Holiday bargain hunters are finding fewer deals this year, as companies scale back Black Friday discounts in response to tariffs and rising costs. Last year, items like Ash Harbor's whiskey dispensers and ThinkFit's meal prep containers could be found at 10% to 20% off, Bloomberg reports. This year, those products are full price. The parent company, Upstream Brands, says tariffs are largely to blame. With much of its merchandise sourced from countries now facing new US trade levies, prices on everyday items have jumped, making discounts unworkable.
"It just doesn't make financial sense for us to offer discounts because our costs of goods are so high because of the tariffs," says CEO Dan Peskorse. "Our concern is that the general public is just a little cash strapped and is pulling back in general. It's a bit of a perfect storm." The story is similar at Therabody, maker of high-end wellness devices, where price hikes tied to tariffs have forced a more cautious approach to discounts. While many products will be marked down, the company can't afford to discount as much as last year, Chief Executive Officer Monty Sharma said.
Retail analysts say companies absorbed earlier rounds of tariffs, but now many don't have the margin to keep up with past years' deals. As inflation squeezes wallets and PwC forecasts a 5% dip in average holiday spending—23% among Gen Z—retailers face a tough balancing act. They need to protect profits, but risk losing customers who have grown accustomed to deep holiday deals. That opens the door for creative tricks, like raising prices in advance of sales so they can advertise steep percentage cuts. That's why it's important to compare prices across recent months, Evidence Network reports, noting a price "10%-15% below the 90-day average" is usually worth attention.
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