One-day boycott five large retail chains on January 31 gave non-negligible results, the data showed Tax Administration, but that was apparently not enough of a warning for some, so they increased the prices of certain products after the boycott.
That's why the Association for Consumer Protection Effectiva called for a new five-day boycott, from February 10 to 14, hoping that the big trade will come to their senses and reduce the inflated prices.
Tears of joy over pasta
It was during the first consumer boycott that it was seen that anything can be done, when one wants to.
In the sea of posts, one stood out, both sad and comical, and it concerned the price of probably the most famous Italian pasta. In response to the boycott, Deleuze lowered the price of that pasta from the previous 31 dinars to 270 dinars per package on January 99,99, allegedly as part of the campaign.
Pasta lovers, and there are not a few of them, in their posts rejoiced at the previously unprecedented discount while also criticizing the retail chain, aware that all the time they were paying 2,7 times more for pasta than what is still profitable for retailers.
"Just imagine how much they teased us all these years on pasta alone?" was by far the most sobering question they asked on January 31.
Aware that a boycott can have results, because that pasta is still on sale, but also because some retail chains did the exact opposite and increased the prices of some products after the boycott, consumer associations called on citizens for a new boycott.
Effectivea states that after the boycott on January 31, some retail chains, despite calls to lower prices, even increased prices.
"This requires a new consumer revolt, which will be transformed into a five-day boycott," says Eftekila.
That association warned that, if there is no concrete reaction even after the new boycott, together with the consumers, they will make a decision to boycott individual traders for a long period, the aim of which will be to force the trade chains to lower prices.
In addition to the Association for Consumer Protection Effectiva, which is the initiator of the boycott that should be implemented from January 10 to 14, the idea was also supported by the consumer association Prosperitet from Novi Sad and the Republican Union of Consumers from Belgrade.
What the data says
The fact that the boycott of large retail chains gives results is also unequivocally shown by the data of the Tax Administration. Some increased their prices after the boycott.
Data from the Tax Administration say that on the day of the boycott, January 31, the number of fiscal invoices issued was 865.758, which is 25 percent less than the day before, and as an example, it was stated that on January 30, the number of fiscal invoices issued was 1.157.985.
The data were also compared with Friday, January 17, when the number of issued fiscal invoices was 1.103.159, and Thursday, January 16, when that number was 1.095.561, which means that on the day of the boycott, January 31, the number of fiscal invoices issued was about 20 percent lower compared to these two days.
On the day of the boycott, the turnover at Deleze ("Maxi" and "Shop&Go"), Mercator ("Idea" and "Roda"), "DIS", "Lidl" and "Univerexport" was 911.110.569 dinars.
The day before, on January 30, those trade chains had a turnover of 1.334.431.914 dinars, which means that on the day of the boycott, compared to the previous day, the turnover was lower by about 32 percent.
Customers are powerless.
Economist Jelena Žarković, right before the boycott on January 31, estimated that the boycott would only have a one-time effect and reduce traffic for that day, without more permanent solutions, and pointed out that customers are "powerless within the existing market conditions".
"Customers have no influence because they have no alternative, only larger retail chains are available to them." Of course, there are also small stores where the prices of some products are lower, but there are significantly fewer of them," Žarković told DW at the time.
"And if it pays for a small shop to have a lower price than in Maxi, and to still make a profit, can you imagine how much he takes?" said Žarković.
She stated that the one-day boycott will be more symbolic, but that it "will not change anything" until the overall market conditions are regulated and the state takes a greater part in it.
"The solution is to finish the procedure that the state is leading and to see if there was any price matching," she says.
"In addition, it is necessary to increase competition by bringing new chains to the market, which can have a small store in every neighborhood." That's the only way you can compete in prices, and all of that is the role of the state," Žarković pointed out.
