What Kevin O’Leary Says Shoppers Should Expect From Walmart and Trump’s Tariffs
Written by
Paige Cerulli
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Since Trump has started implementing tariffs earlier this year, the retail industry — and customers — have dealt with the uncertainty of rising prices. Here’s what “Shark Tank” investor Kevin O’Leary had to say about what customers can expect from Walmart amidst tariffs.
What Walmart and Other Retailers Are Saying About Tariffs
In May, Walmart shared that it planned to increase prices, possibly by June, to pass along the higher tariff costs it would pay to purchase inventory. “We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won’t stop. We’ll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins,” a Walmart spokesperson told The Hill.
Trump disagreed with the idea that Walmart should increase prices. He wrote on Truth Social that Walmart needs to stop using tariffs as an excuse for increasing prices across its stores. And said with Walmart having seen enormous profits last year, Walmart should absorb the costs associated with tariffs, instead of passing them on to customers.
Walmart is not the only retailer to warn that it will increase prices because of the tariffs. The CEOs of Walmart, Target and Home Depot have all met with Trump to discuss the tariff impacts.
What O’Leary Said About Walmart and Tariffs
During an interview with The Hill, O’Leary said despite Trump’s call for retailers to “eat the tariffs,” retailers will not absorb those increased prices.
“This idea that the president says, ‘Listen, retailers, eat the tariffs.’ That’s not going to happen,” O’Leary explained.
Instead, he believes that retailers and customers will both absorb some of the higher costs driven by tariffs. “There’s going to be some distribution of the pain between increased prices and retailers will take some of the hit, but it really depends what the hit,” O’Leary said, highlighting the fact that since tariff rates are fluctuating, some tariffs are being paused and Trump is still negotiating tariffs, it’s difficult to estimate just how much prices might increase.
He also explained that retailers will likely lobby the Trump administration, working to get lower tariff rates which would help reduce the cost of inventory from companies like China.
Tips for Navigating Tariffs While Shopping
Retailers like Walmart can only eat so much of the tariff costs before they push those costs onto customers in the form of higher product prices. CNN reported that a Goldman Sachs analysis indicated that while foreign exporters absorb about 20% of the added tariff costs, the remaining 80% tariff costs are split between United States businesses and consumers. The Goldman Sachs economists estimated that consumers will pay about 70% of the tariff costs via higher prices.
That’s by no means definite, since tariffs are currently and frequently changing, but it does indicate that consumers could soon face financial strain when buying products manufactured overseas, such as electronics, back-to-school supplies and mass-produced clothing.
You can potentially save on tariff costs in several ways:
- Shop early. If you know you need to buy items that will be impacted by tariffs, like back-to-school supplies, try to stock up now or at least buy some of the more expensive items now.
- Buy from small businesses. Some small businesses which manufacture products in the United States may fare better under the tariffs than big box businesses will. Just keep in mind that even small businesses often source materials or components from overseas, so their prices may increase, too.
- Comparison shop. Do some research before making larger purchases to find the best price. Shopping apps like ShopSavvy can make comparison shopping easier. You can also see if your local big box store offers a price match guarantee. If so, bring in proof of a competitor’s price and the store should match it.
Editor’s note on political coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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