What CFOs Can Learn From Consumer Sentiment On The Economy

Forbes

27-05-2025

Klaviyo is a CRM system that collects e-commerce consumer data and helps companies better target audiences. Although it's a bit higher up the ladder of companies that will be impacted by tariffs, the IT provider has been conducting weekly consumer pulse polls to see how shoppers are thinking about spending and the economy. After all, what consumers feel about the economy directly affects Klaviyo's business.
'Because when it comes to earning share of wallet, especially in uncertain times, the brands that win are the ones that truly understand their customers,' Klaviyo Vice President of Insights and Strategy Jake Cohen writes in the introduction.
The weekly polls examine different questions around consumer spending. One thing is crystal clear: Impending tariffs are having a big impact on consumer spending, and the picture isn't all that rosy. Since yesterday was Memorial Day, traditionally a big sale weekend for retailers of all stripes, last week's poll asked consumers how they felt about traditional big sales.
While the poll didn't capture fewer people planning to shop those sales, it did show consumers nervous about prices and availability going forward. Nearly a third of respondents said they were going to shop Memorial Day sales specifically to take advantage of deals before tariffs take hold. Half said they're planning to start shopping for December holidays much earlier—nearly seven in 10 think there will be inventory shortages later in the year, and close to three-quarters expect price increases at key sales moments.
With the on-again, off-again tariff threats still being lobbed at different countries and regions by President Trump, planning for the future is becoming much more difficult. But it's worth noting the way that consumers are also trying to strategize. The near-term financial picture is unpredictable for almost everyone.
Klaviyo has its own business and finances to manage, and it's found steady growth through innovation and expansion. I spoke with CFO Amanda Whalen about how the company is developing. An excerpt from our conversation is later in this newsletter.
A trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday morning.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
It's been another week of ups and downs for the stock market. Early Thursday morning, President Donald Trump's economic policy package, which he calls the 'big, beautiful bill,' passed the House of Representatives by a razor-thin vote of 215-214. The bill makes the tax cuts initially passed in 2017 during Trump's first term permanent, totaling $5 trillion in cuts. It also increases defense and immigration enforcement spending. To offset the new spending, the bill slashes funds for federal assistance programs, including Medicaid and SNAP.
The bill, which is now with the Senate, has opponents on both sides of the aisle. Some decry its cuts to social programs—as well as other Trump-favored conservative policy proposals embedded in its more than 1,000 pages. But others oppose the steep increase in spending, which could add $2.4 trillion to the deficit. Investors are pulling back with alarm—10-year treasuries hit a 5.1% yield, mortgage rates surged to 7.08% and the price of gold climbed toward a record high, writes Forbes senior contributor Peter Cohan.
The chill in investor confidence spread to the stock market, but several announcements from Trump about tariffs rattled stocks deeper. Last week, Trump threatened a 25% tariff on Apple unless it starts making iPhones in the U.S. The threat reverberated through Apple's stock price, which fell by more than 3% on Friday, while many analysts said that Trump's request is not feasible given supply chain and manufacturing facility logistics.
Trump also declared a 50% tariff on the EU, starting June 1, saying that negotiations were not going well and that the blog was 'very difficult to deal with.' On Monday, Trump announced he was delaying that tariff until July 9, after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen posted on X that they had a 'good call' about continuing negotiations. U.S. markets moved upward Tuesday morning, with the Nasdaq posting more than a 2% bump, and the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average seeing more than a 1% rise.
The Small Business Administration is making major changes in its loan program to what it says is a push to make the loans safer for the government. Analysts, however, tell Forbes' Brandon Kochkodin that they make it harder for businesses to get the loans in the first place. The changes, which go into effect on June 1, include new citizenship requirements. To qualify for a loan, 100% of the business must be owned by U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, or individuals who have held a green card for at least six months. Kochkodin reports that may make things difficult because four out of every 10 U.S. small business owners are foreign-born. Additionally, small business owners who are selling to a new owner are essentially boxed out of retaining an interest—something many do to help ensure a smooth transition. Now, any seller that retains equity in the business must personally guarantee the entire SBA loan for at least two years, which is often a dealbreaker.
