Harley-Davidson took on President Donald Trump over steel and aluminum tariffs, then saw U.S. sales plunge 13-percent during the third quarter compared to 2017. That's the steepest quarterly drop in eight years for the motorcycle maker.
President Trump has hinted Americans should boycott Harley-Davidson when it moved some production overseas.
“Not buying something is for any consumer, depending on their views of what the company is doing in any realm, a way to feel good without spending a dime,” says Betsy Gelb, Marvin Hurley Professor of Marketing & Entrepreneurship at the University of Houston's Bauer College of Business.
Gelb says the same could be said for other high-profile companies such as the NFL and Nike.
“We've had over the years, all sorts of boycotts,” she says. “This is just one more, 'I'm going to buy a different brand,' or 'This is not a product I need right now.'”
“It may not be about your convictions, but you feel that other people would disapprove of your buying that brand and reason enough not to.
In the end, Gelb says it's up to those companies to decide whether they're willing to lose some customers to gain others.