--- title: Tariffs Trigger the Sharpest Drop in Online Spending in Over a Decade description: E-commerce sees biggest slowdown in a decade as tariffs and economic uncertainty drive U.S. shoppers to cut back, report finds. authors: - name: Pete Grieve role: Lead News Reporter url: https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/ bio: Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. In his time at Money, Pete has covered everything from car buying to credit cards to the housing market. education: University of Chicago, BA Political Science at_money_since: 2022 articles: 600 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://twitter.com/pete_grieve - https://linkedin.com/in/pete-grieve-b5aa02138 - https://www.facebook.com/petegrieve4 editors: - name: Katherine Peach role: Associate Editor url: https://money.com/author/katherine-peach/ bio: Katherine Peach is an associate editor with a focus on news and email at Money. She didn’t always intend to write about money. She’s a classically trained pianist who dreamed of becoming an archaeologist. However, in 2007 Katherine began working in financial publishing as an editor for Agora Inc. (Apparently, unearthing ideas about improving your personal finances isn’t such a bad career alternative!) Katherine’s writing and editing work has been featured in Investing Daily, Clever, Investor Junkie, The Palm Beach Letter, Truth & Plenty, Independence Monthly, NICHE, AmericanStyle, AntiqueWeek, Millennial Money, Money Done Right, TheStreet, Sure Dividend and many others. Katherine holds a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Studies with concentrations in Archaeology and Ancient Languages and a minor in Literature from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. education: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at_money_since: 2025 articles: 14 covers: - Economy and Politics - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes published: '2025-07-03T14:03:48.000Z' modified: '2025-07-03T14:03:48.000Z' section: Economy and Politics tags: - News word_count: 483 canonical: https://money.com/ecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** Money may earn a commission when you click on the products and services below. Opinions are our own, but compensation and in-depth research determine where and how they appear. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/) about how we make money. ![Illustration of an online shopping cart stopping in its tracks when faced with tariffs](https://img.money.com/2025/07/News-Americans-Cut-Online-Shopping-Tariffs-Uncertainty.jpg?crop=0px%2C197px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85) E-commerce is undergoing the biggest slowdown in over a decade as a result of tariffs on imported goods and related economic uncertainty, according to a new report from a management consulting firm. "For the first time since the survey's 2012 inception, consumers report that their online purchases have declined across all product categories except groceries, which remain flat," AlixPartners said in a 2025 trends [report](https://www.alixpartners.com/media/4kwla5tl/home-delivery-report-2025-pt04sig2025.pdf) released Tuesday based on a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers. The largest declines in online shopping were for big-ticket items, including furniture, home furnishings such as rugs and window treatments, large electronics and sporting goods. The shares of consumers self-reporting recent purchases of these items fell by double-digit amounts since the July 2024 survey, according to the report. ## As gas prices and more rise, it’s time to pump up your savings ### Navigate high driving costs with a Car Insurance policy that keeps your money in your pocket. Click on your state below to compare rates. [View Rates](https://money.com/pr/v8494953eda1?ap_referrer=%2Fecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline%2F) - Cosmetics: 34% purchased in the past 12 months (down from 44% in last year's survey) - Office/home-office supplies: 24% (down from 37%) - Sporting goods: 18% (down from 30%) - Furniture: 18% (down from 28%) - Home furnishing: 18% (down from 28%) - Large electronics: 15% (down from 25%) President Donald Trump's tariff policies are the main driver of the change, according to the report. "Elevated consumer awareness of tariffs is clearly flowing through into buying decisions," Chris Considine, a partner in AlixPartners’ retail practice, said in a release. While the Trump administration has paused some tariffs while it tries to negotiate deals with trading partners, the U.S. is enforcing a blanket tariff of 10%, higher reciprocal tariffs on specific countries and other levies. Importers were paying an effective tariff rate of 21% as of May 11, according to a [Wednesday report](https://www.reuters.com/world/china/maersk-estimates-effective-us-tariffs-average-21-currently-2025-07-02/) from Maersk, a Danish shipping company. That's up from 5% in November. Online shoppers are already seeing these tariffs show up in the cost of items they're adding to their carts. That's especially true for items imported from China and other Asian countries that are subject to higher levies. "Gen Z shoppers, by no coincidence, are also the most likely to purchase from overseas e-retailers such as Shein and Temu, which feature low prices and lengthy, uncertain shipping times. Those Chinese e-retailers have seen their U.S. sales and web traffic plunge following the imposition of stiff new tariffs and the closing of a loophole for low-priced goods," the AlixPartners report said. Overall, 34% of surveyed shoppers report responding to tariffs by delaying purchases, hoping to wait out the uncertain price environment. Meanwhile, 28% have pushed up purchase timelines to get ahead of levies, according to the survey data, which was collected in May and early June. AlixPartners offered a generally negative outlook for online shopping. "There must be some stakeholders in the e-commerce ecosphere that are feeling cheerful, but you won't find them in the numbers in this report," the firm wrote. ## Reduce payments and make debt manageable with a Debt Relief program ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/cb91d478657e?bidid=4077808316&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=667119555&ptoken=449cbf834feff6af1582b84ac3d17840) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/23879/medium_3847e650-29eb-411b-9b8c-05deb0d02cbc.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/a36c98f9681b?bidid=4077808319&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=667119555&ptoken=e8c2ded06f0e1d3cf54db6e8d01f7ddd) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/15565/medium_832cc4b7-74f8-4735-8fe1-6917816cbe8d.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/288b6140404a?bidid=4077808314&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=667119555&ptoken=27ed0e6f6191ec3abade8906cbb12d42) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/22445/medium_ba73f26a-1e1e-4e49-9739-df1298783de6.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/e08c8339a157?bidid=4077808328&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=667119555&ptoken=dee0284f971ea9f5164dd05415cf89bd) ![VISIT SITE](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/9246/medium_94931930-28cf-46b5-b09d-683979caec81.png) Our Partner [VISIT SITE](https://money.com/go/f8b305a3deff?bidid=4077808322&pmeta=p129-c628-u31158&ptid=667119555&ptoken=545ee8b40913be987b850a49ac1baaa4) ![](https://s3.consumersadvocate.org/prd/image/image/25289/medium_2e7b27ce-b30d-40a3-beef-0139ecba6b47.png) If you owe over $20,000 or more, Freedom Debt Relief can help you get back on your feet! [Get Started](https://money.com/pr/u5c2defb44d4?ap_referrer=%2Fecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline%2F) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/ecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Economy and Politics", "item": "https://money.com/economy-and-politics/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Tariffs", "item": "https://money.com/tariffs/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Tariffs Trigger the Sharpest Drop in Online Spending in Over a Decade" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/ecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/ecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline/", "name": "Tariffs Trigger the Sharpest Drop in Online Spending in Over a Decade", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2025-07-03T14:03:48.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/ecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/ecommerce-slowdown-tariffs-consumer-spending-decline/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2025-07-03T14:03:48.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "Tariffs Trigger the Sharpest Drop in Online Spending in Over a Decade", "articleSection": "Economy and Politics", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2025/07/News-Americans-Cut-Online-Shopping-Tariffs-Uncertainty.jpg?crop=0px%2C197px%2C2880px%2C1620px&quality=85", "width": 1012, "height": 569, "caption": "News-Americans-Cut-Online-Shopping-Tariffs-Uncertainty" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Grieve", "url": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/pete-grieve/#author", "description": "Pete Grieve is a personal finance reporter. 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