The study identifies three broad personas: value-first shoppers, buy-American advocates, and the indifferent middle consumer.

Nearly 4 in 10 consumers surveyed (39%) identify as value-first shoppers. These consumers are focused on price. They’re trading down, cutting nonessentials, and swapping name brands for generics. For them, tariffs are a cost burden, and that’s the end of the story.

Around one-third of consumers (34%) report that they support tariffs as a way to protect domestic jobs and industry. They are willing to pay more for U.S.-made goods and can often see their spending as a political act.

Rounding out the bunch, more than 1 in 4 shoppers (27%) say they are “indifferent.” This cohort tends to be less informed, less engaged and less reactive. They’re more influenced by convenience, design and digital accessibility than by price tags or product origin.

So, what’s the big deal for retail? The fact of the matter is that these aren’t just economic categories. They’re cultural, reflecting the manner in which purchasing decisions are made against a backdrop of values-based consumption.

A retailer seen as complicit in passing costs along; or on the other hand outsourcing to avoid tariffs; could inadvertently alienate either side of the consumer divide.

Retailers are reacting in several ways, per the report. Major grocers, for example, are experimenting with “good, better, best” product tiers, offering both premium domestic products and lower-priced imports in the same category.

At the same time, direct-to-consumer brands like Everlane and Rothy’s are leaning harder into origin transparency, hoping to reassure buyers about the cost-value proposition of local manufacturing.

The most lasting impact of tariffs may not be on prices but on expectations. Consumers now expect brands to have a point of view. To explain where their products come from. To be honest about trade-offs. And to reflect their values back to them at the register.

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