Visitors, like totally, got their reflections all caught up in this store on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica on July 16, 2024, offering a whopping 50% discount on all items. The scene was totally lit, you know? Genaro Molina from Los Angeles Times got the scoop and even snapped some pics for the gram.
So, like, retailers are totally freaking out because they think people are gonna stop spending their hard-earned cash. They’re using Trump’s whole trade war thing as a way to get people to buy stuff now before prices go up or things run out. It’s like a whole marketing strategy, man.
Private brands like Beis, Bare Necessities, Fashion Nova, and Knix are all up on the whole tariff situation. Like, Trump announced these crazy high tariffs on a bunch of countries, and even though they lowered them for most countries later on, it still messed everything up for retailers. They can’t plan for the future when they don’t even know what’s gonna happen with tariffs, you know?
Experts are all like, “Yo, people are gonna stop spending money,” which is gonna be really bad for both big and small companies. Some companies that import stuff from China are like, “Whoa, we gotta stop or slow down on orders because of these crazy high duties.” And then there are brands that get their stuff from other parts of Asia like Vietnam and Cambodia, trying to stock up before tariffs go up again.
It’s like a total mess, man. Retailers are like, “We gotta do something to get people to buy stuff now before it’s too late.” Bare Necessities even had this “pre-tariff sale” where they were giving out discounts of like 30%. They were all like, “Hey, stock up before tariffs mess everything up.”
Sonia Lapinsky, who’s like a partner at AlixPartners, says retailers gotta do whatever they can to get people to buy stuff now before it’s too late. She’s all, “Things are gonna go downhill real fast. People have been super nervous since like February or March, and it’s only getting worse with all this tariff talk. It’s gonna be tough, man.”
Like, smaller brands are in even bigger trouble ’cause they don’t have as many options for where they get their stuff. Lauren Beitelspacher from Babson College is all like, “Yeah, the big guys like Target and Walmart have a way bigger global supply chain, so they’re not as screwed as the little guys.”
Some companies are doing these pre-tariff promotions to get people to buy stuff now before prices go up. It’s like a smart move, you know? People are actually spending more ’cause they’re scared prices will go up. It’s wild.
Beis, this luggage company, didn’t have a big sale, but they sent a letter to customers saying they don’t know if prices will go up or by how much. They’re like, “Prices won’t change… for now.” It’s all super uncertain, man.
Using humor to talk about tariffs is like a smart move ’cause brands don’t wanna make people mad with all the politics stuff. Barbara Kahn from The Wharton School is all like, “Yeah, humor can make things less political and more about getting a good deal.”
So, like, who knows what’s gonna happen next with all these tariffs. It’s a total rollercoaster, man. But hey, if you’ve been thinking about buying something, now might be the time to do it before prices go up. Just saying.
