Consumers Plan to Alter Shopping Habits if Latest Tariffs Stick, Says Report

A survey by shopping rewards app Shopkick found 60 percent of U.S. consumers will adjust where they shop if impending tariffs announced by the Trump administration take effect. The survey of 30,799 users, released Friday, was done June 28-June 30, before President Donald Trump’s Thursday tweet putting the 10 percent List 4 Sec­tion 301 tariffs into effect Sept. 1 on Chinese imports not previously tariffed. Of the 60 percent of consumers aware of the impending tariffs, some 40 percent reported having already seen prices increasing on store shelves, and 38 percent expect a household cost increase of up to $500; 30 percent expect a hike of more than $1,000. Roughly 60 percent said they plan to adjust the retailers they frequent; 44 percent plan to cut down on shopping; 29 percent are stocking up on goods now and 25 percent will switch to American-made goods, said the survey. Thirty-four percent of generation Z respondents were aware of tariffs vs. 74 percent of baby boomers. Half of millennials plan to reduce spending vs. 38 percent of baby boomers, 62 percent of whom plan to seek alternate options to cut costs, it said. Though the arrival and scope of tariffs are uncertain, consumers are “thinking ahead and plan to adjust their shopping habits and destinations, ushering in a new age of consumer shopping habits that American retailers will be forced to adapt to,” it said.