On the very day the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the Trump administration’s broad tariff use was legal, CNBC released findings from a pricing survey. The data showed three major U.S. retailers—Amazon, Target, and Walmart—have been raising prices, with tariffs on imported goods playing at least some role in those increases.
Third-party research firm DataWeave analyzed online pricing data and found some clear trends through the end of September. Amazon saw the steepest average price jump this year, up 12.8%. Target wasn’t far behind with a 5.5% increase since January, while Walmart’s prices rose by 5.3% over the same period.
CNBC noted that Walmart, Target, and other retailers have adopted a “portfolio approach” to pricing in the wake of tariff hikes. That means they’ve raised prices on certain items but held the line on others. What these companies rarely do, though, is specify exactly which products have gotten more expensive or by how much.
As for why Amazon’s price increases outpaced its competitors, DataWeave pointed to a key difference: the online giant relies more heavily on third-party sellers than Walmart or Target. “Marketplace vendors are more exposed to tariff pressures, so they often don’t have another option but to pass those higher costs on to shoppers,” CNBC explained, citing the research firm.
For more details from CNBC on DataWeave’s findings—including how the firm reviewed prices for roughly 16,000 items each on Amazon, Walmart, and Target’s websites—click here.
Source: Pets+ Mag. and CNBC