4 Ways Retailers Are Preying on Your Tariff Anxieties and Making You Spend More
Written by
G. Brian Davis
Edited by
Rebekah Evans
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Americans have gone on a money-spending spree this spring — and not because they feel rich. Quite the opposite, with the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index falling nearly 30% since January.
Already, 72% of consumers have changed their shopping habits per a Collage study, with many stockpiling goods and even “doom spending.” And retailers have played an active role in stoking those tariff anxieties — below are some examples of how.
Announcing Future Price Hikes
The most obvious way that retailers have spurred more spending is simply saying “Price hikes are coming.”
Quynh Mai, founder of retailer PR agency Qulture, explained how effective the strategy has been. “Retailers from Walmart to Amazon have already warned their customers about rising prices and the media has been showing pictures of empty shelves. Customers, who remember scrambling for toilet paper, get the subliminal message and are pre-shopping before prices skyrocket, especially on high-ticket items like iPhones.”
Preemptive Price Hikes Combined With ‘Pre-Tariff Sales’
A sneakier tactic involves retailers hiking prices now, before tariffs have hit their wholesale costs and then announcing discounts and sales.
“For example, say a flooring company paid $1.50 a square foot and they normally sell for $2.50 a square foot,” explained Melanie Musson, finance expert with InsuranceProviders.com. “Then they increase pricing to $3.50 a square foot and offer you a 10% ‘pre-tariff discount,’ you’re going to pay over $3 a square foot. The buyer feels like they got a deal, but they didn’t.”
Highlighting Tariffs in Earnings Calls
Retailers have banged the tariff drum on earnings calls, loudly and repeatedly.
In fact, FactSet reported that 91% of the S&P 500 companies who have reported first quarter earnings mentioned tariffs. They beat out artificial intelligence (AI) as the new corporate buzzword.
By doing so, retailers lay the groundwork for future earnings misses while simultaneously fueling inflation fears and doom spending.
PR Hyperbole
Mai, who works with fashion retail brands, said many have grown aggressive in how they message tariff risks. “Many brands, afraid of the future of their businesses, are pushing outrageous sales and speaking publicly about possibly closing their businesses, prompting a hoarding mentality amongst their customers.”
Will tariffs send consumer prices through the roof? Maybe. In the meantime, retailers are doing some stockpiling of their own: profits.
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