Tariffs Are Costing U.S. Consumers $12.2B Every Month, The Average American Now Spends $47 More

An Omnisend survey of 1,200 Americans finds U.S. adults now spend an extra $12.2 billion each month – $47 more per person on average following Donald Trump’s tariffs. One in seven report monthly increases of $100 or more.

Two-thirds (66%) say they’ve noticed higher prices following the tariffs announcement. Shoppers most commonly point to Amazon (34%), Temu (30%), and Walmart (27%) as places where they noticed a pricing shift.

“You won’t see a ‘tariff’ line at checkout – you feel it in the grocery total, the back-to-school cart, and the small online orders that now cost a bit more to bring to your door. For most families, it just means less breathing room at the end of the month,” says Marty Bauer, ecommerce expert at Omnisend.

“The impact comes in waves as new shipments arrive, which is why many people felt it first on the big marketplaces and will likely feel it later on at local stores. Even things made here, in the U.S., can increase in cost when imported parts or packaging get pricier.”

Shoppers are changing where and how they buy

With budgets squeezed, consumers are cutting unnecessary spending and have started looking for alternatives. Two-thirds (68%) have reduced or moved away from Chinese marketplaces Temu and Shein as the end of the de minimis rule for Chinese goods removed much of their price advantage. Price increases were the #1 trigger for 34% of those switchers. 

“De minimis once let small packages under $800 enter the U.S. duty-free, and platforms like Temu and Shein built their low-price models around it. When that break ended for China, their biggest advantage vanished overnight. Temu paused U.S. ad campaigns for a few months and blocked shoppers from seeing China-shipped items. With fewer listings and higher prices, shoppers started looking elsewhere,” says Marty Bauer.

Shoppers are also looking for workarounds – 23% have already purchased or are actively looking to buy from Canada or Mexico to dodge price shocks, and another 26% say they’ll do so if prices keep rising.

“Tariffs have people looking for cheaper options, and right now, buying from Canada or Mexico online still avoids extra fees thanks to the $800 de minimis rule. If you bring something back yourself, there’s a separate duty-free allowance for travelers. However, that is not for long, as on August 29th, the de minimis rule will expire for the rest of the world.”