Survey finds 54% of small business online retailers impacted by tariffs
Small business e-commerce owners are feeling the heat from tariffs — and some are raising prices as a result.
More than half (54%) of online retailers had to make significant changes because of tariffs, according to an Omnisend survey of 170 U.S.-based small business e-commerce business owners. Among all respondents, 39% have raised retail prices, 29% have shifted suppliers, and 19% have cut the number of products they sell.
Among the retailers who have already increased prices:
- 27% raised prices by up to 5%;
- 52% raised prices by 5-10%; and
- About 20% raised prices by more than 10%.
With import costs rising, many e-commerce businesses clearly see no room to absorb the extra cost, noted Omnisend, so they're immediately adjusting pricing, suppliers or product offerings to manage margins.
"What we're seeing here is the reality of doing business in 2025," said Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at Omnisend. "Tariffs are coming on top of already higher costs for shipping, labor, and marketing, and most online retailers don't have the same cushion big-box chains do. When your margins are thin, even a small increase in costs forces tough choices, and that shows up as higher price tags, fewer 'free shipping' offers, and certain products quietly disappearing from the site."
The survey also tested how small online businesses would react to a 10% overnight jump in costs — similar to a new round of tariffs or major supply-chain disruptions. The majority said they would pass the increases directly to customers:
- 46% would raise product prices;
- 16% would add or increase shipping fees;
- 16% would cut discounts;
- 10% would reduce product variety; and
- Only 5% said they would consider cutting headcount.
Taken together, this means about 78% retailers would make shopping more expensive before turning to layoffs or major operational cuts.
"When prices keep moving, shoppers change how they buy. Shoppers become more price-sensitive and switch to whoever offers the best value at that moment. That puts smaller retailers in a tough spot – they have to raise prices to stay alive, but every increase makes it harder to keep customers in a very competitive market," said Bauer.
Methodology
This study was conducted in November 2025 using an online survey (CAWI) of 170 U.S. e-commerce business owners and business-role employees at companies ranging from small firms with fewer than 50 employees to mid-sized businesses with up to 100 employees.
Respondents were asked whether they had already made changes due to tariffs, what those changes entailed, how much they increased prices, and how they would react to a hypothetical 10% cost increase; all data referenced in this release is drawn from that survey.