How Americans are dealing with the effects of tariffs

Terminal tariffs: More than a quarter of Americans fear the economy will "never" return to its pre-tariff levels, according to a new poll.

A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults found 29% believe the economy has permanently shifted due to tariffs. Among the remaining 71%, most don’t see a recovery happening anytime soon, with an average estimate taking it at least 19 months.

Tariffs have been a mainstay on the news for people, who said they either feel stressed (37%), angry (30%), overwhelmed (23%) and sad (18%) when the topic comes up.

Commissioned by UserTesting and conducted by Talker Research, 51% believe they have enough information about tariffs to understand how they can affect their everyday life.

For many, that understanding is grounded in firsthand experience: 70% reported price hikes in groceries this year, followed by restaurant prices (46%), gas (40%), clothing (38%), clothing accessories (28%), small electronics (25%) and vehicles (24%).

People recognized that many of those price increases were specifically due to tariffs, including vehicles (20%), large electronics (20%), small electronics (20%) and clothing accessories (17%).

Faced with rising costs, numerous Americans say they are rethinking how they shop. On some product categories, however, many respondents said they would likely stop spending their money if they saw tariff-based increases, with items like watches and jewelry (63%), furniture (61%) and large electronics (60%) being the first to get axed from the budget.

Price increases appear to be prompting broader behavioral shifts as well. More than seven in 10 (72%) said they've seen brands increase their prices across all their products as a result of tariffs, while 62% said they've also seen brands absorb the costs themselves.

Half of those who have seen prices increase said they've switched from their favorite brands to ones that promise lower costs.

Still, most Americans appear to be reserving judgment on how companies are handling tariff-related changes. Over half(54%) said their perceptions of brands haven't changed as a result, and nearly three-quarters (72%) said the most important factor is transparency when prices go up.

"What stands out to me is how much people value transparency from brands," explained Bobby Meixner, VP of Solutions Marketing at UserTesting. "Consumers understand that tariffs may be outside of a brand’s control. What they want is honesty when those changes impact pricing.”

Tariffs are also shaping wider lifestyle changes. Many respondents said they’re altering behaviors in response to the current administration’s trade policies. Forty-two percent said they’re buying less overall.

Others reported switching to generic or store-brand products (31%), buying second-hand items more frequently (20%), traveling less (19%) and considering a second job or side hustle (19%).

In fact, 44% of respondents said tariffs have caused them to rethink their summer travel plans altogether.

Second-hand shopping is also on the rise. While 36% said they frequently shopped second-hand before, 47% say they’re doing so even more now, with 21% citing higher prices as the direct reason.

Compromises are becoming a part of daily life for many. Two in five (41%) said they've had to accept lower quality, brand or product features due to tariff-related price hikes.

Many said they've had to compromise on groceries. "I've had to buy off brands that don't taste as good due to tariffs," recalled another respondent. "Most of the brands I've bought also expire quicker."

"Whether tariffs remain or not, it’s clear they’ve already reshaped consumer habits," continued Bobby Meixner. "Americans are adjusting to a new economic reality, and that shift may be here to stay."

Survey methodology:

Talker Research surveyed 2,000 general population Americans; the survey was commissioned by UserTesting and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between June 4 and June 12, 2025.

We are sourcing from a non-probability frame and the two main sources we use are:

• Traditional online access panels — where respondents opt-in to take part in online market research for an incentive
• Programmatic — where respondents are online and are given the option to take part in a survey to receive a virtual incentive usually related to the online activity they are engaging in

Those who did not fit the specified sample were terminated from the survey. As the survey is fielded, dynamic online sampling is used, adjusting targeting to achieve the quotas specified as part of the sampling plan.

Regardless of which sources a respondent came from, they were directed to an Online Survey, where the survey was conducted in English; a link to the questionnaire can be shared upon request. Respondents were awarded points for completing the survey. These points have a small cash-equivalent monetary value.

Cells are only reported on for analysis if they have a minimum of 80 respondents, and statistical significance is calculated at the 95% level. Data is not weighted, but quotas and other parameters are put in place to reach the desired sample.

Interviews are excluded from the final analysis if they failed quality-checking measures. This includes:

• Speeders: Respondents who complete the survey in a time that is quicker than one-third of the median length of interview are disqualified as speeders
• Open ends: All verbatim responses (full open-ended questions as well as other please specify options) are checked for inappropriate or irrelevant text
• Bots: Captcha is enabled on surveys, which allows the research team to identify and disqualify bots
• Duplicates: Survey software has “deduping” based on digital fingerprinting, which ensures nobody is allowed to take the survey more than once

It is worth noting that this survey was only available to individuals with internet access, and the results may not be generalizable to those without internet access.