Shoppers vote with their wallets – and even those who supported President Trump are having a tough time swallowing prices that are surging because of his trade war, The Post has learned.
Omar — a Los Angeles-based long-haul truck driver who spoke to The Post on the condition his last name not be given — said he convinced his wife, grown children and father-in-law to vote for Trump last fall.
His pitch: Trump was “a businessman and everything was going to better because he was going to be good for the economy,” he told The Post in an interview.
Since then, however, parts and services for his rig have gone through the roof. An oil change now costs $480 compared with the $360 he paid a year ago. He recently forked out $600 each for Firestone tires. Last year, they were $390 each.
“He’s doing things that are making the economy worse,” Omar said. “Tariffs are hurting everyone.”
On Wednesday, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said inflation in May rose 2.4%. That was in line with the expectations of economists, who said the effects of Trump’s tariffs still haven’t had a broad and significant impact on prices.
Some shoppers aren’t buying it, as many of the the 40% of Americans who are living paycheck to paycheck see their purchasing power as vanishing. Retailers including Walmart, Dollar General, Target, Costco and Best Buy have warned they will be raising prices due to tariffs – and some have been caught doing it already.
At Walmart, a “Jurassic World” T. Rex figure had spiked by nearly 38% to $55 on May 21 from just a month ago. A heating pad costs 25% more to $24.96 this year, according to employees who posted photos of the price hikes on social media. A fishing reel at Walmart jumped to $83.26 from $57.37.
Joe — a regular Walmart shopper who also asked that his last name not be used — told The Post last week he was eyeing new air conditioners at the store in Cortlandt Manor, NY. Last year, he said, a small unit that cools off a 300-square-foot room cost $115 — up from $100 a year earlier.
Now, that same unit costs $139.
A resident of nearby Peekskill, NY, he adds that he’s cooking at home more and cutting back on visits to McDonald’s, Panera Bread and his favorite local diner — where a steak now costs $30 versus $22 last year — to about three times a month versus eight times a month last year.
“I don’t like the fact that I’m paying more for the same thing that used to cost me less,” he told The Post.
Last week, Campbell’s CEO Mick Beekhuizen said during an earnings call with analysts that the company is seeing “the highest levels of meals prepared at home since early 2020.”
Campbell’s is selling more canned soup, Italian sauces and meals, Beekhuizen said as consumers choose “ingredients that help stretch tighter food budgets.”
As of April, prices on groceries and key household goods had risen by 56% during the past six years, according to a Gordon Haskett pricing study looking at 20 common items at a Texas Walmart store.
Shoppers at that location paid $99.40 in April for the same 20 items that cost them $63.52 in April 2019, including a 111% increase for a two-liter bottle of Pepsi to $2.64, a 41% increase to $8.44 for 12 rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper and a 56% increase to $3.48 for a 20-ounce Heinz ketchup bottle.
The pain has only increased in recent weeks, according to grocery store owners.
A 10.8 oz box of Honey Nut Cheerios and a 9.6 oz box of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes each went up by 50 cents since March to $5.99 at three Key Food stores in the New York metro area and Massachusetts, according to an owner, Anthony Pena. A 59 oz bottle of Tropicana orange juice meanwhile went up by 10% to $5.59 over the same period and bananas have risen by as much as 5 cents to 15 cents per pound in New York City.
“Our distributors don’t tell us why the prices went up,” Pena added. “They just post the new prices.”
Milton and Nettie Hargrove, a retired couple living in Peekskill, NY, were out last week at a nearby Five Below buying candy – one of the few treats they allow themselves these days. They live on Social Security and have to budget carefully or they will wind up borrowing from friends and family to pay for food and gas, they told The Post.
Meanwhile, southern states including Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Texas, and North Carolina are “experiencing some of the greatest consumer credit stress,” said Moody’s economist Justin Begley.
The 30-plus day delinquency rates on credit cards, auto and student loans in those states have all risen the most this year, according to Moody’s data.
“A lot of people have been relying on debt to make ends meet,” said Richard Barrington, a financial analyst for Credit Sesame. Credit-card debt has grown at a faster rate than any other type of debt over the past 5 years.
“It’s not like prices reset to where they were before,” Barrington added. “They are still higher than they were and they are eating up a higher portion of people’s budget.”
While inflation has tracked lower than many economists expected, it could ratchet up to 4% later this year depending on what happens with tariffs, according to Moody’s chief economist, Mark Zandi.
Thanks to a 25% tariff on automobiles, new car buyers paid 2.5% more for their vehicles in April compared to March – or $48,699, according to Kelley Blue Book, which notes that a monthly increase that steep is “rare.”
Used cars ticked up by $367 to $25,547 over the same period. Older vehicles priced less than $15,000 are in “short supply” as shoppers rushed to scoop up deals before tariffs kicked in, according to the Blue Book.
“We are at the precipice of a storm and you want to say ‘look up, look at what’s coming and protect yourself,” Jeff Mandel, founder of IDIQ, which offers financial services and advice to consumers in financial distress.
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