Among retailers who increased prices, 27 per cent raised them up to 5 per cent, 52 per cent by 5–10 per cent, and around 20 per cent by more than 10 per cent.
With import costs rising, many e-commerce businesses clearly see no room to absorb the extra cost – so they're immediately adjusting pricing, suppliers or product offerings to manage margins, the study revealed.
"What we're seeing here is the reality of doing business in 2025," said Marty Bauer, e-commerce expert at Omnisend. "Tariffs are coming on top of already higher costs for shipping, labour, and marketing, and most online retailers don't have the same cushion big-box chains do. When your margins are thin, even a small increase in costs forces tough choices, and that shows up as higher price tags, fewer 'free shipping' offers, and certain products quietly disappearing from the site."
The survey also tested how small online businesses would react to a 10 per cent overnight jump in costs – similar to a new round of tariffs or major supply-chain disruptions. Most retailers said they would pass cost increases on to customers, primarily by raising product prices (46 per cent), adding or increasing shipping fees (16 per cent), or cutting discounts (16 per cent). Fewer plan to reduce product variety (10 per cent), and only 5 per cent would consider cutting headcount.
"When prices keep moving, shoppers change how they buy. Shoppers become more price-sensitive and switch to whoever offers the best value at that moment. That puts smaller retailers in a tough spot – they have to raise prices to stay alive, but every increase makes it harder to keep customers in a very competitive market," added Bauer.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (RR)
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