A series of boycotts against retail stores in Southeast Europe in late January 2025. The boycotts started in Croatia on January 24 in reaction to rising retail prices across the country. Boycotts in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia have been launched, while one is underway in Slovenia. The boycotts came amidst soaring food prices and cost of living throughout the region, caused by various economic factors. The boycotts have received widespread public support.

Prices in Croatia had surged in the lead up to the boycott, to the extent that salaries and pensions were not able to effectively keep up. This initially began as part of the broader increase in prices due to inflation from the COVID-19 pandemic and was accentuated when Croatia joined the Eurozone in 2023.^[1] A declining agricultural sector, Large food retailer monopolies and erosion of smaller business, an influx of imports, and an overreliance of tourism have all contributed to the inflationary surge.^[2] Further price hikes have since been implemented by various retailers in the country, leading to a 30% surge in prices according to official metrics.^[1][2]

Croatia became significantly more expensive to live in than neighboring countries.^[1] Basic food items such as bread or eggs saw their prices increase by up to 60% in some cases. Attention was drawn to the cost of products in Croatia compared to their counterpart costs in neighboring countries; for example, a German shampoo brand was said to cost 130% more in Croatia than in Germany. In Bulgaria, it was 20% cheaper than in Croatia. This included even locally made products, with a Croatian seasoning costing €7.69 per kilogram within Croatia, as opposed to €6.35 in Sweden.^[2] Branimir Bradaric, writing for the Montenegrin newspaper Vijesti, noted that tourists in Croatia, who used to frequent restaurants on a regular basis, now began to eat at their apartments due to the exorbitant prices.^[1]

The idea for a boycott began with the Facebook group Halo, inspektore,^[a] of the European Center for Consumer Excellence.^[b][3][4] Its president, Josip Kelemen stated that the idea stemmed from the consumers themselves. Initially, it called for a boycott of veal for a week, citing an alleged 40% increase in food prices within the past few months.^[5][6] The idea for a one-day January 24 boycott spread across Croatian social media, receiving massive support.^[7] During the boycott in the latter half of January, there were multiple attempts to compromise it. One of the more prominent attempts was the renaming of groups made in support of the leading party's presidential candidate Dragan Primorac to "Halo inspektore" (without the comma after Halo)^[8].

The boycott consists of the avoidance of certain products such as: bread, pasta, ham, sausage, fish, milk, dairy products, and other types of fruits and vegetables. The boycott was also meant to send a strong message with the dissatisfaction of the price increases.^[9] As a result, the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Croatia expanded the list of the products that are being restricted.^[10]

Data revealed that the total number of invoices issued in retail on Friday, January 24, was 44% lower than it was on the Friday the week prior (January 17), while the total monetary cost was down by 53%. For all activities, it was 29% and 36% lower respectively.^[11] Empty shops and parking lots were reported.^[12]

Although the boycott cut sales by half, retailers refused to budge;^[13] this led to another week-long boycott starting on January 30. This boycott specifically targeted the retail chains of Lidl, EuroSpin, and DM which were alleged to have exorbitant prices; Lidl in particular was criticized for having said prices while initially entering the Croatian market under the promise of keeping them low.^[14] The boycott also targeted soda (specifically Coca-Cola),^[9] detergents, and bottled water. As part of the boycott, a general boycott of all products and services was called for on January 31.^[14]

The success of the Croatian boycott spawned a domino effect, leading to other calls for boycotts throughout Southeast Europe, specially in the Yugosphere countries.^[15] A synchronized strike across the former Yugoslav countries occurred on January 31.^[16]

Inspired by efforts in Croatia, social media users in Bosnia and Herzegovina began calling for a similar boycott on January 31. The boycott cited concerns over skyrocketing prices, noting that prices in the country were higher than those in other countries such as Germany.^[17] Furthermore, concerns were raised over the cost of living.^[18][19] The Bosnia and Herzegovina boycott targeted shops, restaurants, and gas stations.^[15] It aimed to pressure authorities and employers within the country to curb inflation and increase the minimum wage and standard of living.^[18]

