are buying Beryl’s.

Chagee, a Chinese milk tea, has gained a new following, and so has Tealive, another Malaysian brand.

The long-term impact

Brands that have lost customers through boycotts are unlikely to win them back, according to Sandeep Joseph, co-founder and CEO of Ampersand.

“Will consumers who have gotten into the habit of not using a brand for a year or more ever go back? Our survey, at least, shows that is unlikely,” he told FMT.

Kunal Sinha, chief knowledge officer at Ampersand, said Malaysian consumers are conscious about brand behaviour.

“They will scrutinise that from various perspectives — religious and cultural sensitivity, the behaviour of influencers, labour practices, health, trade practices and racism,” he said.

The reciprocal tariffs of US President Donald Trump is a trade practice that will lead to more boycotts, he added.

Already, 44% of respondents to the survey will not rule out boycotting a brand from a country that indulges in unfair trade practices, setting the stage for a consumer-led backlash against tariffs.

Sandeep said the survey was conducted to see how prevalent the boycott sparked off by the Gaza war has been.

“We can now see that while news from Gaza are not hitting the headlines as often, the issues are clearly still looming on the minds of many,” he said.

Brands need to be sensitive and work hard to overcome this sentiment, he added.