- One in three consumers plans to spend more money this holiday season, and the top motivation is fear of higher tariffs under Trump, according to a survey by CreditCards.com. Nearly a third also expect to take on more debt to make their purchases.
Americans are bracing for higher prices when President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House as he has pledged to impose sweeping tariffs.
But consumers aren't waiting for products to get more expensive. Instead, they're loading up on items this holiday-shopping season, according to a recent survey from CreditCards.com.
One in three Americans plans to buy more, and fear of higher tariffs is the leading motivator, with 39% citing them for stepped-up purchases. Other reasons include worries about potential supply-chain disruptions, "societal instability," recession, and another pandemic. Meanwhile, 22% plan to make a large purchase, such as electronics or home appliances.
"With the possibility of tariffs hanging over cheap goods from countries like China and Mexico, it’s no surprise that some consumers are pondering big-ticket purchases before President-elect Trump takes office," John Egan, expert contributor at CreditCards.com focusing on credit cards, insurance, and personal finance, said in a statement last week. "Although manufacturers pay the tariffs, these extra costs often get passed along to shoppers in the form of higher prices."
Americans are also buying everyday items, and the survey found 34% are stockpiling essentials. Toilet paper is at the top of the shopping list with 77% saying they are stocking up on it. That's followed by nonperishable food (76%), medical supplies (58%), and over-the-counter medications (54%).
But inflation in recent years has already boosted prices, so all this added spending means consumers have to find extra dollars somewhere. As a result, 30% said they are likely to go into or worsen debt to buy things now.
On the campaign trail, Trump vowed to impose tariffs as high as 20% across the board while singling out China with duties of up to 60%. After winning the election last month, he later threatened that one of his first executive orders would be a 25% tariff on Canada and Mexico if they didn’t curb illegal immigration and drugs, plus an additional 10% tariff on China.
In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press that aired Sunday, Trump was asked if he could guarantee American families won’t pay more due to his tariffs.
“I can’t guarantee anything,” Trump replied. “I can’t guarantee tomorrow.”
U.S. businesses that rely on imports have also been stockpiling key goods to get ahead of his tariffs as much as possible.
Meanwhile, top CEOs have warned that tariffs would translate to price hikes. And last week, Dollar Tree said tariffs might force the deep-discount chain to increase prices and stop selling some products entirely.
But the incoming Trump administration downplayed the impact of tariffs on prices.
"In his first term, President Trump instituted tariffs against China that created jobs, spurred investment, and resulted in no inflation," Karoline Leavitt, a spokeswoman for the Trump-Vance transition office, told Fortune in a statement. "President Trump will work quickly to fix and restore an economy that puts American workers [first] by re-shoring American jobs, lowering inflation, raising real wages, lowering taxes, cutting regulations, and unshackling American energy."
