A two-day boycott of stores has started today in Bosnia and Herzegovina due to high prices, with citizens being urged to refrain from making any purchases. Following a one-day boycott on January 31, the action is now taking place for two days—today and tomorrow—under the message “Don’t Buy!” The boycott is organized by the Facebook group “Bojkot BiH,” which has announced that the protest will continue until the demands for lower prices are met.

The organizers have called on citizens to rationalize their spending on other days, purchasing only essential goods, and to avoid buying anything on Friday and Saturday. The success of the first boycott is difficult to assess, although photos from the field showed stores with fewer customers. However, data from the tax administrations in the RS and FBiH indicate that a larger number of citizens did not respond to the action. In fact, official statistics show that sales in stores on January 31 were the same or even higher than on previous days.

Ferida Kulović, president of the Consumer Association “Potrošač” from Kakanj, stated earlier that she considered the first boycott a success, despite data from the FBiH Tax Administration suggesting otherwise. “We witnessed that stores were half-empty,” she said, adding that she fully supports the boycott and believes that a large number of people will join in this time.

The boycott of stores due to high prices has spread across the region, starting in Croatia, where today also marks the beginning of a new general boycott of all products and services. This is the third Friday of store boycotts in Croatia, and from Saturday, a boycott of one retail chain will last for a week.

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