Trump’s Tariff Shock May Drive Major Shift In Retail Media Spending
04/21/25 • 11 min
President Trump's sweeping tariffs are forcing consumer brands to make difficult trade-offs, with one of the most immediate impacts being on advertising and retail media spending. As brands face tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese imports, many are cutting advertising budgets to offset margin compression, particularly on Amazon where smaller sellers are struggling to either absorb costs or raise prices. While some experts like Harry Joiner recommend focusing ad spend only on margin-accretive products, others like Jason Landro advocate maintaining advertising investment to gain market share while competitors retreat. The tariff impact varies dramatically by product category, with toys and games being among the hardest hit, potentially reshaping the $62 billion retail media industry as brands reconsider their channel strategies.
Host Kiri Masters' original post on Forbes on this topic: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kirimasters/2025/04/08/tariff-shock-may-drive-major-shift-in-retail-media-spending/
Harry Joiner's 90-day tariff plan for ecommerce leaders: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harryjoiner_download-90-day-tariff-game-plan-activity-7314980336621285377-iNSe/
PRODUCED BY:
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) About Today's Topic
(00:31) About the Show
(00:51) Impact of Trump's Tariffs on Consumer Brands
(01:56) Advertising and Retail Media Spending Shifts
(02:33) Amazon's Ecosystem and Ad Spend Reductions
(03:35) Challenges for International Manufacturers
(04:41) Strategic Shifts in Retail Media
(06:52) Contrarian Approach to Ad Spend
(08:33) Chinese Sellers' Response to Tariffs
(10:03) Opportunities for National Brands
(10:49) Future of Retail Media Landscape
(11:30) Outro
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.retailmediabreakfastclub.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiri-masters/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@retailmediabreakfastclub
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retail-media-breakfast-club/id1782187624//
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3s5MuqcrsOmQDKn3uMYJKb
President Trump's sweeping tariffs are forcing consumer brands to make difficult trade-offs, with one of the most immediate impacts being on advertising and retail media spending. As brands face tariffs exceeding 100% on Chinese imports, many are cutting advertising budgets to offset margin compression, particularly on Amazon where smaller sellers are struggling to either absorb costs or raise prices. While some experts like Harry Joiner recommend focusing ad spend only on margin-accretive products, others like Jason Landro advocate maintaining advertising investment to gain market share while competitors retreat. The tariff impact varies dramatically by product category, with toys and games being among the hardest hit, potentially reshaping the $62 billion retail media industry as brands reconsider their channel strategies.
Host Kiri Masters' original post on Forbes on this topic: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kirimasters/2025/04/08/tariff-shock-may-drive-major-shift-in-retail-media-spending/
Harry Joiner's 90-day tariff plan for ecommerce leaders: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/harryjoiner_download-90-day-tariff-game-plan-activity-7314980336621285377-iNSe/
PRODUCED BY:
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) About Today's Topic
(00:31) About the Show
(00:51) Impact of Trump's Tariffs on Consumer Brands
(01:56) Advertising and Retail Media Spending Shifts
(02:33) Amazon's Ecosystem and Ad Spend Reductions
(03:35) Challenges for International Manufacturers
(04:41) Strategic Shifts in Retail Media
(06:52) Contrarian Approach to Ad Spend
(08:33) Chinese Sellers' Response to Tariffs
(10:03) Opportunities for National Brands
(10:49) Future of Retail Media Landscape
(11:30) Outro
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.retailmediabreakfastclub.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiri-masters/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@retailmediabreakfastclub
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retail-media-breakfast-club/id1782187624//
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3s5MuqcrsOmQDKn3uMYJKb
Previous Episode
'Vibe Marketing' comes to retail media
In this episode, Kiri Masters explores how "vibe marketing" - a concept originating in tech circles - can be applied to retail media strategies. She breaks down how this AI-powered approach enables marketers to rapidly iterate emotional angles at scale while maintaining authentic brand connections, despite the structured nature of retail media environments. Kiri offers four practical applications for retail media professionals: scaling content across multiple channels, personalizing at scale using retailer first-party data, quickly capitalizing on emerging shopper trends, and automating tedious workflows to optimize campaigns. While acknowledging that not every retail media placement needs this approach, she suggests vibe marketing provides a fresh framework for leveraging AI capabilities in the retail media landscape.
Kiri's post on Vibe Marketing: https://www.retailmediabreakfastclub.com/p/4419d48d-34a0-4c45-ae7f-23820211605d/
PRODUCED BY:
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) About Today's Topic
(01:10) About the Show
(01:30) Introduction to Vibe Marketing
(01:59) AI's Role in Vibe Marketing
(03:40) Vibe Marketing in Retail Media
(05:13) Practical Use Cases of Vibe Marketing
(07:52) Internal Advocacy and Education
(09:32) Balancing Vibe Marketing with Reality
(10:08) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
(10:33) Outro
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.retailmediabreakfastclub.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiri-masters/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@retailmediabreakfastclub
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retail-media-breakfast-club/id1782187624//
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3s5MuqcrsOmQDKn3uMYJKb
Next Episode
WOAS: Waste of Ad Spend
Podean, an independent retail media and marketplaces agency, recently launched the "WOAS" Awards (Waste of Ad Spend Awards), a parody award highlighting how brands unknowingly waste retail media budgets. The awards spotlight three key issues: ineffective targeting, unoptimized budgets, and disconnects between media buying and business goals. Industry experts including Vanessa Hung, Danny Silverman, Tony Crutcher, and Mike Feldman weigh in on additional problems, from applying uniform strategies across different product categories to misallocating traditional digital talent to retail media roles without proper training. As retailers demand increased spending and the ecosystem grows more complex, cutting ineffective spending and implementing specialized expertise is becoming a competitive necessity rather than just a cost-saving measure.
Kiri's Forbes Post on WOAS: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kirimasters/2025/04/22/retail-medias-waste-problem-sparks-industry-awards-for-bad-practices/
PRODUCED BY:
CHAPTERS:
(00:00) About Today's Topic
(01:33) About the Show
(01:54) Introduction to the WOAS Awards
(02:22) Identifying Retail Media Waste
(03:32) Insights from Industry Experts
(03:51) Vanessa Hung on Category-Specific Strategies
(05:30) Danny Silverman on Talent and Org Design
(06:34) Tony Retcher on Fragmented Retail Media
(07:15) Mike Feldman on Cutting Ineffective Spend
(08:19) Conclusion: Navigating the Retail Media Landscape
(08:49) Outro
SOCIAL LINKS:
Website: https://www.retailmediabreakfastclub.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiri-masters/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@retailmediabreakfastclub
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/retail-media-breakfast-club/id1782187624//
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3s5MuqcrsOmQDKn3uMYJKb
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