The potential for Donald Trump to impose new tariffs on imported goods immediately got the retail industry’s attention after his sweeping win.
However, the question of tariffs could be distracting retail leaders from examining more broadly what the election reveals about the mood of the nation’s consumers and the issues that concern them.
Ultimately, more Americans bought what Trump and the Republican party were selling. So retailers, who are also in the business of selling goods and services to the American people, can learn from this election.
And the lessons are more telling because Trump used old-fashioned retail politics – donning an apron at McDonald’s, buying meals at Chick-fil-A and taking out the “garbage” after Biden’s inflammatory comment. Yet he practiced retail politics in new and unexpected ways.
Among the more subtle messages voters conveyed with important implications for retailers concern issues such as retail leadership, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and delivering authentic marketing messages in the right places.
Tariffs? Wait And See
Retailers are understandably alarmed by Trump’s threat to impose 10%, 20% or higher tariffs on imported goods since so many of the products they sell are made in foreign countries.
The National Retail Federation estimates tariffs could cost American consumers between $46 billion and $76 billion each year increased tariffs are implemented. That translates into a typical U.S. household paying upwards of $7,600 more per year.
After having come through a three-year period where the Consumer Price Index increased nearly 20%, another round of price increases caused by tariffs is the last thing we need. However, Trump ran on a platform to “end inflation, and make America affordable again,” so his administration should be hesitant to impose an additional tariff tax on American consumers.
And since the Biden administration kept Trump’s first round of China tariffs in place, many retailers have reduced their reliance on Chinese imports. For example, UBS estimated that only 26% of Walmart merchandise is imported from China and at Target, it’s about 34%.
Regarding tariffs, time will tell, so retailers should spend that time studying other lessons from this election.
Leaders Must Get Down With The People
In general, the higher one goes up the corporate ladder, the more they lose touch with those at the lower rungs of the ladder. For retailers, those on the lower rungs are the ones who have the most direct contact with customers.
Customers are the final arbiters of how well or poorly a retailer performs, which is why I say retail is first and foremost a people, not a product business.
Retail leaders must be up close and personal with both their customers and those that serve them. Leaders need to hear the concerns of employees directly, not filtered through layers of management like a game of telephone. They also need to interact personally with customers to see first hand what delights and disturbs them.
As the corporate decision makers, they must pay as much attention to their employees’ and customers’ voices as they do the board, stockholders and the company financials.
Walmart’s Doug McMillon, CEO of the nation’s number one retailer, rose through the ranks after working on the Walmart loading dock as a teenager. Number three Costco’s newly appointed CEO, Ron Vachris, started as a company forklift operator. And Nike just brought back a longtime, ladder-climbing veteran Elliott Hill after an outsider made a mess of the company.
These executives haven’t lost touch with the concerns of the hourly workers or the customers who pay the bills.
There’s a reason why Americans overwhelmingly trust small businesses over big businesses, 86% to 29%, according to Pew Research. Small business owners keep their hands in the muck and mire of all aspects of the business. That’s how a retail leader earns the trust of their staff and their customers.
Trump won resoundingly in the so-called fly-over states. Retail leaders can’t afford to fly-over the stores, employees or customers in those states.
Are DEI Programs Working For All?
Some 56% of American workers believe corporate diversity, equity and inclusion policies are a good thing, according to Pew, but support of DEI cuts sharply on party lines.
Democrats or those who lean that way overwhelmingly support DEI (78%), yet only 30% of Republicans or lean Republican feel the same. And an equal share (30%) believe DEI is a bad thing.
Some feel DEI policies have been more exclusionary than inclusionary, e.g., straight white men, and research has found that so-called DEI training may do more harm than good in achieving harmony in the workplace.
A paper by Professor David Millard Haskell published by the Canadian Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, entitled “What DEI research concludes about diversity training,” that cites more than 44 academic studies, concludes, “When it comes to harmony and tolerance, DEI does not make things better, but can make things worse.”
As controversy swirls around DEI initiatives, a growing number of companies are dialing back their DEI programs, including Tractor Supply, Lowe’s, Harley Davidson, Ford, John Deere, Molson Coors, Google and Meta.
We all agree that the objectives of DEI programs are a good and righteous cause, specifically to have workplaces reflect the diversity of our communities, be fair and equitable in hiring, promotions and pay, and be welcoming regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or identity, religious affiliation and disabilities.
