In an aerial view, Ford Broncos are seen for sale on a lot at a dealership on April 18, 2025 in Austin, Texas.Brandon Bell | Getty ImagesAt car dealerships across the country, consumers are rushing to buy new vehicles ahead of tariff-related price hikes. Some shoppers have also replaced iPhones early.Yet when it comes to other items, retailers aren’t seeing widespread stock-ups or huge waves of early purchases due to tariffs — or at least not yet. Instead, U.S. shoppers seem hesitant to spend and inclined to delay purchases rather than speed them up, according to consumer surveys by market researchers and early reads from the Federal Reserve.Consumer spending, excluding autos, was lower overall across the country, according to the Federal Reserve’s latest Beige Book report on economic conditions released on Wednesday. Five of the Fed’s districts saw slight growth in economic activity, four districts had slight to modest declines and three reported relatively unchanged trends since the central bank’s previous release in early March.Most districts saw moderate to robust sales of vehicles and some nondurable items, which the report attributed to “a rush to purchase ahead of tariff-related price increases.” Yet both leisure and business travel were down, and the report noted that “uncertainty around international trade policy was pervasive across [district] reports.”Beyond some of the pricier purchases that stand to cost a lot more even under a 10% tariff on imports, early data suggests the duties have intensified consumers’ desire to watch their wallets closely as they wait to see how Trump’s trade policy unfolds. Companies from Chipotle to PepsiCo and American Airlines said this week that they’re seeing pockets of slower spending.U.S. shoppers have adopted “a conservation mentality” for their cash as they follow fast-changing headlines and see wild swings in the stock market — and their savings and retirement accounts, said Steve Zurek, vice president of thought leadership at NielsenIQ.”There’s so much uncertainty right now that shoppers just don’t know what to do,” he said. “There’s nowhere to hide here — all they can do is control the household economics they have.”Some survey results have backed up a theory that shoppers are kicking the can rather than accelerating purchases: about 35% of U …
