As Trump’s tariffs go into effect, customers are reeling about what the new policies will mean for their shopping habits, from the luxury bag they were saving for, to the next Ssense sale.
“I hope you bought your whole spring and summer wardrobe, because now you won’t be able to afford it,” one creator told her followers. “Girl math is doing all my shopping now before the US economy collapses and the tariffs come into effect,” another quipped. Some are already feeling the heat — one user was surprised to be hit with a $345 charge to pick up her Ssense package. “I was not taking the tariff thing seriously,” she told her followers. “Please take it seriously.”
“I can express my personal feeling as a consumer,” says Dr Sheng Lu, director of the department of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware. “I feel very anxious, very nervous and very concerned about the current financial situation.”
He’s not alone. Consumer confidence is at a 12-year low as anxiety around price increases on goods — everything from groceries to luxury to fast fashion — heightens. On social media, users are making videos to decipher where and when they should be spending before the impact hits, while worrying about the stock market impact on their savings and 401(k) pension plans.
It’s not clear yet exactly how prices will change. Brands will likely absorb some of the costs of President Trump’s tariff increases; some will fall elsewhere in the supply chain, such as on manufacturers. Some of the tariffs may also be negotiated down. But there’s no doubt that at least a portion of these extra costs will land on shoppers themselves. Some brands are even considering adding a tariff surcharge line to receipts to make it clearer why prices are higher.
Global markets are facing blunt impact after the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs were announced on 2 April. The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq have fallen 2.4 per cent, 1.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent as of Monday. The S&P is approaching bear market territory. Luxury stocks tanked as well, from Europe’s LVMH and Kering to US-based Ralph Lauren and Tapestry. Luxury was among the two worst performing stock sectors identified by financial services firm Morningstar.
On 3 April, President Trump said he was open to negotiations, despite White House aides insisting that the measures were not negotiation tools. Reports that a 90-day extension was being contemplated were quickly rebuffed by the White House on Monday morning. Not only did these contradicting statements drive a stock slump — they confused already disoriented consumers even more.
Lu flags that, given the back and forth on the previously announced then paused Canada and Mexico tariffs, there may be further changes to come. “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility that there’s some additional policy changes,” he says.
In uncertain times, consumers spend less. This means, no matter how the tariffs play out — whether some are negotiated down, or they come into effect as is — brands will be dealing with an unstable consumer by virtue of the sheer confusion caused by the saga. And this is unlikely to settle in the near term. “Over the next four years, dealing with uncertainty will become the new normal,” Lu says.
Whatever the changes, experts expect that consumers will feel the impact fairly soon. “Retailers and brands are going to have to work through their higher costs almost immediately and that may have a fast impact on things like prices and supply chains,” says Neil Saunders, managing director of retail at Globaldata. “It will take time for the dust to settle, but the dust storm of tariffs has hit right away.”
Secondhand sweep
As tariffs reduce spending across the industry, from mid-market to luxury, does anyone win?
Resale is likely to benefit, experts agree. Already recognised by savvy shoppers as a cheaper way into the luxury market, consumers strapped for cash are likely to turn to the secondhand sector as a means of refreshing their wardrobes for less. Ahead of the tariff announcement, 59 per cent of consumers said that if incoming government policies around tariffs and trade make apparel more expensive, they will seek more affordable options like secondhand, according to online resale platform Thredup. This number was even higher among younger consumers (Gen Z and millennials), at 66 per cent. Thredup CEO James Reinhart says that, as the cost of new apparel is driven up, resale’s value proposition becomes even more compelling.
“This could ultimately be a boon for the resale and secondhand industry in the US, because goods that are already here obviously won’t be subject to tariffs,” says Sky Canaves, principal retail and e-commerce analyst at market research firm Emarketer. Reinhart agrees, noting the domesticated supply chains sourced from American closets.
But Lu cautions against over-optimism surrounding the secondhand sector. Though it may see an uptick in the near term, in the long run, it too may feel the impact. “Even secondhand clothing [won’t] be immune to the trade war,” he says. Secondhand depends on a supply of new clothing, and if the tariff war results in fewer imported products (a likely scenario), it will reduce the supply of new clothing. This lessened supply — and increased demand — could drive up the price of resale, Lu adds, negatively impacting the market.
Jetsetters
If prices are going up in the US, will Americans start shopping more abroad, as other consumer groups, like Chinese consumers, are known to do?
The wealthy ones, sure. But for the majority of US consumers, if luxury and fashion spend is down, so is travel. “Consumers have to prioritise their [non-discretionary] spending and will likely travel less,” Lu says. Already, travel numbers from the US are looking low. The number and dollar value of tickets purchased for travel in the second and third quarters of 2025 are lagging the comparable yardsticks from last year, per research from global consulting firm Bain.
Because of this, Saunders doesn’t expect the majority of US consumers to switch their spending to overseas. “Travel remains expensive for many, and a lot of Americans simply don’t travel,” he says. “We may see more luxury tourism from higher end [US] consumers, but it will be marginal in the broad scheme of things.”
On the flip side, it’s possible that less non-US citizens will be spending in the US as well, Lu flags, pointing to the reports of increased difficulty obtaining visas. “It’s kind of getting harder for them to get the US visa to travel to the US to spend money here,” he explains. “I don’t think this will create very stable revenues for luxury companies.”
Will the luxury bubble burst?
Last year, the global personal luxury goods market lost 50 million-odd consumers, according to Bain, squeezed by uncertain economic conditions paired with fast-rising luxury prices. Even as millions of consumers opted out, the upper echelons of luxury shoppers kept spending. Will this change, now that the top bracket will bump even higher?
The ultra-rich — luxury’s enduring safety net — will spend no matter what, says Lu. “They will continue to spend regardless of what happens.”
But those in the bracket below may well rein in their spend. Higher end consumers may be spooked by the market reaction, more than the tariffs themselves. After all, in the US, upper-income households base their financial outlooks on market performance, according to Bain. Judging by this week’s luxury stocks, things aren’t looking good. “They might be able to afford things, but they’re still feeling the negative vibes, which can impact spending,” says Saunders.
Plus, Lu cautions, the luxury market isn’t sustained by ulta-rich consumers. He points to brands’ increasing investments in ‘small luxuries’ as a bid to capture upper-middle class and Gen Z shoppers. These are the groups likely to pull back now. “They will directly feel the pressure because of inflation, because of the uncertain financial outlook of the current economic situation,” says Lu. “And I do not think they will just keep spending, especially for luxury items.”
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