How Retailers’ Messaging Must Adapt to Tariff Uncertainty

By Michelle Wood

Tariff-driven uncertainty isn’t just a cost or supply chain concern; it’s also a marketing communications challenge. Since early 2025, new tariffs imposed on imports by the Trump administration — as well as the ongoing whiplash on policy decisions around those same tariffs — have created a volatile environment for retailers. Facing ballooning potential costs, brands across industries — from auto and airlines to retail — have rescinded their 2025 guidance. GM, Ford, Ross Stores, and G‑III Apparel, among others, have pulled their full-year guidance, directly attributing the move to tariff-driven financial uncertainty.

Large public companies and retailers are scrambling to adjust their messaging strategies to minimize the impact of tariffs on customer relationships. Companies can look to the world’s biggest brands and adopt one or more of the five creative ways they’re adapting to our new economic reality.

Transparent Messaging to Build Trust

A report by reputation management firm DKC outlines the results of testing a variety of approaches around tariff messaging. The most critical takeaway in the report is that brands need to be transparent if they must implement price increases. DKC notes that brands transparently labeling tariff-related price changes as a line-item saw a net increase of 39 points in brand confidence.

The DKC report also highlights that brands should communicate they are working to protect their employees and their families, and the price increases that work to safeguard salaries and benefits are unavoidable. That said, some retailers are trying to strike a balance between transparency and politicized triggers by avoiding the word “tariff,” opting for “safer” phrases like “import costs” or “supply chain expenses.”

Finally, brands can emphasize that they are committed to helping their customers save money by finding the best price possible: leaning into already-existing price-match guarantees or encouraging loyalty program signup for member-only promotions.

‘Made in USA’ and Local Sourcing Messaging

Emphasizing that products are “made in the USA” conveys that prices are less likely to be affected by tariff uncertainty, plus underscores the growing value of domestic production in today’s political climate. Ford has leaned into this messaging by highlighting its 120-year history of U.S. automaking as well as offering employee pricing to all consumers.

Retailers with “store brands” are playing up those brands, and for good reason since they tend to be priced on average 20 percent lower than national brands. Axios reported that store brands have the potential to soar in popularity if tariffs make those prices go even higher. Retailers typically have more control over how store brands are produced and priced, so they are appealing at a time when national brands’ prices have the potential to spike dramatically.

Urgency-Focused Campaigns to Pre-empt Price Hikes

Another tactic in use: Offering “pre-tariff” promotions that capitalize on the moment and urging customers to act before price increases hit. For example, Tesla, Mercedes-Benz, and some boutique DTCs such as mattress maker Saatva have run short-term offers and flash discounts with a “prices stay low, shop now” framing. Other retailers are encouraging consumers to buy now, before they can no longer offer tariff-affected products.

This messaging technique can help drive immediate demand by focusing on scarcity of certain products and lower prices for products while tariffs are still (at least for now) on pause.

Channel Strategy: Shift to Performance Marketing

Amid squeezed budgets and rising consumer preferences for the best value, retailers are shifting spend away from channels typically considered awareness-builders (e.g. display, CTV.) Instead, spends are being re-allocated toward affiliate / performance marketing channels with ROI tied directly to performance rather than brand investment. According to EMARKETER, paid social ads will likely see a pullback in spending, while paid search is likely to see continued spending since it tends to be more performance-based.

Changing Affiliate Commission Tactics

Although budgets are shifting to performance-based channels, some brands are reducing their affiliate commission rates. New affiliate incentives include introducing tiered commission structures, in which publishers can earn a base plus bonuses tied to volume driven. And similar to B2C communications, brands’ affiliate channel communications with publishers should be transparent and emphasize the partnership and joint goals. This gives brands the opportunity to explain commission changes as collaborative responses to cost pressure, aligning both financial strategy and messaging. In effect, “we’re in this together.”

Conclusion

Tariff uncertainty has become a marketing communications challenge for retailers. Discretionary brands that lead with transparent messaging, create urgency, realign channel spend, and signal domestic sourcing can reinforce trust and preserve growth, even as uncertainty persists. By matching messaging to the market’s mood and protecting their margins further with increased spending in performance-based channels, retailers can transform tariff turbulence into opportunity.

Michelle Wood is the senior vice president of merchant business development, overseeing the merchant network side of the Wildfire Systems platform.