Latest news with #ScottNeedham
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon sellers are hiking prices on hundreds of goods as tariffs bite
American consumers are starting to feel the impact of President Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports, especially online. Since the second week in April, sellers on Amazon have raised their prices on nearly 1,000 products, according to data from SmartScout, a price analysis software tool. The average price hike — nearly 30%. Costs rose on a wide range of items, from tech accessories such as phone charges to women's clothing, SmartScout founder and CEO Scott Needham told CBS MoneyWatch. Anker, a top-selling brand on Amazon that sells mobile charging devices, has increased prices on roughly 25% of its products on the site, for example. "It's one of first concerted efforts I've seen where nothing explains the price hikes other than tariffs," Needham said. Tariffs are paid by importers, and they typically pass on much or even all of those additional costs to consumers. Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy told CNBC earlier this month that he expected U.S. tariffs to boost prices on a host of consumer goods. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs of as much as 145% on Chinese imports, while China has retaliated with levies of 125% on U.S. goods entering the country. Mr. Trump has long accused China of unfair trade practices, saying that tariffs will reinvigorate the domestic manufacturing sector and spur economic growth. Other major e-commerce players and retailers have also lifted prices to offset higher import costs, sometime by adding "tariff surcharges" to customers' bills. Chinese e-commerce sites Shein and Temu each announced last week that they would hike prices after the U.S. closed a loophole that had allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. Those price hikes took effect today. On Temu's site, a pair of running sneakers that last week cost $14 now runs about $27. The jump illustrates retailers' struggles to navigate President Trump's tariff agenda. Sky-high tariffs can make manufacturing goods in countries like China uneconomical. But revamping supply chains or moving manufacturing to another country can take years and cost hundreds of millions or even billions dollars, experts say. Uncertainty over tariff rates and how long such levies could remain in place is also making it difficult for companies to plan. Mr. Trump said this week that the U.S. and China were actively negotiating over how to resolve their trade differences and that he expected tariffs on Chinese imports to fall "substantially." But officials in Beijing quickly denied the sides were in talks, and instead reiterated its demand that the U.S. revoke its tariffs against the nation. Russian foreign minister on latest Kyiv strikes: "We only target military goals" Judge halts own order demanding Kilmar Abrego Garcia updates Pope Francis' coffin sealed as part of private ritual Sign in to access your portfolio
CBS News
25-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Amazon sellers are hiking prices on hundreds of goods as tariffs bite
Consumers trying to buy things before price hikes from tariffs, economists say American consumers are starting to feel the impact of President Trump's tariffs on Chinese imports, especially online. Since the second week in April, sellers on Amazon have raised their prices on nearly 1,000 products, according to data from SmartScout, a price analysis software tool. The average price hike — nearly 30%. Costs rose on a wide range of items, from tech accessories such as phone charges to women's clothing, SmartScout founder and CEO Scott Needham told CBS MoneyWatch. Anker, a top-selling brand on Amazon that sells mobile charging devices, has increased prices on roughly 25% of its products on the site, for example. "It's one of first concerted efforts I've seen where nothing explains the price hikes other than tariffs," Needham said. Tariffs are paid by importers, and they typically pass on much or even all of those additional costs to consumers. Amazon CEO Andrew Jassy told CNBC earlier this month that he expected U.S. tariffs to boost prices on a host of consumer goods. The Trump administration has imposed tariffs of as much as 145% on Chinese imports, while China has retaliated with levies of 125% on U.S. goods entering the country. Mr. Trump has long accused China of unfair trade practices, saying that tariffs will reinvigorate the domestic manufacturing sector and spur economic growth. Other major e-commerce players and retailers have also lifted prices to offset higher import costs, sometime by adding "tariff surcharges" to customers' bills. Chinese e-commerce sites Shein and Temu each announced last week that they would hike prices after the U.S. closed a loophole that had allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free. Those price hikes took effect today. On Temu's site, a pair of running sneakers that last week cost $14 now runs about $27. The jump illustrates retailers' struggles to navigate President Trump's tariff agenda. Sky-high tariffs can make manufacturing goods in countries like China uneconomical. But revamping supply chains or moving manufacturing to another country can take years and cost hundreds of millions or even billions dollars, experts say. Uncertainty over tariff rates and how long such levies could remain in place is also making it difficult for companies to plan. Mr. Trump said this week that the U.S. and China were actively negotiating over how to resolve their trade differences and that he expected tariffs on Chinese imports to fall "substantially." But officials in Beijing quickly denied the sides were in talks, and instead reiterated its demand that the U.S. revoke its tariffs against the nation.