But the implementation of those programs may not be delivering on those objectives. Now is a good time for retailers to look objectively at corporate DEI programs to determine if they are working for the good of all employees, the business at large and the communities that they serve.
Authentic Messages In Alternative Media
While the Harris campaign seemed to be treated with kid gloves by much of the media, they afforded Trump no such gentle treatment. Quite the contrary, many in the media attacked him with pugilistic ferocity.
In interviews, Harris spoke in carefully scripted messages that sounded good but didn’t reveal much about her personality or inner life. Trump let it all hang out as he bobbed and weaved, yet love him or hate him, he was authentic and real. People noticed.
Rise Of Alternative Media
Numerous pundits have commented on the declining importance of legacy media in this election cycle, along with the rise of alternative media.
“That a president-elect could win so overwhelmingly in popular vote + electoral college while ignoring the New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, CBS News, NBC News, & CNN (while spending hours with Joe Rogan) should be a moment of self-reflective reckoning for ‘mainstream’ media,” shared media historian Michael Socolow on X.
While both campaigns turned to social media and alternative media podcasts, Trump played more effectively there. Given that he owns the Truth Social platform and is besties with X’s Elon Musk, it’s no surprise that he excelled with social media.
Beyond social media posts, he found the unscripted, no-holds-barred podcast format perfectly suited to his style of delivery.
Podcast appearances on Nelk Boys, Adin Ross, Theo Von and most especially three-hours with Joe Rogan gave him access to a powerful audience that feels canceled by mainstream media and so has largely canceled it.
The Trump-Joe Rogan interview has racked up nearly 50 million views in the last two weeks on YouTube.
First Influencer Election
The Hollywood Reporter called this the first “influencer election,” and Trump’s influencers turned out to be more influential.
Harris went to the usual celebrity suspects, whose very celebrity status puts them out of touch with everyday Americans – Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Cardi B, Katy Perry, Meryl Streep, Mark Cuban, Oprah, Jennifer Garner and Reese Witherspoon.
Trump recruited a more diverse group – Joe Rogan, Elon Musk, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Tulsi Gabbard, Buzz Aldrin, Dana White, Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Caitlyn Jenner, Dr. Phil, Brett Favre, Harrison Butker, Tucker Carlson, Danica Patrick, Russell Brand, Lil Wayne and the list goes on.
Retailer Takeaways
It’s going to take some time for the mainstream media to digest the implications from the drubbing it took this election cycle, as well as how much alternative media is eating away at their audiences and potential advertising revenues.
Likewise, retailers need to look at their advertising, marketing, influencer and retail media network strategies to make sure they are delivering an authentic message and getting the most from their investments.
For example, micro-influencers with authentic voices, not necessarily the highest-profile celebrities, may deliver marketing messages more effectively to the right audiences.
Retailers should study the podcast format, as Sephora, eBay, Walmart, Shopify, Trader Joe’s, Hugo Boss, Amazon, American Girl and Nordstrom have.
And earned media, rather than paid media, can give retailers and brands the biggest bang for their buck, as Trump highlighted in his recent X post suggesting for the sake of “unity” that the still-flush Republican party help out the Harris campaign, which ended $20 million in debt, according to Breitbart News.
“We have a lot of money left over in that our biggest asset in the campaign was ‘Earned Media’ and that doesn’t cost very much,” he wrote. That post has garnered over 60 million views. As of this posting, the Harris campaign has not denied the debt report.
Keep Calm And Carry On
Americans are fatigued from the “strum and drang” that has characterized the past year, even the last five years since the pandemic hit. They are seeking calm and reassurance that all will be well.
That’s why the meditation and mental health app Calm won election night’s advertising sweepstakes. Running 15-and 30-second advertisements on CNN and ABC, it featured no music or dialogue, only the words: “We bought this ad space to give you 30-seconds of silence, Yep, just silence.”
While political leaders have a profound impact on our lives, they don’t touch us daily as retailers do. Retailers have the opportunity to be a voice of reassuring calm that is most needed now.
“You can make a statement and elevate your brand by associating with things that are going on in the real world,” Sol Marketing CEO Deb Gabor shared with Adweek. “But you have to do it in a way that won’t alienate half the people.”
And Chris Danton, chief of ideas at In Good Co, added, “What the moment calls for is speaking to people’s emotions. Instead of telling us to go download the Calm app to feel better, they just made us feel better. Brands can definitely learn from that.”
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