Trump’s Tariffs Result in Price Hikes at Walmart and Target

Last updated Jun 1, 2025

Impact of Trump’s Tariffs on US Retail Stores

President Donald Trump’s tariffs seem to be reflecting in the prices of goods at Walmart and Target stores across the US.

Retail Price Increases

Employees of Walmart have been reporting sudden price rises, with some products seeing increases of up to 45%. Similarly, price jumps have been observed in competitor retailer Target. For instance, the price of a Jurassic World T. Rex toy at Walmart jumped from $39.92 on April 27 to $55 on May 21, an increase of nearly 38% according to a Reddit post. AisleGopher.com, a third-party website that monitors Walmart prices, shows the toy was priced at $29.74 in November.

Recent Price Hikes

More recent price increases have been observed, with a Baby Born doll’s price jumping from $34.97 in March to $49.97 in May, an increase of about 43%. A left-handed fishing reel’s price sold by Walmart escalated from $57.37 in April to $83.26 in May, representing a 45% increase according to AisleGopher’s price history.

Retailers’ Response to Tariffs

“We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won’t stop,” a Walmart spokesperson stated. However, Walmart’s CFO John David Rainey warned that tariff rates remain “too high” and that prices of some items are likely to increase in the coming weeks and months. President Trump’s response to this was that Walmart should “eat the tariffs.”

Target’s CEO Brian Cornell stated that price increases would be a “very last resort” and that the company would try to offset the new import costs in other ways. Target didn’t immediately comment when contacted by Business Insider.

Overall Impact of Tariffs

Although certain items are seeing significant price hikes, companies can choose to increase prices for a variety of reasons, and the price listings don’t necessarily indicate the extent of the impact of tariffs on retail prices. Investment analysts expect the overall impact of tariffs to represent a low-single-digit percentage of total spending.

A US federal court ruled on Wednesday that Trump does not have the authority to impose his sweeping tariff strategy. Walmart, for its part, has stated that it sources about 60% of what it sells in the US from US suppliers, and has been actively trying to reduce its reliance on Chinese imports, which were the subject of the highest tariff rates.