Business Insider
25-04-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Pricier appliances, snacks, and electronics: Amazon sellers are raising prices on some of the site's most popular items
Prices are going up on Amazon. Data from SmartScout, an e-commerce analytics company, shows that Amazon sellers have already raised prices on some of the marketplace's most popular products to all-time highs. Scott Needham, the company's founder and CEO, said SmartScout identified nearly 900 products on Amazon that are currently listed at their highest prices ever. All the products are top items on Amazon and sell at least 1,000 units monthly. SmartScout analyzed over 100,000 listings to arrive at the more than 800 listings that had raised prices. The average increase in the listings with higher prices was 29%. A quarter of the sellers raising prices are based in China. The price changes went into effect in the two weeks immediately following President Donald Trump's announcement of tariffs, on April 2, which he called " Liberation Day." While Trump put a 90-day pause on most tariffs, those on China-made goods have gone into effect, leading many e-commerce sellers to explore raising prices or diversifying their supply chain. Sellers have the discretion to determine their own prices on Amazon, but those who do raise their prices risk losing the coveted buy box. "Winning" the buy box is crucial because it means your listing is the default purchase option and has the "Add to Cart" button on it, increasing the odds of beating competing listings to a sale. The buy box algorithm compares listed prices on Amazon to those on the same product at competitors, incentivizing sellers to always have their lowest price on Amazon. Popular snacks, kids' toys, home appliances, and clothing are among the Amazon listings with higher prices than before. Several are well-known brands, like US home goods brand Zulay Kitchen and Chinese electronics accessories brand Anker, which each have four products on SmartScout's list. Hong Kong-based smart device brand Govee raised prices on 11 of its best-selling items. Even some items sold by Amazon Basics — Amazon's own private label — have gotten more expensive by a few dollars and cents, including things like batteries, USB cables, and melatonin gummies. An Amazon representative disputed SmartScout's findings, saying it examined only a "tiny fraction of items in our store." "We have not seen the average selling prices of products change up or down appreciably outside of typical fluctuations across the hundreds of millions of items on Amazon," the spokesperson said. Anker and Govee did not immediately return requests for comment from BI. Tariffs are forcing businesses to make 'massive pivots' Zulay Kitchen founder and CEO Aaron Cordovez told Business Insider the Florida-based brand is raising prices because it does not believe the tariff situation will resolve soon. "Right now, the vast majority of our products are coming out of China, and we believe it will take about six months to get a good amount coming from other countries," Cordovez told BI in an email. "We need to not blow through our stock while we figure out how to bring in product from elsewhere." Dozens of Amazon sellers signed a petition earlier this month asking Amazon to consider revisiting its buy box policies amid the turmoil created by tariffs. "Businesses need to react quickly to the tariffs, which have been changing daily, and right now they can't pivot fast enough due to the buy box suppressions from price increases," David Cassarino, director of Amazon marketing at digital growth firm National Positions, told BI. He said he signed the petition because he believed his clients needed greater flexibility to raise prices without affecting their buy-box position. Cordovez said it would take about a year to "solve" most of the brand's supply chain problems. "Our business does not work with the tariffs unless we make massive pivots, so that's what we're doing, and it includes price increases," he said. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in an interview on CNBC that he expected sellers would have to pass on the extra cost of tariffs to customers. "I understand why, I mean, depending on which country you're in, you don't have 50% extra margin that you can play with," he said.
Reuters
11-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Chinese electronics company Anker starts raising prices on Amazon
SHENZHEN, China, April 11 (Reuters) - China's Anker, one of Amazon's largest sellers offering products from power banks to phone cases, has raised prices on a fifth of its products on the U.S. platform since Thursday, in a sign that tariffs on Chinese goods are being passed on to U.S. shoppers. Some 127 Anker ( opens new tab products have seen an average increase of 18% since Thursday last week, with the majority of those occurring after Monday, April 7, when U.S. President Donald Trump added an extra 50% import duty on Chinese goods, according to data from e-commerce services provider SmartScout. U.S. import tariffs on Chinese products now stand at 145%. Beijing on Friday raised its tariff on U.S. goods to 125%, as a trade war between the world's top two economies intensifies. Anker and Amazon (AMZN.O), opens new tab did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The move follows warnings from China's largest cross-border e-commerce association that many Chinese companies that sell products on Amazon are preparing to hike prices for the U.S. or quit the market due to the tariffs. "It's the most concerted effort (to raise prices) I've seen across any brand," said Scott Needham, SmartScout's founder. Anker, which has 5,000 employees and annual revenues of 22.17 billion yuan ($3 billion), has become a major seller on Amazon since being founded by a former Google software engineer in 2011. On a call with investors on Monday, Anker said that it was able to raise prices as it had bargaining power and because its rivals were mainly Chinese and under similar tariff pressure, but did not provide specifics. It also said it would explore non-U.S. markets like Europe and Southeast Asia. ($1 = 7.3218 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chinese electronics company Anker starts raising prices on Amazon
SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - China's Anker, one of Amazon's largest sellers offering products from power banks to phone cases, has raised prices on a fifth of its products on the U.S. platform since Thursday, in a sign that tariffs on Chinese goods are being passed on to U.S. shoppers. Some 127 Anker products have seen an average increase of 18% since Thursday last week, with the majority of those occurring after Monday, April 7, when U.S. President Donald Trump added an extra 50% import duty on Chinese goods, according to data from e-commerce services provider SmartScout. U.S. import tariffs on Chinese products now stand at 145%. Beijing on Friday raised its tariff on U.S. goods to 125%, as a trade war between the world's top two economies intensifies. Anker and Amazon did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The move follows warnings from China's largest cross-border e-commerce association that many Chinese companies that sell products on Amazon are preparing to hike prices for the U.S. or quit the market due to the tariffs. "It's the most concerted effort (to raise prices) I've seen across any brand," said Scott Needham, SmartScout's founder. Anker, which has 5,000 employees and annual revenues of 22.17 billion yuan ($3 billion), has become a major seller on Amazon since being founded by a former Google software engineer in 2011. On a call with investors on Monday, Anker said that it was able to raise prices as it had bargaining power and because its rivals were mainly Chinese and under similar tariff pressure, but did not provide specifics. It also said it would explore non-U.S. markets like Europe and Southeast Asia. ($1 = 7.3218 Chinese yuan renminbi)
