Feeling the pressure: What U.S. consumers really think about rising tariffs

As the U.S. considers imposing new tariffs on imported goods, concerns about economic ripple effects are growing. With uncertainty mounting, many Americans are already adjusting, tightening household budgets and rethinking their day-to-day spending.

To better understand how consumers are really feeling about these changes, we set out to dig into their perceptions and behaviors.

We surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 18-75 across political affiliations about their awareness, preparedness and feelings about the rising tariffs. Read on for an overview of some of the highlights we discovered from our findings. 

Starting with the big picture, we found that while most Americans are aware of tariffs, they are not deeply informed. 

In fact, only 22% say they’re very familiar with how tariffs impact prices, while nearly half (46%) say they’re only somewhat familiar, and 11% even state they are not familiar at all.

TV news comes out on top as the dominant source of economic/trade policy information (36% overall), especially for older consumers (66% of those aged 56–75). 

In contrast, 32% of 26–35 year-olds rely on social media, and 15% of that group cite YouTube or podcasts.

When it comes to how consumers feel, there’s a clear correlation between news engagement and concern, with those who follow trade news more frequently being more likely to be worried about tariffs (63% of daily followers express concern) compared to 17% of those who never follow this type of news. 

And while a majority (55%) say they’re worried about the newly announced tariffs, only one-in-three (34%) believe tariffs are good for the U.S. economy. 

Diving deeper, concern over new tariffs is highest among Democrats, with 80% saying they’re worried compared to just 42% of Republicans. Independents land in the middle at 55%, reflecting a more divided perspective.

70% of Americans believe tariffs increase the price of everyday goods, with near-universal agreement among Democrats (86%) while fewer Republicans (69%) share that view. But it’s those not aligned with a party that are most uncertain, with nearly half (44%) saying they’re not sure.

When it comes to preparedness, only 1 in 5 Americans say their household is prepared to absorb price increases from new tariffs, with readiness lowest among 36–45-year-olds (17%).

The most common sentiment across all age groups is being “somewhat prepared,” but a notable 41% of 36–45-year-olds and 36% of those 56–75 say they are not prepared at all, underscoring widespread financial vulnerability.

The divide here between political ideology and economic reality is particularly striking, with 57% of Republicans saying they believe tariffs are good for America, but only 27% feel prepared to absorb the higher costs they may bring. 

Just 19% of Democrats and 20% of Independents state they feel ready, with 40% of Democrats saying they are not prepared — truly highlighting a disconnect between policy support and household realities across the political spectrum.

Consumers are already making tradeoffs to cope with rising prices, with more than half saying they’re cooking at home more often (49%), cutting back on impulse purchases (45%) and ordering less takeout (44%). 

Others are going further by eliminating non-essential items from their purchasing (33%) and delaying technology upgrades (22%) — showing that price pressures are reshaping how people spend across everyday categories.

To dive deeper, we asked respondents to imagine they were purchasing their favorite product in several categories. We then asked at what point a price increase would cause them to stop buying that product. 

We found that a 5–10% price increase is enough to change behavior in most categories. For example, 56% of consumers would stop buying snacks at just a 10% markup. 

But it’s categories like fast food (59%), cosmetics (61%), wine and spirits (61%) and tech products (57%) that are especially price-sensitive, with majorities saying even a modest increase would prompt them to stop purchasing altogether. 

We see that more than half of consumers would stop purchasing snacks, fast food, cosmetics, wine and spirits and tech products if prices rose by just 10%. This signals potential issues for these industries, especially QSR, alcohol and beauty, where spending is more easily cut.

Ultimately, we found that tariff support hinges on impact. 28% of consumers would support tariffs if prices stayed the same, 22% if they protected American jobs and 20% would support them to reduce dependence on foreign manufacturing. 

However, nearly one in five consumers (18%) say nothing would make them support tariffs.

When it comes to labeling, nearly half of respondents (46%) say they'd be most likely to buy a product labeled "Made in America," but only 20% are willing to pay significantly more for it. 

And while “Made in America” leads overall, preferences vary widely by political affiliation. Democrats are most likely to choose a “Tariff Free” label (33%), while nearly 1 in 5 Republicans (18%) say they’d be most likely to purchase a product labeled “Trump Approved.” Labels with political overtones unsurprisingly drive polarization, with 19% of Independents and 18% of Democrats saying none of these would influence their purchase.

Unsurprisingly, the rise in tariffs has caused uncertainty and behavior changes amid U.S. consumers today, which can greatly impact many popular industries. 

For a deeper look into consumer perceptions on the matter, download our full report.