It’s been less than a month since President Donald Trump’s imposed tariffs took effect, and business owners are already strategizing how to stay afloat. The 10 percent baseline tariff hit everyone, on top of the 25 percent tariff on Mexico and Canada. (The European Union faces an additional 20 percent tariff if approved.) Trump also stamped a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports.
However, companies that source a majority of their products from China are barely treading water after Trump slapped a 145 percent tariff on all imported Chinese goods. This includes Amazon sellers like Aaron Cordovez, the co-founder of Zulay Kitchen.
In an interview with CNBC, Cordovez said that his company is hustling "as fast as we can" to transfer production to other countries where tariffs aren’t as steep. It's an undertaking that will take a year at a minimum. "We’re making our inventory last as long as we can," in the interim, said Cordovez. Until tariff levels fall, Zulay Kitchen has had no choice but to raise its prices on Amazon.
This has become a trend across several Amazon shopping categories. Pricing on the following categories has surged by an average of 29 percent since April 9, according to data from SmartScout obtained by Business Insider:
- Clothing
- Jewelry
- Household items
- Kitchen items
- Office supplies
- Electronics
- Toys
Additionally, in an X posting, SmartScout shared that the following 10 Amazon categories have the highest annual revenue alongside percentage of Chinese sellers, meaning a majority of these products are getting hit with the steepest of tariffs:
- Women's t-shirts
- Hair replacement wigs
- Women's casual dresses
- Window curtain panels
- Hair extensions
- Women's tanks and camis
- Cell phone wall chargers
- Smartwatch bands
- Blouses and button-down shirts
- Adult electric bicycles
RELATED: Experts Say Walmart Might Be Tariff-Proof—Here's Why.
A total of 882 products have hit their highest prices ever on Amazon, said company SmartScout founder and CEO Scott Needham. These items are all top-rated on the retailer’s website and sell 1,000+ units monthly. Among the many brands listed was Amazon Basics, the company’s private label.
However, Amazon says this report is illegitimate. A company spokesperson told Business Insider that it analyzed only "a tiny fraction of items in our store."
"We have not seen the average selling prices of products change up or down appreciably outside of typical fluctuations across the hundreds of millions of items on Amazon," said the representative.
In a note to CNBC, an Amazon spokesperson said prices are up to the seller’s discretion. In other words, if an Amazon seller raises its prices to offset inflation/tariffs, it isn’t a reflection on Amazon’s part.
"As always, sellers set their own prices, and we regularly monitor how we highlight great prices as Featured Offers to provide customers with low prices across a wide selection," they said.
RELATED: Costco Announces Its Stance on Price Hikes Amid Increasing Tariffs.
Be that as it may, several entrepreneurs can no longer afford to offer "low prices" in the wake of Trump’s tariffs—if they hope to keep employees on staff and churn out a profit. The only solution, until something changes at the government level, is to increase prices.
"Will someone be willing to pay $50 for a hat on Amazon?" said Joe Stefani, the president of Desert Cactus, a company that sells college-branded merchandise. "The tariffs can’t stay this high," he told CNBC. "There’s so many people that just aren’t going to make it."
