Tariffs are shifting shopper habits.
Welcome to this first post in the series Tariffs in Retail.
In the coming weeks, we’ll examine the effects of tariffs on global retail stakeholders and the practical solutions emerging amid uncertainty.
First up: Consumers.
🛍️ How Tariffs Affect Consumers:
“U.S. tariffs are a tax on imports, which will be largely passed through to consumers.”
~ Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Paul Swartz and Martin Reeves
Harvard Business Review
Quick Timeline:
🔸 April 2: News of U.S. tariffs affecting 86 countries jolted the global retail industry
🔸 Ongoing: Subsequent changes and retaliatory tariffs confused consumers and companies
🔸 May: Higher prices showed up on store shelves. Consumer sentiment plunged to the second-lowest level on record due to fears of higher inflation
Tariffs Change Consumer Behavior:
Image 1 (above) shows how consumer habits are changing, including:
📉 Buying less
♻️ Buying secondhand
🛍️ Stocking up before tariffs kick in
For reference, Image 2 shows how several of these trends are identical to the shifts in consumer habits we saw in 2022 due to inflation.
What other shifts in consumer habits have you noticed?
Coming soon: We’ll examine how retailers’ and brands’ habits are changing in response to tariffs.
Related:
Tariffs Rattle Retail carousel
How Canada-US Tariffs Affect You short video
Inflation Changes Consumer Habits (from 2022)
