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Gadgets sold without batteries. Toys sold in slimmed-down boxes or no packaging at all. More household goods that shoppers need to assemble themselves. These are some of the ways consumer product companies are retooling their wares to reduce costs and avoid raising prices as President Donald Trump levies new import taxes on key trading partners as well as some materials used by American manufacturers. The economic environment in which the president has imposed, threatened and occasionally postponed repeated rounds of tariffs is more precarious than during his first term. U.S. consumers are feeling tapped out after several years of inflation. Businesses say tariffs add to their expenses and eat into their profits, but they are wary of losing sales if they try to pass all of the increase on to customers. Instead, some companies are exploring cost-cutting options, both ones that consumers likely would notice in time remember shrinkflation? and ones that exist too far down the supply chain for them to see. The changes may help minimize price increases, yet won’t be enough in every case to offset them completely. These are some of the strategies retailers and brands have in mind: A kink in the supply chain After putting an extra 20% tariff on all goods from China, as well as a 25% tariff on imported steel, aluminum and automobiles, Trump said he would announce on Wednesday the targets of reciprocal tariffs that mirror the taxes all other nations apply to certain U.S. exports. He argues the tariffs will spur domestic manufacturing, among other goals. Also on the horizon: twice-delayed tariffs on most goods from Canada and Mexico, and duties on copper, lumber and pharmaceutical drugs. Kimberly Kirkendall, president of supply-chain consulting firm International Resource Development, has told clients U.S. makers of shelving, home goods and food products that given all the uncertainty, this is not the time for long-term moves like seeking factories outside of China. She encouraged them to focus on the short term, particularly the need to scrutinize product lines from every angle for possible savings. Youve got to collaborate and work together with your suppliers in this situation to be able to bring costs down,” Kirkendall said. Sourcing concerns are not only a worry for big companies that rely on Chinese manufacturers. Sasha Iglehart, founder of a small online clothing company called Shirt Story, has a collection of upcycled mens shirts that sell for around $235. She said she typically gets her vintage buttons from an Austrian supplier and knows Trump has talked about taxing goods from the European Union. I will continue to look for local vendors and collectors here in the States as back up, said Iglehart, whose company is based in Connecticut. Reworking a product For many companies, evaluating which components or details they can remove from their products or replace with less expensive ones is the go-to move for absorbing the potential financial hit from tariffs. Los Angeles-based toy company Abacus Brands Inc., which designs science kits and other educational toys, has most of its products made in China. By using slightly thinner paper in an 80-page project book that comes with two of its kits, the company expects to avert a $10 retail price increase, President Steve Rad said. Three or 4 cents here, Rad said. Seven or 6 cents there. Two more pennies over there. All of a sudden, you’ve made up the difference. Aurora World Inc., known for its plush pets and toy vehicles, is looking at using fewer paint colors as a way to counteract tariff costs, according to Gabe Higa, managing director of the California company’s toy division. All of Aurora World’s toys come from factories in China. This is something that makes it a little bit simpler so that theres less manual labor involved or less material cost, Higa said. (It) doesn’t have a lot of incremental value so it’s easy to take away. The company still may have to raise prices as long as the new tariffs are in effect, he said. Economy packaging Tweaking or reducing product packaging is another area where importers may cut back and carries the advantage of possibly appealing to eco-conscious customers. Basic Fun CEO Jay Foreman, whose company markets classic toys like Tonka trucks, Lincoln Logs and Care Bears, said he is presenting retailers with three different packaging options and asking them to decide which ones they prefer for the trucks and some other products that will be in stores next spring. The first is the current packaging, which consists of a box with a big open window that lets customers see what’s inside. The second option: no box, just a tray attached to the bottom of toys to hold them in place on shelves. The third: unwrapped but affixed with a simple paper price tag that features brand information. The second-tier packaging would reduce the toy company’s cost per item by $1.25, and the package-free version would yield savings of $1.75, Foreman said. Both would diminish the appeal of the products and would not come close to canceling out the tariff on goods made in China, Foreman said. He said he would make pricing decisions later this week after Trump provides details about his planned reciprocal tariffs. To further reduce its production costs, Abacus Brands is thinking of switching from plastic to cardboard for the package inserts that keep toy parts in place. Cardboard trays cost 7 cents per unit compared to 30 cents for the plastic version, according to Rad. The change requires finding a new factory to make the inserts, a move that did not make financial sense before now, he said. The various tariff-related modifications should be effective for fall and holiday deliveries to stores, Rad said. The compromises were making are things that do not matter to the consumer, he said. Forget the extras Shoppers will likely have to assemble more of their products at home as companies look to reduce shipping costs, according to Kirkendall of International Resource Development. One of her clients manufactures self-watering planters that are made in China. The product is undergoing a redesign so it can be shipped as seprate nesting components instead of fully assembled. Companies also are reevaluating the pieces of their products that are essential or extra. Chris Bajda, managing partner at online wedding gift retailer Groomsday, said accessories like batteries and decorative gift boxes may end up in the latter category. We now carefully assess whats truly necessary and avoid including items that dont serve a functional purpose for the customer, Bajda said. The return of shrinkflation? Reducing the size or weight of products without lowering prices proliferated as a business practice from 2021 through 2024 as companies grappled with rising costs for ingredients, packaging, labor and transportation. Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts, suspects the makers of consumer goods will embrace shrinkflation again to hide costs given the blast of new tariffs. The additional import tax on Canadian soft lumber, for example, might show up in smaller toilet paper rolls, he said. Shrinkflation has been a little quiet in the last few months, Dworksy said. But I would expect to see both price increases and product shrinkage.” Anne D’Innocenzio, AP retail writer
