Walmart Targets Younger Consumers Amid Tariff Troubles

Walmart is reportedly focusing on new and younger shoppers to offset the impact of tariffs.

As CNBC reported late Friday (June 8), the retail giant has rolled out a new ad campaign, a clothing brand for tweens, and expanded drone deliveries to woo these consumers at a time when Americans are curbing their spending.

The report coincided with Walmart’s Associates Week event, a celebration that, per CNBC, was overshadowed by tariffs and rising retail prices. Still, Walmart maintains it can target new, value-conscious shoppers.  

Walmart Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey told reporters on Friday that tariffs haven’t altered consumer spending patterns, with shoppers paying more for groceries and holding back on other items.

“It’s been very consistent, and what we’ve seen over the last year, even two years, is that consumers are spending more on food, and that gives them less money to spend on general merchandise,” Rainey said, referring to discretionary goods such as toys or apparel.

“You can still tell that wallets are stretched, that consumers are still faced with high prices, even though the year-over-year inflation numbers are not the headlines that they were 18 months ago,” he added.

Rainey had warned recently that Walmart would have to increase its prices because of tariffs, leading President Donald Trump to criticize the retailer, saying it should “EAT THE TARIFFS” in a social media post.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last week about efforts by Walmart and other retailers to attract more affluent shoppers. Among these chains is Dollar General, which released its quarterly earnings last week.

“We saw the highest percent of trade-in customers we’ve had in the last four years,” CEO Todd Vasos told analysts on an earnings call, referring to shoppers from middle- and higher-income brackets seeking value.

“Our data shows that new customers this year are making more trips and spending more with us compared to new customers from last year, while also allocating more of their spend to discretionary categories.”

In addition, Costco’s finance chief, Gary Millerchip, reported during that company’s first quarter earnings call that affluent members are trading down, with marked growth in value categories such as private-label goods and lower-cost proteins. 

“Our goal is always to be the first to lower prices where we see opportunities,” Millerchip said, underscoring his company’s commitment to pricing discipline as price sensitivity rises across income brackets.

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