Some Americans Stock up on Essentials, Cut Back on Luxuries

Melanie Moroz now has enough makeup, skincare, and hair care products to last two years.

Moroz told Business Insider that while she’s been stocking up for a couple of months, efforts by the White House to dismantle the Department of Education put her into “hyper-gear stockpiling mode” because the moves made her fearful that she could lose a teaching job she’s held for about 25 years.

“I’m not purchasing anything that’s not an absolute necessity,” she said. Moroz, who lives in Morgantown, West Virginia, said she’s now saving funds that once went to DoorDash, shopping, and dining out.

With the US edging closer to what could amount to a widening trade war, Moroz plans to work through a list of things she expects she’ll need. That includes buying meat to freeze and upgrading her aging iPhone 11 to a newer model sometime this month so she can stay ahead of what she expects will amount to “major price hikes.”

Moroz isn’t alone in thinking about what she might alternatively accumulate or cut back on amid fears that tariffs will make much of what Americans buy more expensive.

While President Donald Trump has repeatedly gone back and forth about tariff enactments, on Wednesday he signed an executive order to impose a 10% baseline tariff on all countries by Saturday. Following the news, Mark Cuban advised Americans to “Buy lots of consumables now.”

Some US consumers, worried about the economy’s prospects and experiencing flashbacks to pandemic-era supply chain kinks, are wasting no time.

Pet food, shampoo, and meat to freeze

For months, Elizabeth Blackstock and her husband have been “keeping an eye on” price changes resulting from tariffs. Following Wednesday’s announcement, though, their priority is stocking up on food and medication for their six rescue cats, some of whom, Blackstock said, require special diets because of illnesses.

Beyond that, the couple is looking to grab extras of everyday items like hair products and meat they could store in their deep freezer.

Blackstock, who lives in San Antonio, said that even though they’re doubling down on essentials, she still feels unsettled because prior tariff announcements were on-again, off-again.

“We’ve prepared, but it’s impossible to feel prepared,” she said.

She said the couple is now considering other potentially big-ticket purchases, like a new transmission for the Mazda she drives.

“It was like, ‘Is that going to be heavily tariffed now?’ because we have to get that.”

Weighing price increases against a recession

Felix Tintelnot, an associate professor of economics at Duke University, told BI that if you’re in a secure position, it doesn’t hurt to stock up on some goods whose prices might go up. That’s what Moroz did with beauty products she knows she’ll use.

In 2024, the US imported $7.59 billion worth of beauty goods, including makeup and skin care products, according to government figures.

Tintelnot said worries that the economy will falter under the new trade barriers might prompt more people to save.

“The risk of a recession in the US has increased,” he said.

Tintelnot said that’s one reason some people might want to consider setting aside funds instead to prepare for potential shocks.

He also said if a recession did occur, not everyone would be hit equally, in part because job security differs across industries. So, Tintelnot said, people who are new in a role might want to take extra precautions because those are often the jobs that are the first to go in a downturn.

Some people are already preparing for bumps and discussing their moves online in forums such as Reddit.

One Reddit user, who said he lives in Illinois, told BI that much of his spending would come to “a complete standstill” for things that aren’t essential.

Items the US imports, like fruit, avocados, and tea, “are all a luxury now,” he said, adding that he plans to switch to canned fruits to satisfy his “sweet cravings” or buy fresh fruit when it’s in season from local vendors.

The man, a tea lover who plans to take the train to Chicago to attend the city’s tea festival in mid-April, might not continue to buy in bulk to replenish his supplies. Ordinarily, he said, he spends between $100 and $300 every few months on a new batch of tea. But now, tariffs combined with international shipping rates could stop that.

“I just can’t afford an additional $100 in fees,” he said.

‘A better ROI than the stock market’

Another Reddit poster, who said they live in Florida, said in a message to BI that they plan to buy a variety of spices, basmati and jasmine rice, dry beans, and olive oil “to ride this out and have a buffer.”

The user pointed to a jump in the price of chlorine for swimming pools during the depth of pandemic lockdowns. Too often, they said, price increases stick.

That’s another reason to collect what they can, the person said.

“If prices are going to jump 10-30%, that’s a better ROI than the stock market,” they wrote.

That was especially the case on Thursday after a rout in global markets following the escalating trade tensions. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 4.8%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 1,679 points, or 4%.

One Reddit user who said they live in Arkansas told BI that between the tariffs and what could happen with gas prices, they’re stocking up on shelf-stable goods like freeze-fried fruit to have snacks handy that their kids will eat.

The person said they’ve often heard that companies will stop raising prices when customers can’t afford to pay them.

“That has never been my experience as an Arkansan,” they wrote. “People just learn to live without.”

Do you have a story to share about your reaction to tariffs? Contact these reporters at aaltchek@businessinsider.com or tparadis@businessinsider.com.