US tariffs are having an uneven effect on holiday prices and purchases

NEW YORK AP The Ah Louis Store in San Luis Obispo California turns into a winter wonderland every holiday season Green garlands giant nutcrackers baubles and bows go up in early November on the historic downtown building that houses the gift shop Inside customers can choose from over different types of ornaments and a variety of holiday gift baskets We really just make it a magical spot co-owner Emily Butler revealed Whether you come in or not we want to make sure that we re spreading that holiday ecstasy But Butler says she and her twin sister-business partner had to work harder this year to turn browsers into buyers and to make a profit Plenty of of the decorations and stocking stuffers they sell are made overseas and either did not arrive or got more expensive when President Donald Trump imposed unusually high taxes on imported goods she noted In response the sisters focused their selection on more profitable items like nutcrackers and gift baskets They ve also noticed customers cutting back selecting a gift basket over the version or buying one ornament instead of several Butler noted We re definitely seeing more cautious spending this year she announced Along with the unpredictable tariffs stubborn inflation and weak hiring have shaken consumer confidence in the U S economic activity The vast majority of U S adults say they ve noticed higher than usual prices for groceries electricity and holiday gifts in current months according to a December poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for General Affairs Research A Gallup index that summarizes Americans assessments of current economic conditions fell to a -month low in November Consumers also indicated less enthusiasm for spending money on holiday gifts their estimated gift budgets decreased between October and November the largest drop Gallup has recorded at that point of the holiday shopping season The survey was conducted in November partially during the leadership shutdown which might have tempered spending plans However the worst-case impact on consumer prices that plenty of economists foresaw from the Trump administration s tariff policies hasn t materialized Particular products have been affected more than others Here s a look at what has happened with supplies and prices in popular gifting categories Games and toys Battle and toys were particularly susceptible to tariff-related price increases since the majority of the ones sold in the U S are made in China according to industry contract group The Toy Association The tariff rate the Trump administration imposed on Chinese goods became a rollercoaster that started at an additional peaked at and ended up at The uncertainty made it hard for toy shops to decide what to order for the holidays Dean Smith who co-owns independent toy stores JaZams in Princeton New Jersey and Lahaska Pennsylvania reported the manufacturers in China that he buys toys from did not pass on their tariff costs all at once but he has seen their prices inch higher with every reorder Smith estimated that wholesale prices for of his inventory went up anywhere from to Particular shoppers who don t buy toys regularly might be surprised by price increases he adopted in turn Smith declared A doll that sold for to last year now costs to at JaZams he stated For folks with marginal incomes this is going to be a very challenging holiday Smith declared Electronics Consumer electronics are mostly made in China and other Asian countries In China accounted for of U S smartphone imports and of laptop and tablet imports according to the Consumer Equipment Association exchange group Best Buy revealed in May that it was raising prices due to tariffs But CEO Corie Barry noted late last month that the consumer electronics chain made sure to stock computers phones and other products at different price levels a decision she credited with helping Best Buy attract more lower-income shoppers The consumer is not a monolith Barry informed reporters Contest consoles are inevitably a popular holiday item and console makers made news earlier this year when they released price increases Sony raised the price of the PlayStation by to in August following Microsoft and Nintendo raising prices for their challenge consoles Jewelry Jewelry shoppers will likely see higher prices but that has more to do with the soaring price of gold than tariffs so far according to David Bonaparte president CEO of business group Jewelers of America The varying tax rates Trump set for countries that import American goods with a total value less than their exports to the U S affected jewelry in various methods Watches from Switzerland for example were subject to a tariff from July until the country struck a deal with the Trump administration last month to lower the import tax rate on its products to India which refines several of the diamonds sold in the U S rushed in shipments of the gemstones before a tariff on the country s products took effect on Aug Higher prices for jewelry made with diamonds shipped from India will likely start to be felt in Bonaparte disclosed It s really a matter of what happens after Jan he explained If these tariffs are still in place then prices will apparently increase Holiday decor Holiday decorations are yet another category that mostly comes from overseas particularly China Jeremy Rice co-owns House a home-d cor shop in Lexington Kentucky that specializes in artificial flowers wreaths and table decorations He announced the tariffs slowed down production of much of his fall stock and seasonal merchandise like ribbon Chosen larger and more expensive items he didn t order at all because they would have been too expensive to retail Rice raised prices on the products he did get The popular red berry stems that House long has carried increased from last year to due to higher import costs he explained We sell thousands of these berry stems and every time we sold one I flinched from knowing what it should have been knowing that our supplier paid more for them which made us pay more for them which made our customer pay more for them Rice revealed Shopping strategically For those looking to avoid tariff-related price increases John Harmon managing director of instrument research at innovation consulting company Coresight Resarch recommends checking out secondhand stores and discount retailers like T J Maxx Marshall s and HomeGoods The off-price chains buy much of their inventory from leftover stock that would have entered the U S before new tariffs kicked in Joe Adamski senior director at procurement services company ProcureAbility noted books food and beverages are certain of the domestically produced goods that make good gifts Source