Exploring how rising tariffs may be shaping consumer sentiment and economic confidence.

At-a-Glance

📅 Date Published: March 2025

📊 Type: Consumer Sentiment & Trade Policy

📍 Focus: U.S.

🧩 Methods: Trend analysis, discourse analysis, confidence indices

🔗 Estimated Read Time: 4–5 minutes

📌 Purpose:

Understand whether recent tariff developments are contributing to consumer anxiety in the U.S. and altering economic outlooks across search behavior, public discourse, and confidence indicators.

🧪 Hypothesis

Rising U.S. tariff activity is contributing to growing consumer anxiety about the broader economic outlook, reflected in online discourse, declining confidence indices, and shifts in spending behavior.

🧠 Summary

Key Findings:

• 📈 Search interest in tariffs surged in Q1 2025, with breakout topics tied to Canada, aluminum, and food—signaling rising consumer attention toward economic trade policies.
• 💬 Online commentary (Reddit/X) shows growing skepticism toward U.S. tariff strategies, with many citing macroeconomic consequences and retaliation risk.
• 📉 U.S. consumer confidence dropped in February for the first time in four months, with a sharp decline in future expectations (79.8) despite current condition optimism—suggesting anxiety about what's ahead.
• 🛍️ Retail behavior reflects caution: Consumers are reducing discretionary spending while prioritizing necessities—consistent with long-term pessimism around inflation and purchasing power.