Tariff costs hit retailers, consumers as Big Lots faces pressure
Tariffs can land on Big Lots as higher shelf tags, thinner margins and tighter staffing. A new analysis says import duties are often shared by importers, retailers and shoppers.
Big Lots depends on low-price household goods, closeouts and seasonal merchandise. A Peterson Institute for International Economics analysis published Aug. 3 found tariffs are not paid in a straight line from a foreign seller to the U.S. government. The cost can be absorbed by importers, foreign exporters, retailers and consumers.
Variety Wholesalers bought assets from the chain’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2025. Lisa Seigies, Variety Wholesalers’ president and CEO, discussed store reopenings and the impact of President Trump’s tariffs in a May 30, 2025 CBS Mornings appearance as Big Lots rebuilt its footprint.
Big Lots reopened 132 stores in May 2025 across 14 states in two phases, on May 1 and May 15. Inside Retail later said 78 more locations reopened June 5, bringing the total to 219 stores, including sites in Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. The new owners planned to keep operating stores under the Big Lots name and may employ Big Lots associates at acquired stores.
If imported home goods, seasonal decor, toys, small appliances and everyday closeout merchandise cost more to land, store leaders have to decide whether to raise shelf prices, trim orders, lean harder on promotions or swap in substitute products. That can change what shows up on the floor, how quickly it gets replenished and how often associates have to explain why a regular item now rings up higher.
A 2020 NBER paper by Mary Amiti, Stephen J. Redding and David E. Weinstein found that the 2018 U.S. tariffs were largely passed through to U.S. importers and consumers rather than fully absorbed abroad. Chinese exporters did not lower their dollar prices much at the border after the 2018 tariffs.
The Yale Budget Lab tracked tariff effects in real time and, in an August update, estimated that new 2025 tariffs had raised $88 billion in revenue year-to-date through August, including about $23 billion in August alone. It also estimated the average effective tariff at 10% in June 2026 and about 11.5% in August, up from 2.4% at the start of the year.
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