The Trump administration’s aggressive tariff strategy is backfiring on home turf, with a staggering 73% of US retailers reporting profit losses.
In a recent report, AI-driven rebate and pricing management platform Enable has also found that a third of American merchants are “extremely concerned,” with 90% expressing dread about the effects of tariffs over the next 12 months.
According to Enable, this worry represents a substantial risk to profits, as tariffs affect 30% of the typical cost base of US retail businesses.
The study also found a discrepancy between the rate at which tariffs are changed and the capacity of firms to react. 37% of businesses acknowledge that it takes weeks or months to implement pricing changes, even though 73% of them intend to raise prices to counteract the effects of tariffs.
In addition to raising prices, 57% of companies plan to cut expenses elsewhere in response to tariff concerns, and 45% are thinking about reducing their operations or leaving high-tariff areas completely.
Customer relationships add another layer of difficulty, as 79% of businesses think that customers will be sensitive to price changes related to tariffs, and 88% are worried that these changes will negatively affect their relationships.
Due to market volatility, 76% of businesses have already examined or revised their pricing procedures, while 69% of businesses anticipate investing in new pricing tools within the next 12 months.
