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All Americans are feeling the impact of tariffs by way of increased prices and economic uncertainty. Recently, our Reputation & Corporate Strategy Team surveyed consumers to gather their thoughts on the tariffs – including how they expect companies to respond.
Is there a right way for businesses to navigate the tariff landscape? Yes – according to consumers.
Interested in reading the full Tariffs: A Main Street View report? Reach out to our Reputation & Corporate Strategy team for more.
Consumers Worry Businesses Will Take Advantage Of The Tariffs
After several years of high inflation, the last thing Americans want are higher prices – especially when consumers don’t trust that all tariff-inspired price hikes are strictly necessary.
Six-in-10 (60%) consumers feel that companies will use these tariffs as an opportunity to raise prices more than they need to boost profits. Even more (79%) agree that companies will simply raise prices rather than work to keep prices level.
If a company must raise prices, they should clearly communicate that need to consumers – preferably with hard numbers to show what cost increases the company is incurring versus passing on to their customers.
Consumers value transparency from the companies they shop with – a full two-thirds (66%) of consumers want to hear from the brands they use about how the tariffs will impact their consumers (e.g., costs, product selections, etc.).
Should Companies Take A Stance?
Earlier this year, we saw how taking a political stance can damage a company’s bottom line – as 45% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans indicated that they have stopped shopping at companies that have opposing political views to their own.
In light of this research, companies may be hesitant to take a hard stance. But consumers want to hear what they think. Eight-in-10 (83%) consumers agree that they have a right to know where the companies they shop with stand on tariffs. Similarly, 81% of consumers agree that CEOs should take a stand on how tariffs affect their company and customers.
Companies can take this as an opportunity to clarify how the company is responding and what their customers can expect. But companies must be careful in what they say and how they say it. Two-thirds (67%) of consumers agree that companies should be more fearful of consumer backlash than government backlash when discussing tariffs.
What Do American Consumers Want?
When asked how they want U.S. companies to navigate the new tariffs and trade landscape, consumers said they most want companies to implement transparency on how tariffs will impact the costs of products (25%), to prioritize local and national supply chains to keep prices lower (25%), to actively respond against tariffs (e.g., lobbying efforts, lawsuits, etc.) (20%), to absorb the additional costs rather than pass them along to the consumer (18%), and to keep business as usual and increase prices if needed because of tariffs (13%).
Want more information about how consumers think about tariffs? Contact the Reputation & Corporate Strategy team.
