Where Different Generations Are Hearing About Tariffs, And What They Plan to Do About Them

In a fractured media environment, tariffs are a rare topic of conversation that has broken through. Tariff news dominates headlines and is slowly seeping into pop culture via social media, so it is no wonder that a large majority of Americans have heard about the topic. 

But new Morning Consult data shows that different generations of Americans have differing levels of awareness and their primary sources of tariff information are varied. They are, however, aligned in thinking that tariff rates are too high, a change from when we last checked in at the end of last year, and considerable shares of all generations expect price increases across a number of purchase categories.

Awareness of tariffs has grown substantially, though sources of information differ vastly among generations

President Trump has long been a proponent of tariffs, levying them on American trading partners throughout his first term and promising to impose additional tariffs if reelected. He quickly worked to make good on that campaign promise, posting that one of his first actions in office would be to impose a 25% tariff on all goods from Canada and Mexico. 

Since then, tariff coverage in the news has intensified, beginning in February when 10% tariffs on Chinese goods were announced, and has been nonstop since, with either Trump musing over new tariffs or U.S. trading partners lobbying back reciprocal tariffs on U.S. goods. When asked in early April about how much they've seen, read or heard about tariffs and tariff-related proposals, a whopping 73% of U.S. adults said “a lot” or “some,” a nearly 20-point jump from just five months prior.

Generationally, older consumers are most likely to say they have heard “a lot” or “some” about tariffs, tracking with other Morning Consult research that shows that news consumption goes up with age. Roughly 3 in 5 Gen Zers (61%) say they have heard “a lot” or “some” about tariffs, trailing more than 20 points compared with baby boomers who said the same. Gen Z adults also have totally different consumption habits and, on tariffs, are vastly more likely to say they get their information from social media (80%), compared with baby boomers, who are much more likely to get their information from broadcast and cable news. 

Tariff-related content is an increasingly popular niche on social media, with many American small businesses taking to their platforms to discuss the potential impact of tariffs on sourcing and manufacturing. And in response to recently escalating back-and-forth retaliatory tariffs between the U.S. and China, Chinese manufacturers have gone directly to TikTok to share goods sold in the U.S. that can be attributed to Chinese workmanship, often explicitly calling out Western brands and encouraging viewers to shop from manufacturers directly to bypass the “middlemen.” 

No doubt, Gen Zers — heavy social media users — will continue to be exposed to this type of tariff-related storytelling. 

2 in 5 now think tariffs are too high, and sizable shares of Americans expect price increases across all purchase categories

There has been a real turning of the tide on perceptions of tariff rates: In December, 15% of U.S. adults said rates were too high; in April, that number leapfrogged to 40%. Then, 35% said they didn’t have an opinion on the rates, but now that has dropped to 24%.

At least half of all U.S. adults expect tariff-related price increases on groceries, automobiles, gasoline, auto parts, pharmaceuticals, and personal electronics. Overall, price increase expectations are particularly pronounced across generational lines. Given that older adults are most likely to be exposed to information about tariffs, it stands to reason they are almost bracing for goods across all categories to cost more as a result. For example, 75% of baby boomers expect grocery prices to increase, but only 56% of millennials said the same. Even for beauty and personal care, a category Gen Zers and millennials are more likely to interact with, a generational gap exists.

For now, though, when asked about planned actions in response to tariffs that have or will be imposed upon goods from foreign countries, pluralities of U.S. adults — roughly 1 in 3 — say they aren’t and don't plan to stop purchasing goods or services made in or sold by foreign countries, nor are they canceling or planning to cancel overseas travel plans. Softer shares say they are considering those actions, and even fewer say they are already doing this. Generationally, responses do not vary much. 

The commerce ecosystem within the U.S. is so dependent on foreign-made output that for most shoppers, it’s impossible not to buy goods or services produced overseas, and many brands are ambiguous enough that the average shopper may have no idea that they originate outside the U.S. 

At the moment, with tariffs announced and then many of them immediately paused — though a blanket 10% tariff on all countries is still in place, as well as several others — price changes may yet be felt by consumers. But continued chaos will inevitably permeate, and a highly tuned-in public will certainly notice.