WASHINGTON -- Walmart and Amazon will no longer stock merchandise bearing the Confederate flag after the Charleston church massacre, in a growing movement against what critics say is a symbol of racism in the American South.

The retail giants were joined by eBay, Sears and Kmart and follows calls from South Carolina state governor Nikki Haley to remove the controversial flag from the grounds of the state capital following protests at the weekend.

Civil rights activists have long pushed for the flag to be removed from official use and the debate has returned to the spotlight since last week‘s killings by suspected white supremacist gunman Dylan Roof, who appears in photos with the banner on a website linked to his name.

Unemployed loner Roof has been charged with nine counts of murder. All his victims were black.

The battle flag -- a red rectangle marked with a blue cross embedded with white stars -- is a powerful symbol of the pro-slavery South during the American Civil War. It is seen by some as a symbol of Southern U.S. heritage, but by others as a racist relic of a bygone era.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer and a staple in the South, said it would remove Confederate flag merchandise from its shelves as a matter of respect.

“We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer,” Walmart spokesman Brian Nick said in a statement.

“We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the Confederate flag from our assortment, whether in our stores or on our website.”

The company‘s CEO Doug McMillon said in a television interview that he had not even known that Walmart carried Confederate flag merchandise.

“We just don’t want to sell products that make anyone feel uncomfortable and we felt like that was the case,” he said. (AFP)