TARIFF SENTIMENT TRACKER
Track consumer opinions on tariffs.
Numerator’s Tariff Sentiment tracker provides a bi-weekly pulse check on consumers’ tariff perspectives. Given the quick-changing nature of U.S. trade policy, timely insights into consumer opinions can help brands and retailers better understand concerns to anticipate behavioral shifts.
Latest Update: 5/15/2025
Tariff Awareness, Understanding & Support
Tariff awareness, understanding and support saw only minor changes between late April and early May, with a one point decline in both awareness and support, and a one point increase in understanding. In general, high income shoppers and older shoppers have higher levels of awareness and understanding regarding tariffs, and are also slightly more likely to support them. More U.S. consumers oppose tariffs than support, a trend that intensifies at the margins, with 29% who strongly oppose compared 14% who strongly support.
Awareness
82%
of consumers are aware of new or proposed tariffs on goods imported into the U.S.
-1 pt. vs. two weeks ago
Understanding
85%
of consumers have an understanding of what tariffs are and how they impact prices
+1 pt. vs. two weeks ago
Support
32%
of consumers generally support tariffs, while 43% oppose and 25% feel neutral.
-1 pt. vs. two weeks ago
Consumer Tariff Concerns
88% of consumers are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their personal finances or shopping habits, on-par with late April. The top concerns all center around higher prices, both on everyday necessities and non-essential goods. There was increased concern around product availability in the latest survey, while concerns around stock market and job security softened. Separately, over half (56%) of shoppers say they think tariffs will have a negative impact on the U.S. economy in the coming year, down slightly from late April.
Anticipated Response to Tariffs
83% of consumers expect to make adjustments to their finances or shopping habits in response to new tariffs, up one point from late April. Half say they’ll cut back spending on non-essentials, followed by looking for sales or coupons and delaying non-essential purchases. Cutting back on non-essential spending and purchasing fewer imported goods saw the greatest increases from April to May.
About the tracker
Numerator’s Tariff Sentiment Tracker is powered by a custom Numerator survey fielded to 5,000 U.S. consumers every two weeks. Field dates and sample sizes for past waves are as follows:
- Wave 1: 4/23/2025 – 4/28/2025 (n=5,037)
- Wave 2: 5/6/2025 – 5/11/2025 (n= 5,080)