How Tariffs Shape Consumer Behavior and Brand Loyalty

Economic headwinds are nothing new in retail, and like past crises, they’re pushing retailers and brands to recalibrate pricing strategies. Today’s market shifts, driven by imposed tariffs, go beyond cost absorption, signaling deeper changes in consumer psychology and calling for strategic pricing that protects both margins and market share.

Tariffs are changing how consumers spend, but not in the same way across the board. While some delay non-essential purchases, others continue investing in small luxuries and wellness. Consumer behavior is shifting, brand loyalty is under pressure, and the key for retailers lies in understanding these nuances and responding with transparency and pricing precision.

The Impact of Tariffs on Consumer Behavior

While tariffs shift price points, they also reshape how consumers perceive value, necessity, and brand loyalty. This shift goes beyond basic price sensitivity, it reflects changing priorities across customer segments.

Current market research provides interesting shifts in spending behavior:

• More than 8 in 10 consumers are changing their shopping behavior due to tariffs. Price increases are prompting a broader reassessment of brand loyalty, essential products, and perceived value.
• 23% of consumers are delaying purchases of non-essential items. 
• And around 48% of consumers are actively seeking out discounts to offset price increases.
• However, more than 68% of loyal customers say they would continue buying from brands they trust, even if prices increase.
• Also interesting, EU consumers continue purchasing “daily luxuries” despite economic pressures. This includes fitness wearables, beauty products, or appliances like espresso machines. 

These statistics show that tariff-induced behavior changes aren’t uniform across your customer base. And the question “How will a price increase impact our customers?” has a complex answer that varies by industry, product category, and market position. While economic theory suggests that tariff consumer surplus decreases as prices rise, actual consumer responses are more nuanced than models predict.

Brand Loyalty and Trust are Under Pressure

Loyalty paradox: When prices rise, loyalty does not always follow.

Perhaps the most significant consequence of tariff disruptions is the fundamental shift in how consumers relate to brands during economic pressure.

Brand loyalty during an uncertain period faces complex challenges. While there is a large number of consumers willing to switch brands with any price increase or delay purchases of non-essential items, 72% of shoppers say they would stay loyal to brands they love and trust, even if it meant paying more. 

But that loyalty has limits. Especially among younger consumers like Gen Z, cost-consciousness often wins out. A growing number actively hunt for discounts and promotions, particularly on non-essential items. 

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Transparent pricing can be a strategic advantage during uncertainty

The saying “Once trust is broken, it can take a long time to heal” is also true for your customers. Trust erosion can be softened by more transparent pricing communications

It is worth noting that a third of shoppers say price increases aren’t communicated clearly enough, and trust is fragile. And with over 60% of consumers unsure how tariffs actually affect pricing, the bar for transparency has been raised.

Because of these factors, effective communication of price changes should be a non-negotiable. Communicating how and why prices rise can help brands and retailers offset loyalty disruption, retain trust, and strengthen the brand. 

The impact of supply chain disruption on loyalty

The tariff impact on supply chain operations creates secondary effects that influence consumer behavior beyond direct price increases. When tariffs disrupt established supply chains, consumers experience availability issues and quality variations that amplify their reactions to price changes. 

For pricing teams, this means price increases may trigger more severe loyalty challenges when accompanied by product inconsistency. In this case, transparency about supply chain disruptions can, again, help strengthen your brand and cultivate loyalty.

Spend or Save? Segmented Pricing in a Volatile Market

Yes, price sensitivity is growing, but so is intentional spending. Despite many consumers changing spending behaviors due to economic uncertainties, premium segments continue showing remarkable resilience in certain categories. 

Personal health and wellness, for example, have been more important to customers than ever, as recent data from McKinsey shows. And despite macroeconomic volatility in the first half of 2025 due to tariffs, the wellness category has been resilient. Over 80% of consumers state that wellness is a “top” or “important” priority to them, and with steady yearly growth, the global wellness industry is expected to hit $8.9 trillion by 2028.

Besides health and well-being, other products like apparel, beauty, and footwear were among the top “splurge-worthy” categories of consumer goods. However, there are clear generational differences in what European consumers consider worth spending their money on.

Source: McKinesey

Demonstrating that even during tariff disruptions, some consumer segments maintain or even increase spending on products they value highly.

For pricing specialists, this means you cannot implement flat pricing strategies across your entire product range. Instead, you need to develop segment-specific approaches that recognize the different price sensitivities and value perceptions across your customer spectrum.

Strategic Framework: Implementing Segment-Specific Pricing Logic

As we saw in the above data, consumer reactions vary dramatically by industry, location, and age group. This requires developing segment-specific pricing architectures rather than uniform approaches.

Here is an example of how customers can be segmented:

A segmented approach can allow you to maintain overall margin targets while strategically protecting market share in key segments. 

An effective implementation requires:

• • SKU-level analysis to identify products with different elasticity profiles
  • Segment-specific pricing rules in your pricing system
  • Tailored promotional strategies for each segment
  • Differentiated communication approaches by segment

Develop a Tariff-Specific Price Communication Framework

By the time most teams buy pricing software, they’ve already spent a long, long time just getting to the starting line. The internal alignment, data prep, the back-and-forth, and the vendor research. It all adds up.

But the buyers who move through this process with the most clarity usually share one thing: they’re not chasing the perfect tool, but looking for the right fit.

