How Tariffs Are Reshaping Marketing in the U.S.

The reinstatement of tariffs under the Trump administration has forced U.S. brands, particularly those in retail and FMCG, into a period of recalibration. While the policy is designed to shift trade dynamics, its direct pressure is being felt within marketing departments. As the cost of imported goods increases and consumer spending moderates, marketers are being asked to manage tighter budgets, deliver defensible performance, and protect brand value under new constraints.

Price increases are no longer just a product story

Rising tariffs are translating into higher consumer prices across essential and discretionary categories. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), U.S. retail sales are now projected to grow between 2.7% and 3.7% in 2025, a slower trajectory than the 3.6% recorded in 2024. These shifts are reshaping demand and altering how brands must position themselves in-market.

Chipotle has publicly committed to holding prices stable to maintain its value promise. For brands without similar margin flexibility, marketing needs to take on a more defensive posture. Repositioning price increases as reflections of quality or product longevity is only credible when integrated with transparent messaging and supported by brand history. Consumer tolerance depends less on economic conditions and more on whether the brand appears to be acting with consistency and care.

Inconsistent inventory creates unnecessary waste

Tariffs have already disrupted import schedules and contributed to erratic stock levels. When a campaign promotes an item that’s no longer available or delayed in transit, it damages brand credibility and leads to media waste. According to DEPT’s April 2025 think tank findings, brands with static creative and long lead times are the most exposed.

Foot Locker addressed this by introducing a revenue-based prioritisation model using AI to determine which SKUs to promote based on availability and margin performance. The marketing team can then reallocate spend based on the output of that model, ensuring that product visibility aligns with what customers can actually buy.

This requires greater integration between marketing and operations, especially as many campaigns are still built using legacy timelines that don’t accommodate live inventory data.

Ad budgets are falling behind rising expectations

A March 2025 IAB survey found that 94% of advertisers expected tariff-related budget reductions, with most estimating cuts between 6% and 10%. Traditional and social channels are expected to experience the greatest drop in spend. This pattern mirrors the last major tariff cycle between 2018 and 2020, where auto and retail ad spend fell by 7% and 5%, respectively.

Despite these cuts, brand and performance expectations remain unchanged. Marketing departments are being asked to justify spend in environments where input costs have risen but topline growth has slowed. Advertisers who remain active in-market are focusing on channels where ROI is visible and accountable. In most cases, this favours short-cycle digital performance campaigns over brand-led initiatives.

Digital platforms are exposed on both the demand and infrastructure sides

AdTech vendors and digital advertising platforms are being hit from two angles. First, some rely on hardware and infrastructure imported from countries like China and Taiwan, where tariff rates have risen steeply. According to Colin Graves’ reporting, tariff-related cost increases could be passed through to advertisers, particularly in programmatic and DSP environments.

Second, platforms like Meta are vulnerable to demand contraction from major advertisers. Chinese brands such as Shein and Temu represented 11% of Meta’s ad revenue in 2024. Any reduction in spend from this segment will impact inventory availability and may depress CPMs across performance-based formats. Smaller businesses are also at risk of retreating. SMBs reliant on imported goods face higher costs and tighter margins, often making digital ad spend the first casualty.

Consumer behaviour is becoming harder to read

Tariffs add another layer of complexity to already cautious consumer behaviour. Deloitte’s 2025 Retail Industry Outlook estimates that spending growth will slow to 3.1% this year, with real wage growth under pressure from inflation. Consumers remain price-aware, but they are also increasingly attentive to brand actions and values.

Discounting is harder to execute when margins are thin. Instead, marketers are experimenting with alternative levers — bundles, loyalty incentives, and contextual promotions based on segment behaviour. The key differentiator is data agility. Real-time performance tracking and daily sentiment analysis are being used to adjust positioning without overreacting. According to DEPT, the brands that are updating creative and messaging daily — not quarterly — are best positioned to keep pace with shifting sentiment.

Agility in execution is now a structural requirement

Brands still operating on seasonal planning cycles face serious exposure. Tariff timelines are uncertain and subject to further escalation. In response, many advertisers are moving toward modular campaign structures that allow for dynamic targeting, performance-led budget shifts, and content variation at scale.

eBay’s use of creative automation provides a model. With over 200 monthly campaigns delivered across multiple geographies, the brand has shifted production away from static templates. Campaign variants are generated automatically based on audience data and iterated based on performance feedback. This makes it possible to maintain consistent brand voice while still delivering tailored messaging to segmented audiences.

Marketers must lead with transparency and measurable value

The role of marketing leadership in this environment is no longer just about creative direction or brand management. It now includes operational fluency, budget accountability, and internal stakeholder alignment.

Campaign performance needs to be tied directly to commercial outcomes — including contribution to margin protection, inventory turnover, or pricing stability. This places pressure on attribution models and martech stack integration. Leadership teams require reporting that links marketing investment with business impact. In most cases, this means prioritising fewer campaigns, with tighter feedback loops and clearer performance thresholds.

Conclusion

Tariffs have reshaped the conditions under which marketing operates. Brands are confronting slower sales growth, higher costs, and a more cautious consumer, all while tasked with sustaining relevance and profitability. The companies best equipped to succeed in this environment will not be those with the largest budgets, but those with the most disciplined execution, transparent messaging, and integrated planning across commercial functions.