And so 2025 comes to an end – and what a year it’s been! It’s hard to imagine that we’d never really thought much about tariffs before the inauguration on January 20. According to the National Retail Federation, the impact of the new administration’s tariffs on our country’s independent retailers has been mostly negative, resulting in higher operating costs, lower profit margins, increased prices for consumers, and significant business uncertainty. 

The uncertainty was one of the worst aspects of these inconsistent new tariff policies. Tariffs were often announced as taking effect immediately, but were later modified or delayed. The percentages predicted varied as well. This made it difficult for retailers to know how and when to place orders.

Our vendors and sales reps were negatively impacted by this volatility.  I suspect this led to a decline in attendance at many trade shows, and fewer orders being placed. There seemed to be fewer new vendors and product introductions, which is understandable.

Unpredictability is not good for the confidence of shoppers. Many stores have experienced lower numbers of customers walking through the door, because impulse shopping is something to avoid when you’re not certain of your economic future. The 43 day shutdown of the government this fall also impacted the spending ability of hundreds of thousands of households.

One of the ideas behind the tariffs was to move manufacturing from overseas back to the US, but that will not be a quick or easy process. Those who already do provide American-made goods have hopefully seen a boost in sales this year. Buying local is a good idea on the wholesale as well as retail level.

Amazon’s share of online sales surpassed 40% this year, and that continues to deeply impact independent retailers. If you do sell online, 2026 would be a good year to consult an expert in Google ads or other ways to drive traffic to your site. If you are a bricks and mortar retailer, brainstorm with your staff about how to make your in-person shopping experience even more irresistible. 

Aside from tariffs, the buzz word for 2025 was AI. If you aren’t using AI to help with your marketing and communication, the start of the new year would be a good time to explore that. Don’t forget to learn about the pitfalls and downside of AI as well.

As you wrap things up for 2025 and start looking at 2026, I hope you’ll take time to enjoy whatever gives you pleasure outside your shop. You’ve made it through a tough year, and deserve to reward yourself!

Happy Retailing,
Carol “Orange” Schroeder

PS There won’t be a Specialty Shop Retailing blog post next week