A boycott commenced in Montenegro on January 31. Inflation in the country rose by 30.5% between 2021 and 2024, with food prices surging by as much as 41%. Retail stores experienced upwards of 50% in turnover rates from 2021 to 2023, while some had profit increases high as 200% during the same time period. Many Montenegrins complained that prices in their country were much more expensive than in other countries. The Unija slobodnih sindikata Crne Gore^[c] had also urged its members to join the boycott.^[20]

On January 31, North Macedonia also participated in this mass boycott.^[18] The country has been undergoing similar issues regarding price surges. A "New-Year's basket" government initiative intended to resolve the issue via an optional program where retailers could reduce prices, but it was viewed as insufficient, with reports of retailers raising prices prior to decreasing them.^[18][21]

The boycott resulted in a revenue decline of 46.59% at the eight largest supermarket chains compared to the previous Friday and 46.29% from the previous day. The Public Revenue Office reported total revenue of 114,293,367 denars on the day of the boycott, down from 212,782,151 denars on January 30.^[22]

A boycott was initiated in Serbia on January 31. Serbia's boycott was unique in that it occurred in the backdrop of student protests that had been ongoing in the country since November 2024, following the collapse of a train station's canopy in Novi Sad on November 1, 2024. The country has one of the highest prices in Europe, with domestic products often times being cheaper in other countries.^[23][24] In October, four retail chains; Deleze, Mercator S, Univerexport, and DIS [sr], were investigated by the Serbian government over allegations of price gouging. These four companies, in addition to Lidl, are the targets of the boycott in Serbia.^[23] The United Trade Unions of Serbia "Sloga" urged its members to join.^[25]

Calls for a boycott in Slovenia have also commenced.^[26][27] Governmental data has shown that in the country, Slovenes pay on average 44% more than they did a decade prior. Despite having a lower increase in prices than average for the European Union, prices have still risen for food items such as olive oil (20%), butter (17%), meat (3–6%), and bread (2%). Slovenes frequently made comparisons to Italy, where prices were much lower.^[28] The boycott, if it is acted upon, will target certain retail chains and is to end on February 2, afterwards, Slovenes are urged to boycott other stores until February 9.^[29]

Calls for a boycott have reportedly been made in Slovakia.^[6]

The boycotts were widely popular across the several countries. 90% of Bosnians supported the boycott in their country,^[30] while 89.5% of Croats stated that they would participate in their boycott.^[31] A similar sentiment was echoed from Macedonians.^[32] Many national politicians supported the measures.^[18][19][33]

In Croatia, the government did not condemn the boycotts and on January 30 announced a price freeze on 70 consumer goods in response.^[9] The boycotts were endorsed by several Croatian parties, such as the Social Democratic Party of Croatia, Možemo, Most, and the Homeland Movement.^[33][34] The latter's Ante Šušnjar, who's been serving as the national minister of the economy, also endorsed it.^[35] The supermarket chains Kaufland and Konzum announced that they were implementing price caps on 1,000 and 250 products respectively.^[36]

In North Macedonia, the ruling VMRO-DPMNE party endorsed the boycotts. The main opposition party, SDSM, also supported them, but blamed the current government and administration of Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski for ignoring the opposition's plans to counter the price surges while managing the issue with "fake baskets."^[18][37]

The Montenegrin prime minister, Milojko Spajić, supported the boycotts, with his vice minister of the economy, Nik Đeljošaj, asking the protestors to not include domestic workers. The Chamber of Commerce, whose members are owners of retail chains, and the Montenegrin Consumer Association opposed the measure.^[20]

• Consumer activism – Type of activist behavior
• Economic activism
• 1902 kosher meat boycott – 1902 New York City protest
• 1973 meat boycott – week long national boycott of the purchase of meat in the United StatesPages displaying wikidata descriptions as a fallback
• Cottage cheese boycott – 2011 Israeli consumer boycott