That means aligning internally before evaluating externally. Asking sharper questions instead of longer ones and seeing the vendor relationship as part of the product, not just the contract that wraps around it.

Pricing software plays a central role in how you operate, compete, and grow. The buying journey should reflect that, but it doesn’t have to drag. With the right structure and a clear sense of what matters most to your team,  the process gets easier. And the decisions get better.

As we discussed, consumers are more likely to forgive price hikes when brands are clear, honest, and empathetic about the reasons. Developing a structured approach to price increase communication significantly improves customer retention during tariff periods.

How to implement a price communication framework:

1. Develop a communication template

• • Acknowledge the context: Navigating economic changes
  • Explain specific factors: Impact on materials and production costs
  • Detailed mitigation efforts 
  • Connect to values: Staying committed to your core values
  • Provide timing and transparency: When will price increases happen

2. Create Channel-Specific Messaging

• • Sales team talking points for key account discussions
  • Customer service response scripts for inquiries
  • Marketing materials explaining value despite price changes
  • Digital messaging for online shoppers

3. Develop Executive Communication Support

• • Prepare data-driven briefings for leadership
  • Create external communication materials for investor relations
  • Develop industry analyst briefing materials

Effective price communication becomes a competitive advantage during times of uncertainty, allowing for better customer retention even when price increases are necessary.

Beyond Tariffs: What We Can Learn from Past Market Challenges

If the post-pandemic era taught retailers anything, it is that adaptability becomes table stakes. 

With frequent macroeconomic shifts throughout the first half of 2025, it has been challenging for companies to stay ahead, let alone keep up. However, unpredictable and unprecedented market changes are nothing new, and looking to historical data to strengthen your pricing strategies can help you build a more actionable plan. 

Key pricing takeaways from past market disruptions

Stay flexible and responsive

Rigid pricing models tend to break under pressure. In volatile environments, brands that succeed are those that respond quickly to changes in demand, supply chain constraints, or competitor pricing. Flexibility allows pricing teams to protect margins while staying aligned with shifting consumer expectations. 

Lead with a strong value proposition

Even during uncertainty, many consumers are willing to pay more if the value is clear. This means pricing must reflect more than cost; it needs to reinforce what sets your brand apart, whether it’s product quality, customer service, sustainability, or innovation. A well-communicated value proposition builds pricing power.

Prioritize transparent communication

Price hikes are more palatable when customers understand the “why” behind them. Transparency around cost drivers like tariffs or supply chain disruption reduces friction and supports brand trust. Clear messaging, across customer service, marketing, and digital touchpoints, helps retain loyalty even in tough times.

Embrace dynamic pricing to navigate uncertainty

Dynamic pricing enables real-time responsiveness to demand shifts, supply-chain disruptions, and competitive movements, factors that become even more volatile during tariff-driven disruption. By leveraging automation, machine learning, and real-time competitor monitoring, pricing teams can move beyond reactive decision-making and implement proactive, high-frequency adjustments at scale.

Use cost-plus pricing when simplicity matters

During periods of rapid change or supply chain uncertainty, complexity can become a liability. Cost-plus pricing offers a straightforward, reliable approach,  adding a consistent margin to cost,  that can stabilize pricing decisions internally, especially when inputs fluctuate or data is incomplete.

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Deepen market and consumer intelligence

Effective pricing during market challenges requires real-time insight and data you can rely on. By continuously tracking competitor prices, segment-level demand signals, and evolving consumer sensitivities, pricing teams can stay ahead of market shifts and respond with confidence rather than react in crisis.

Deploy penetration pricing to gain share

When consumer spending tightens, aggressive pricing in select categories can attract price-conscious shoppers and convert them into long-term customers. Penetration pricing is especially effective for challenger brands or new product lines aiming to break through loyalty barriers and gain visibility.

TL;DR: Market Challenges are a Test and Opportunity for Retail

The impact of tariffs reaches far beyond short-term price sensitivity, it’s accelerating deeper changes in how consumers perceive value and engage with brands. For pricing and category managers, this creates not only challenges but also strategic openings.

The opportunity now is to go beyond reactive pricing. By segmenting their strategies, clearly communicating price changes, and utilizing dynamic pricing systems, teams can protect their margins and even grow, despite market volatility.

Tariffs aren’t just a cost to manage; they’re a catalyst to evolve how you price, position, and retain your customers.

Read more about interesting pricing strategies here:

• What is Dynamic Pricing?: The ultimate guide to dynamic pricing.
• What are the best pricing strategies?: Read about 17 pricing strategies for you as a retailer or brand.
• What is Price Monitoring?: Check out everything you need to know about price comparison and price monitoring.
• What is Value-Based Pricing?: A full overview of how price and consumer perception work together.
• What is Charm Pricing?: A short introduction to a fun pricing method.
• What is Penetration Pricing?: A guide on how to get noticed when first entering a new market.
• What is Bundle Pricing?: Learn more about the benefits of a bundle pricing strategy.
• What is Cost Plus Pricing?: In this article, we’ll cover cost-plus pricing and show you when it makes sense to use this strategy. 
• What is Price Skimming?: Learn how price skimming can help you facilitate a higher return on early investments.
• What is Map Pricing?: Find out why MAP pricing is so important to many retailers.