Online retail sales may have been up in March from a year earlier, but as consumers rush to make purchases ahead of new tariffs, some price increases are already going into effect, with more on the way.
Early signs can be seen in home furnishings, as well as small, low-priced shipments from China. Despite a 90-day pause dropping new tariffs for imports to the United States from other countries to 10%, President Donald Trump said he would allow higher tariffs on Chinese imports to stand. Those include a 145% duty attached to goods imported from the country. In addition, a White House announcement on April 15 stated that China could see a “245% tariff on imports to the United States as a result of its retaliatory actions.”
The latest tariffs on Chinese imports would come as de minimis rules that have allowed shipments valued at less than $800 to come into the U.S. duty free are scheduled to end on May 2. Key beneficiaries of the de minimis loophole have included Shein and Temu. EBay has also mentioned the change in the context of developments that could impact its business.
Shein and Temu have both been explicit, telling their customers that they expect to raise prices.
As trade disputes and tariffs continue, when will price increases happen?
Shein and Temu specifically cited tariffs as they detailed price increases that will begin going into effect on April 25.
“Due to recent changes in global trade rules and tariffs, our operating expenses have gone up,” the notice to customers on Shein’s website stated. “To keep offering the products you love without compromising on quality, we will be making price adjustments starting April 25, 2025.”
An identical statement also appeared on Temu’s website, confirming similar plans.
Meanwhile, as tariffs hit home furnishings retailers dependent on imports, Williams-Sonoma is among those evaluating price changes that could help cover its raised costs.
What has already happened?
In a March earnings call, Laura Alber, the president and CEO at Williams-Sonoma, said the company was “seeing some opportunity in pricing a few things up to cover some of these very extreme costs that have come through as a result of these tariffs.”
Elsewhere, furniture retailer RH (formerly Restoration Hardware) is remaining cautious. CEO Gary Friedman was caught off guard by the White House’s April 2 tariff announcement, which coincided with RH’s earnings call. Asked if RH has already changed prices in response to tariffs, he said action hadn’t yet been taken. But he did not rule out future adjustments.
RH web sales by year
“I don’t think we’re going to do anything right now,” Friedman stated.
Still, he said he expected that shoppers would eventually notice changes.
“Will there be impact to the consumer?” he posed. “Of course, there will.”
Temu’s reduced spending on Google ads
For Shein and Temu, the new changes could have long-lasting effects. As recently as March 31, Temu was bidding aggressively to achieve 19% of U.S. Google Shopping ad impressions, according to the marketing agency Tinuiti. However, as of April 12, that share plummeted to 0%.
Temu’s Super Bowl ad spending alone in 2024 was estimated to total millions of dollars as J.P. Morgan estimated it could spend $3 billion on marketing by the year’s end.
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