---
title: "Survey: U.S. Shoppers Aware of Tariff Issue"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/f3dad052-62ef-4e61-9cf6-54b2bb6bd0d9
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/_survey_us_shoppers_aware_of_tariff_issue.html
author: "M. Scott Morris"
category: "General"
topics: ["Regulation & legal"]
published: 2025-02-24T09:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T20:30:03.487Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/9324_plate.jpg
---

# Survey: U.S. Shoppers Aware of Tariff Issue

**TL;DR:** A survey by Numerator found that 83% of U.S. shoppers are aware of new or proposed tariffs, up from 53% in December 2024. The survey also revealed that 80% of shoppers are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their finances or shopping habits.

*By M. Scott Morris, originally published in Franchising.com on 2025-02-24. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/_survey_us_shoppers_aware_of_tariff_issue.html).*

## Story

According to Numerator's latest survey, 83% of U.S. shoppers say they're aware of new or proposed tariffs, up significantly from 53% in December 2024.

Full survey results are available in Numerator's article, Tricks of the Trade: Consumers React to U.S. Tariffs, which references a Feb.

11 survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers to shed light on how tariffs are shaping sentiment and shopping habits.

Here are the highlights: While awareness is high, understanding remains mixed. Only a third (34%) of shoppers say they fully grasp how tariffs affect prices while nearly half (48%) have a general idea but lack details, and 17% admit to having little to no understanding of the issue. 80% are concerned about the impact of tariffs on their finances or shopping.

64% are worried about tariffs raising the price of everyday goods, 44% are worried about limited availability of certain products, and 25% are worried about a potential slowdown in economic growth. Shoppers worry most about tariff-related price increases in essential categories, like groceries (55%), gasoline (41%), household goods (34%), and medical supplies (29%). 76% anticipate making changes to their shopping habits in response to tariffs, such as looking for sales or coupons to offset tariff price increases (23%), stocking up ahead of price increases (23%), or delaying purchase until prices stabilize (22%).

13% of consumers expressed concern that tariffs may impact their job or industry. 46% think tariffs in general have pros and cons depending on how they're implemented while 21% think they're harmful, and 16% think they're helpful. Many Americans (53%) also believe opinions on tariffs are largely shaped by political affiliation.

When it comes to the latest waves of tariffs, shoppers are understandably split: 35% support the tariffs, 23% feel neutral or have no opinion, and 38% oppose. Opinions are stronger on the negative side with those who "strongly oppose" outnumbering those who "strongly support" two to one (28% vs. 14%).

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- General (sector)
- United States (location)
- M. Scott Morris (person)
- Numerator (company)
- economic impact (topic)
- shopping habits (topic)
- consumer awareness (topic)
- tariff issue (topic)

---
Originally reported by M. Scott Morris, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/_survey_us_shoppers_aware_of_tariff_issue.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/f3dad052-62ef-4e61-9cf6-54b2bb6bd0d9).