Tariffs Will Make Outfitting College Dorm Rooms More Expensive This Year

Back-to-school shopping season kicked off early this year. More than two-thirds of Americans started prepping for the school year in early July, the highest share since the National Retail Federation started tracking this back in 2018. “Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items,” says Katherine Cullen, a vice president at the trade association.

Shoppers’ attempts to get ahead of President Donald Trump’s tariffs may prove to be futile. Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose 0.3% in June, the highest monthly reading since January, with companies passing through the cost of the duties starting to show up in household furnishings and other goods. Many economists and analysts expect higher customs duties to meaningfully show up in data for July and August, as retailers finally exhaust their pre-tariff inventories.