A fresh one-day boycott of all shops, products, and services commenced in Croatia this morning, spearheaded by the consumer platform “Hello, Inspector” in response to soaring prices.

The widespread participation of citizens is evident as shops and shopping malls in Zagreb are nearly deserted, with only a handful of shoppers. Images of vacant stores across the nation have been circulating on Croatian portals and on the “Hello, Inspector” social media platform since the early hours today.

Consumers have been urged to participate in a sweeping boycott of both retail and service sectors. The “Hello, Inspector” platform has called for citizens to refrain from payment transactions, dining, accommodation, transport, delivery, and telecommunications services today, in addition to the boycott of stores. Furthermore, a seven-day boycott against three retail chains—Lidl, Eurospin, and DM—was initiated yesterday due to their products being priced higher in Croatia compared to other EU countries. Additionally, the boycott targets three specific product categories that consumers highlighted through the “Hello, Inspector” platform, marking a significant increase in prices: Coca-Cola and similar soft drinks, bottled water, and all types of detergents.

Josip Kelemen of the “Hello Inspector” platform remarked this morning that this latest boycott aims to deliver a powerful statement to those who have not taken action to mitigate price hikes and inflation.

“Today we will demonstrate that we can spend an entire day without shopping or service utilization, thereby sending a compelling message to those who have yet to respond,” Kelemen stated in an interview with Croatian Radio and Television.

The boycott has garnered support from consumer associations, political parties, unions, and government entities.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković announced yesterday, following discussions with representatives from retail chains and manufacturers, that the list of price-capped products will expand from 30 to 70 items.

“The government has taken action, but others must also engage,” Plenković noted, emphasizing that “no one would suffer losses if prices were adjusted to be more reasonable.”

Amid the boycott, Konzum, one of the largest retail chains, declared yesterday that starting Saturday, it would reduce and stabilize prices on 250 domestic products that do not fall within the spectrum of the government’s price limitation decision.

Kaufland also announced today that it would apply discounts, lowering regular prices on over a thousand products.

The initial boycott of shops last Friday saw significant engagement from citizens. According to the Tax Administration, the total number of invoices issued in retail on the first boycott day, January 24, was 44 percent lower than the previous week, with the overall invoice value dropping by 53 percent.

The Voice of Entrepreneurs Association issued an open letter on Thursday to politicians who support the boycott of retail chains. They asserted that most inflationary pressures originate from political decisions rather than business practices. In light of this, they proposed three measures to politicians to rein in price increases: reducing VAT on food, publishing retail chain pricing, and curtailing government expenditures by eliminating 50 percent of municipalities.

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