Survey: 87% of Consumers Concerned About Tariff Impacts

By: M. Scott Morris
Published: September 30th, 2025

Nearly 90% of U.S. consumers expressed concern about U.S. tariffs, according to a survey conducted by Numerator. Updated with new data, Numerator’s Tricks of the Trade: Consumers React to U.S. Tariffs article references survey responses from more than 30,000 verified U.S. consumers between April and July 2025 on how shoppers are bracing for price hikes, supply shifts, and modified shopping behavior.

Key responses include:

• 77% of U.S. shoppers say they're aware of new or proposed tariffs with awareness peaking in April before slowly falling to 71% by early July.
• While awareness is high, understanding remains mixed. About a third (36%) of shoppers say they fully grasp how tariffs affect prices while nearly half (47%) have a general idea but lack details. In addition, 15% admit to having little to no understanding of the issue.
• 87% are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their finances or shopping.
• 63% are worried about tariffs raising the price of everyday goods, 59% about general inflation, and 48% about higher prices on nonessential items.
• Shoppers also reported worries around limited product availability (45%), the impact on the stock market (34%) and slower economic growth (30%).
• Shoppers worry most about tariff-related price increases in essential categories like groceries (58%), household goods (43%), gasoline (40%), and medications/medical supplies (36%).
• More than half (57%) of U.S. consumers believe tariffs will have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, and 77% are concerned about a recession within the next year.
• 82% of consumers anticipate making changes to their shopping habits in response to tariffs, such as cutting back on nonessential spending (47%), looking for sales or coupons to offset tariff price increases (42%), delaying nonessential or big-ticket purchases (32%), or switching to lower-priced retailers or discount stores (29%).
• 19% of consumers expressed concern that tariffs may impact their job or industry.
• 41% think tariffs in general have pros and cons depending on how they're implemented while 25% think they're harmful, and 23% think they're helpful. Many Americans (60%) also believe opinions on tariffs are largely shaped by political affiliation.
• 32% of consumers support the current tariffs, 22% feel neutral or have no opinion, and 45% oppose. Opinions are stronger on the negative side with those who "strongly oppose" outnumbering those who "strongly support" 30% to 13%.

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