Online sales for the largest Consumer Electronics retailers in North America have been climbing out of a hole, following negative growth year over year in 2023 and 2024, but new tariffs from an escalating trade war between the U.S. and other countries could put that recovery in jeopardy.
Already, Apple and Best Buy have issued warnings about negative effects from tariffs, and analysts have cited concerns about the impact as tariffs add costs to importing goods from abroad. Apple and Best Buy are No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the Top 2000 Database‘s Consumer Electronics category. The database ranks North America’s largest online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales. Overall, Apple is No. 3 in the Top 2000, and Best Buy is No. 8.
Then, on April 2, President Donald Trump announced a new round of tariffs, starting with a 10% tariff on all imported goods to the U.S. as of April 5. China implemented retaliatory tariffs of 34% on goods imported from the U.S.
What tariffs mean for online Consumer Electronics sales
“International trade is critically important to our business and industry,” said Corie Barry, the chief executive officer at Best Buy, speaking to investors during a March earnings call. “The consumer electronics supply chain is highly global, technical, and complex. China and Mexico remain the No. 1 and No. 2 sources for products we sell, respectively.”
Best Buy web sales by year
Meanwhile, Apple warned in a November filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that restrictions on international trade, including tariffs, “can materially adversely affect the Company’s business and supply chain.” It attributed that vulnerability to the fact that it is reliant on overseas manufacturing.
“Substantially all of the Company’s manufacturing is performed in whole or in part by outsourcing partners located primarily in China mainland, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Vietnam,” Apple noted.
It detailed the direct impact it expected to see in an environment with elevated trade-related costs.
Apple web sales by year
“The impact can be particularly significant if these restrictive measures apply to countries and regions where the Company derives a significant portion of its revenues and/or has significant supply chain operations,” Apple explained. “Restrictive measures can increase the cost of the Company’s products and the components and raw materials that go into them, and can require the Company to take various actions, including changing suppliers, restructuring business relationships and operations, and ceasing to offer and distribute affected products, services and third-party applications to its customers.”
In addition, Apple is one of five retailers, including Nike, that depend on international sales for more than half of at least $1 billion in annual online sales globally.
Impact on prices
Apple may need to raise the prices of its iPhones and Apple Watches by as much as 43% to cover costs from new tariffs, according to the investment firm Rosenblatt Securities. In a recent note, the company assessed that Apple was not receiving exemptions or waivers for its products as it did with previous tariffs.
Higher prices in turn have the potential to incentivize consumers to put off electronics purchases, accelerating a trend from 2024 that saw shoppers waiting for the best deals possible during promotional events such as Cyber 5 sales or Amazon’s Prime Day.
New survey data release Tuesday from Salsify and the Digital Shelf Institute showed that 53% were already delaying purchases, eyeing events such as Prime Day or Walmart Deals as opportunities to get better pricing.
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