This is the latest installment of the Big-Box Briefing, a weekly Modern Retail+ column about the strategies of major retailers. More from the series →Tariff refunds are great news for the corporate balance sheets of big-box retailers, and less so for consumers tightly squeezing their wallets.Over the last several weeks, major retailers have begun reporting refunds they have received from the Trump administration. This follows the Supreme Court ruling in February that found tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to be illegal. The administration has refunded about $100 billion in tariff revenue, according to CNBC.
Shoppers could benefit, as some, but not all, retailers are investing their refunds into lowering prices. Retailers largely are not pursuing direct payments to customers. Still, some shipping carriers, such as UPS, FedEx and DHL, have said they will send refunds to customers in cases where they directly charged customers for tariff costs, according to CBS News. Amazon CFO Brian Olsavsky said the company may also, in some cases, issue refunds to customers to whom it can trace specific import charges.
“Consumers are likely to benefit, but most will not experience it as a tariff refund,” said Peter Ramer, a consumer products senior analyst for tax and consulting firm RSM U.S. “They will see it through selective price cuts, more promotions and fewer price increases than they otherwise might have faced. The impact will be real, but it will probably be dispersed across thousands of products and difficult for an individual shopper to isolate.”
