Confederate Flag Purchases Soar as Major Retailers Halt Sales

Google, Amazon, eBay, Wal-Mart and Sears are among the big retailers that have announced a ban on sales of the controversial Confederate flag as of Tuesday.

The move comes after a racially-motivated terror attack killed nine black people in South Carolina last week; the self-confessed killer Dylann Roof sported Confederate flag insignia in photos released in the aftermath of the attack.

Dylann Roof holds the Confederate flag. | Source: The Last Rhodesian

It has stirred heated debate over the legacy of the flag – which represents the pro-slavery forces during the U.S. Civil War – and whether or not it should fly over the South Carolina’s state capitol.

"We have determined that the Confederate flag violates our ads policies, which don't allow content that's generally perceived as expressing hate toward a particular group," a Google representative told Reuters.

RELATED: 5 Key Facts on the Racist History of the Confederate Flag

Ebay, which announced its decision to pull the sale of thousands of items bearing the flag from its website Tuesday, saying it is "contemporary symbol of divisiveness and racism."

A public outcry, with many calling to ban the flag, has caused backlash from Confederate supporters, with Amazon witnessing an increase in sales of the Confederate flag shooting up from 1,670 percent to 2,305 percent in a period of 24 hours.

bc symbolism of institutionalized racism and violence against black people will not be tolerated #ConfederateTakeDown pic.twitter.com/mQhOn3UHgD

— CHEL. (@tigerlilyysays) June 18, 2015

South Carolina State Governor Nikki Haley recently joined the call to remove the flag.

"This flag, while an integral part of our past, does not represent the future of our great state," the Republican governor said.