What Target, Ulta and 2 Other Retailers Have Said About Trump’s Tariffs
Written by
Angela Mae
Edited by
Levi Leidy
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Tariff changes under the Trump administration could have a major impact on retailers like Target and Ulta. Some retailers aren’t too concerned because of their existing sourcing models, while others are considering price hikes and supply chain diversification. A few C-suite executives have mentioned that they’ve been through tariff changes before and will weather these new ones as they always have.
If you’re wondering how your favorite retailers are handling possible tariff changes, here’s what some of them have said.
Target: Careful Monitoring and Emphasis on Price Affordability
Target has always been known for its everyday low prices. The retailer’s slogan is even “Expect more. Pay less.”
“As a company that aims to deliver great products and outstanding value, we’re focused on supporting American families as they manage their budgets. We have many levers to use in mitigating the impact of tariffs, and price is the very last resort,” said Brian Cornell, CEO of Target. “Our strategy is to remain price competitive by leveraging the capabilities, long-standing relationships and the scale that set us apart for many of our retail peers.”
That said, Cornell also noted that traffic and sales were down in 2025’s first quarter. Consumer confidence has also been on the decline. Given this, mitigating the impact of tariffs continues to pose a challenge.
While Target’s prices might not experience a significant shift at this time, tariffs have a wide-reaching impact on consumers. If consumer confidence continues to drop, the retailer may have to raise prices to make up for the loss.
Walmart: Tariffs Are Leading To Price Hikes
Walmart is another leader when it comes to price affordability, but even this retailer isn’t immune to tariffs. During a Q4 2024 call, Doug McMillon, CEO of Walmart, said: “Tariffs are something we’ve managed for many years, we’ll just continue to manage that… We can’t predict what will happen in the future, but we can manage it really well. And we’re wired to try and save people money. So that will be our ultimate goal.”
However, Walmart has been feeling the stress of tariffs more than previously anticipated. Walmart’s CFO John David Rainey has since said: “There are certain items, certain categories of merchandise that we’re dependent upon to import from other countries and the prices of those things are likely going to go up, and that’s not good for consumers.”
In its latest earnings call, Walmart announced that it will indeed be raising prices on many of its goods, claiming it’s unable to “absorb all the pressure” tariffs have caused.” Since Walmart is one of the biggest importers of international goods, this means a higher bill at the checkout stand.
Notably, President Trump responded to Walmart’s statement with the following: “Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain…Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING.”
Whether or not this will have an impact on Walmart’s decision remains to be seen.
Costco: Leveraging Global Buying Power and Innovation
Ron Vachris, CEO of Costco, had this to say about tariffs: “About a third of our sales in the U.S. are imported from other countries and less than half of those are items coming from China, Mexico and Canada. In uncertain times, our members have historically placed even greater importance on the value of high-quality items at great prices and our teams will continue to rise to this challenge by leveraging our global buying power, strong supplier relationships and innovation.”
From how it sounds, Costco doesn’t anticipate any major price changes at this time. Still, goods imported from countries most directly impacted by tariffs could see changes on the horizon. This could especially impact consumers who tend to buy a lot of goods imported from China and other countries.
Ulta: Continuing To Navigate Through Changes
In Q4 2024, Paula Oyibo, CFO of Ulta, made the following statement: “While we don’t know the exact exposure our brand partners have upstream, only about 1% of our shipments over the last 12 months were direct imports. And so, our exposure is relatively limited.”
Oyibo also had this to say: “Similar to how we successfully navigated in the 2018, 2019 period, our teams are staying very close to the evolving situations and we’re continuing to navigate it.”
Ulta has declined to share any more news about tariffs since then. Since the company doesn’t deal as much as internationally-imported goods, chances are customers won’t notice much of a change — if any. Ulta did report having a “cautious outlook” on net sales this coming year, largely thanks to new brand launches.
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