Billy Long, President Trump's nominee to head the IRS, speaks at his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing last week.Billy Long, President Trump's nominee to head the IRS, faced tough questions by the Senate Committee on Finance at his confirmation hearing last week, writes Forbes' Kelly Phillips Erb. Long, who served as a member of the House of Representatives for 12 years, has no formal training in tax, law or accounting, and he didn't serve on any committees related to taxation. Long doesn't have a college degree either; most of his career was spent as an auctioneer following his training at the Missouri Auction School, which he's said was the 'Harvard of auctioneering schools.' Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) quipped that Long's experience in taxes came after he left Congress, 'when he dove headlong into the tax scam industry.' Long worked as a business tax credit consultant. He received $65,000 from White River Energy, an Arkansas-based oil and gas company selling so-called 'tribal tax credits,' which the IRS said do not exist. Under law, those who promote nonexistent tax credits could be subject to criminal or civil penalties.
A committee vote on Long's nomination has not yet been scheduled.
Klaviyo CFO Amanda Whalen.
Klaviyo
B2C CRM platform Klaviyo has grown exponentially in recent years, bringing together a wide range of data to help consumer businesses target customers and drive their success. The company went public in late 2023, and has been growing steadily, posting 22% year-over-year revenue growth in its most recent quarter. I spoke with Klaviyo CFO Amanda Whalen about how she helps Klaviyo develop and succeed. This conversation has been edited for length, clarity and continuity.
What is the finance department's role in helping Klaviyo's platform evolve?
Whalen: I'm a big believer that building a world-class finance organization starts with deep business understanding. Business understanding comes from speaking directly to customers, which is why I spend significant time talking to and meeting with customers. The conversations aren't just about numbers. They're about how customers use our product, what drives their success, what's really meaningful to them and, importantly, how do we solve their most important business challenges?
Understanding what matters to customers enables us to be real strategic partners, helping to shape decisions on where we make investments in product, how we drive growth investments, how we think about investments that will help our go-to-market teams drive customer value.
You mentioned that Klaviyo's cofounders Andrew Bialecki and Ed Hallen prioritize both growth and efficiency. How do you work from the finance department to drive those values?
We are really big believers in having a firm understanding of our unit economics. It comes from being a bootstrapped business. It always was important to us to have a rapid cash conversion cycle so that we could invest more in ourselves to grow. We keep a constant look at what investments are working well, where we can double down, where we might need to do more experimentation. And just having a firm understanding of how we continue to invest in places that are going to drive that efficient long-term growth.
On the R&D side, we're looking at new products we are building. How do we make the product scalable to serve our customers, not only now but in the future. Since I joined, the revenue of the business has more than doubled. It's all about understanding where the business is headed and then how do we invest capital to back great long-term growth.
What kind of advice do you have for other finance professionals?
One of my favorites is from someone who I used to work with who said that the strongest finance leaders are like dolphins: You need to be up above the surface of the water, scanning the horizon, thinking strategically, making those investments to drive growth, and diving deep under the surface, understanding the details. My best advice to other finance professionals is to get comfortable not only operating across multiple levels, but switching back and forth between the multiple levels as well.
The second is that your success is going to be linked to your ability to develop a fantastic team. A thing that I'm proud of in my career is that I have a high single-digit number of folks who've worked for me who now have gone on to be CFOs in their own companies.
I got to learn from some of the best. [Former CFO] Brett Biggs at Walmart was fantastic at that. Carol Tomé, who was at Home Depot and now UPS was amazing at it. Mark Hawkins is a legendary mentor to many of the CFOs in SaaS. It is being conscious not only of how you are developing your own career, but importantly how you are building the careers of the folks who work with you, as well.
In an era of new disruptive changes seemingly every day, it's easy for leaders to feel fatigued quickly. There's no way to stop the changes from happening, but a new perspective—one of confidence, faith in the company and emphasizing an ability to adapt—could make it easier on your company.
Finding a way to reframe the current situation might be difficult, but AI can help. Here are five ChatGPT prompts that can help the chatbot give you a different perspective and more extensive look at everything your business is doing—and who's there to support you.
While there are a lot of controversial aspects in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill,' one provision unanimously passed the U.S. Senate as a standalone bill last week. What was it?
A. Repealing tax write-offs for professional sports team owners
B. No taxes on overtime
C. Increasing the child tax credit
D. No taxes on tips
See if you got the right answer here.