By Mark Seavy  

As tariff-related price increases sink in, retailers are responding with strategies that stretch well beyond the standard transaction. 

For buyers across gift, home, and fashion accessory retailers that attended the recent NYNow Show in New York, there was as much focus on creating experiences and providing transparency to consumers as there was on finding new products in order to offset the impact of tariffs. 

The Conservatory, a two-store retailer in New York City and Dallas, TX, is emphasizing the cause of the higher prices, Founder Brian Bolke said. When luxury fine jewelry supplier Sidney Garber ($2,000-$55,000) imposed a 10% increase in wholesale prices with three-week advance notice, The Conservatory, which carries independent product designers, disclosed to customers the reasons for the higher prices. 

“The customer is eventually going to speak because if prices get too high, they will pull back and everything will have to change,” Bolke said. “You must be more thoughtful and creative about explaining to customers that the price is going up and if they don’t purchase it now, it will cost more. Maybe part of this is being transparent.” 

At the other end of the spectrum, Ty Inc. has so far maintained the $2.50 wholesale price for its Beanie Babies, which carry a $5.99 retail price. The company’s stance was highlighted by signs at its booth during NYNow that stated, “No Tariff Increases.”  

How long Ty Inc. will keep that position remains to be seen given that many of its products are produced in China, which now carries a 30% tariff on imports (which doesn’t replace earlier levies). Ty Inc. has sought to offset the added cost by staggering its shipments from China. But that has resulted in products running out of stock at times, like those tied to the May release of the live-action remake of Disney’s animated classic Lilo & Stitch that will also debut for streaming on Disney+ on September 3, said Lisa Oberheuser, Senior Account Executive for the Northeast U.S. at Ty Inc. It also comes as Ty releases its new Beanie Bouncers, which feature some new licenses like Minecraft and Star Wars. 

“We have a lot of stock of the Bouncers because they were produced, shipped, and warehoused before the tariffs,” Oberheuser said. “We can move some production to other countries but there are some products that [need to] be produced in China, like those requiring fine stitching. That can’t be recreated in the United States.” 

The same holds true for goods imported from Europe, which face newly imposed 15% import tariffs. MuseARTa, which sells socks with licensed designs from artists like Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh as well new versions featuring Frank Lloyd Wright ($19 a pair), is holding the line on wholesale price increases for now, said Chief Operating Officer Andreas Huttenholscher. MuseARTa sources its socks from factories Turkey and Italy. 

In addition to being more open about price increases, retailers—especially those that focus on gifts and independent designers—said they were developing more in-store events.   

Some of these include meet-and-greets with product designers or having annual sales events to clear out inventory, some with 50% discounts, said Paul Schneider, owner of jewelry chain Twist, which has stores in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. Twist features QR codes in its stores with information on 55 of the 120 designers it carries and conducts an annual sale each year in March, Schneider said. 

“Luxury is service and curation and you are seeing this implosion at the top of luxury business and that is good because in the end it is going to come back to stores and discovery,” Bolke said. “It is not about whether you can afford something. It must be more meaningful and sentimental because the customer now is more interested in what the product means and how it is made and sourced. There is a lot of shifting of people’s mindset going on.” 

Yet that change in thinking around luxury products hasn’t reduced the appetite for affordable “inspired by” collections.  

Pet products Supplier Haute Diggity Dog promoted its Starbarks dog toys at NYNow, including a Peppermint Mocha chew toy in Starbucks’ colors. It is also readying similar dog toys under the “Dogs Run on Pupkin” label using the colors of the coffee chain Dunkin’.  

There were also ornaments featuring actor Jeremy Allen White of the Hulu series The Bear fame as well as four-inch glass coasters with words “Yes, Chef” from Kiku Handmade. Also, on display were “Fuzzy Monster” ornaments that resemble the popular Labubu plush toy.  

Additionally, The GeoProject promoted 32-ounce water bottles featuring stickers for the 63 national parks across the U.S., which are being sold at visitors centers and online at some parks, including Zion National Park in Utah as well as online at Walmart, said Mike Fox, the founder and Creative Director at GeoProject. Walmart’s product is a collaboration with Fox’s partner Erikas Chesonis. GeoProject doesn’t have a license from the National Parks Foundation, but the merchandise stores at the visitor’s centers pay a royalty on the sales, according to Stuart Seltzer, whose Seltzer Licensing Group represents the foundation.