How are the world’s consumer brands dealing with ongoing U.S. tariffs?
As Reuters noted in a report Thursday (July 31), it depends on which company you ask. Of the 300 companies monitored by the news organization’s tariffs tracker, at least 92 have raised prices, with consumer companies making up a third of that group.
The differing approaches among these companies, the report said, show an increasing divide about how much they think they can pass onto shoppers without impacting sales.
Consumers, especially those dealing with tight budgets in the midst of economic and geopolitical upheaval, may chafe at paying more for everyday goods. Middle and higher-income consumers, Reuters added, might be more likely to spend on higher-priced discretionary items.
“Tariffs will act as a regressive tax on household consumption, weighing proportionately more on low- and middle-income household spending than upper-income households,” Morgan Stanley analysts said in a note, per the report.
The report adds that some luxury brands might have more power than others, like Hermes, which increased prices by 7% globally, with an added 5% hike specifically in the U.S., where the company said it would fully pass on the impact of tariffs to clients.
And Porsche and Aston Martin this week revealed small price increases in the U.S., though this news came as they issued profit warnings, underlining the market’s fragility, Reuters added.
“This is not a storm that will pass,” Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said.
Meanwhile, research by PYMNTS Intelligence shows that close to half of American consumers said they were unable to purchase essential goods such as food, household supplies, and apparel due to stockouts.
Research in the June 2025 Consumer Tariff Sentiment report, “Stock Out. The Impact of Tariffs on Consumer Product Prices and Availability,” showed that 47% of shoppers were unable to find critical items in recent weeks. Although these shortages are due in part from lingering global disruptions, tariffs are becoming a clear price driver, and one that is disproportionately impacting younger and financially vulnerable consumers.
“After all, among the categories most affected include groceries, personal care products, and clothing; all segments where many U.S. households depend on low-cost imported goods,” PYMNTS wrote. “The downstream impact of the tariff-induced price hikes and supply constraints is that they are tending to hit the hardest where wallets are thinnest: younger and financially vulnerable consumers.”
