A survey of 170 U.S.-based small to medium-sized e-commerce business owners (SMB) found that over half (54 percent) made significant changes due to tariffs. Among all respondents, 39 percent raised retail prices, 29 percent shifted suppliers and 19 percent cut the number of products they sell.
Among retailers who raised prices, 27 percent increased them by up to 5 percent, 52 percent by 5 percent to 10 percent, and about 20 percent by over 10 percent.
The Omnisend survey, an email and messaging platform, was conducted in November this year.
“What we’re seeing here is the reality of doing business in 2025,” said Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at Omnisend. “Tariffs are coming on top of already higher costs for shipping, labor, and marketing, and most online retailers don’t have the same cushion big-box chains do. When your margins are thin, even a small increase in costs forces tough choices, and that shows up as higher price tags, fewer ‘free shipping’ offers, and certain products quietly disappearing from the site.”
The survey also tested how small online businesses would react to a 10 percent overnight increase in costs, similar to a new round of tariffs or major supply-chain disruptions. Most respondents said they would pass the increases directly to customers as follows:
- 46 percent would raise product prices,
- 16 percent would add or increase shipping fees,
- 16 percent would cut discounts,
- 10 percent would reduce product variety, and
- 5 percent would consider cutting headcounts.
Taken together, Omnisend said this means about 78 percent of retailers would make shopping more expensive before turning to layoffs or major operational cuts.
“When prices keep moving, shoppers change how they buy. Shoppers become more price-sensitive and switch to whoever offers the best value at that moment. That puts smaller retailers in a tough spot – they have to raise prices to stay alive, but every increase makes it harder to keep customers in a very competitive market,” said Bauer.
Image courtesy Vianne