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E-Commerce
NFL games are slow. Theyre 11 minutes of actual action, spread across a 3-hour-and-12-minute broadcast. You can blame that pace of the game on penalties, injuries, and, of course, commercials. But now, the NFL is teaming up with Sony to fix one of the games biggest time sinks: measurements. Beginning with the 2025 NFL season, all 32 teams will switch from human measurements to computer automation. Each stadium will be equipped with six 8K Sony Hawk-Eye cameras that track the position of the ball on the field. Its a significant upgrade to century-old technology. Chains have been used to measure the position of the football since they were first introduced in 1898, when rules mandated the ideal tool for measuring progress down the field was two light poles about six feet in length and connected at the lower ends by a stout cord or chain exactly five yards long. By 1906, the five-yard standard in football switched to its current ten-yard mandate, and the chain has gone relatively changed since. [Photo: Sony] Now, Sony cameras will replace the chain operatorswhat can frankly feel like an antiquated tool in the days of slow-motion replays and 3D recreations of the field. While the cameras are installed at stadiums locally, all the footage will be sent to New York, where digital calls are coordinated by the NFL’s Art McNally GameDay Central Officiating Center. Whereas it could take as long as 70 seconds for chains to measure the position of the ball, Sonys cameras do the job in 30. When that 40 seconds of savings is multiplied across the 153 average plays in a football game, thats a wild 102 minutes in savings. The game length appears to be cut in half. [Photo: Sony] Of course, all sorts of other things happen during those lengthy chain measurements. Every NFL broadcast is a masterclass in managing these logistics, juggling elements of the games narrative (wait, what penalty just happened?) and commercial cutaways (billionaire owners dont do this for charity). And so its unclear how much time these new automated measurements might actually save you on a Sunday afternoon this fall. While weve reached out to the NFL to clarify this point, is it too soon to bring up another sore point of fandom? Because in the face of so much amazing automated technology, the MLB is facing its own reckoning with the home plate umpire. This evolution certainly makes sense: I can see those strikes and balls better from my couch than they can from behind the batter! But at the same time, professional sports imbued with automated visual processing will face a tricky balance. While automation may improve the flow and accuracy of calls on the field, robots offer little in terms of suspenseful drama.
Category:
E-Commerce
Monday night, at 7 p.m. ET, Senator Cory Booker took to the Senate floor to speak out against the policies of the Trump administration. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, he had not stopped talking. Vowing to continue his speech for as long as Im physically able, Booker has captured national attention as he has railed against Trump on a number of topics, ranging from Social Security to healthcare to immigration. Theres no telling how long Booker will gohes already entered the record books for one of the longest speeches given on the floor. But hes capturing peoples attention as Congressional Democrats (and corporate America) have come under fire for not standing up to Trump. Heres what you need to know about the speechand why it doesnt qualify as a filibuster. Why is Cory Booker doing this? Monday evening, Booker posted on X that he had taken the Senate floor and will speak for as long as Im physically able to lift the voices of Americans who are being harmed and not being heard in this moment of crisis. Since beginning his floor speech, Booker has discussed Trumps plans for immigration, healthcare, Social Security, education, and more, accusing the White House (among other things) of planning to cut Medicaid and speaking out against a Trump-backed spending bill, which was passed in March. These are not normal times in America, and they should not be treated as such, Booker said. He also took Trump to task for some non-policy actions since taking over the Oval Office. When is it enough? Booker asked. When the president of the United States starts a memecoin on his first day, violating the emoluments clause immediately and enriching himself? Why doesnt Cory Bookers speech qualify as a filibuster? According to Congressional rules, a filibuster can only take place when the Senate is attempting to pass a bill or confirm a nominee. Thats not the case now, making this just an incredibly long speech. Its far from the longest the Senate has seen, however. Ive been hearing from people all over my state, and indeed all over the nation, calling upon folks in Congress to do more, to do things that recognize the urgency, the crisis of the moment, he said before beginning his speech. And so we all have a responsibility, I believe, to do something different, to cause, as John Lewis said, good troubleand that includes me. What are the longest filibusters in history? Strom Thurmond holds the single-person record for filibustering, speaking for 24 hours and 18 minutes to oppose the Civil Rights Act of 1957. (Thurmond had some help, too, as other Senators opposing that bill chained their filibusters, tying up the Senate floor for a grand total of 57 days.) Senator Alfonse D’Amato of New York holds the silver medal for filibustering, after talking for 23 hours and 30 minutes in 1986 to hold up debate on a military spending bill. Senator Wayne Morse of Oregon talked for 22 hours and 26 minutes in 1953. And Senator Ted Cruz of Texas held the floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes in 2013 as he spoke out against the Affordable Care Act. Bookers speech, were it a filibuster, would now hold the fifth-place spot, topping a 1908 filibuster by Wisconsin Senator Robert La Follette, who spoke out for 18 hours and 23 minutes against a bill allowing the Treasury Department to lend currency to banks during a fiscal crisis. Booker still has a ways to go before he matches the fictional filibuster length of Jefferson Smiths 25-hour speech in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. How can I watch Cory Bookers marathon speech? There are plenty of places to watch: CSPAN-2 is carrying the speech live on cable and satellite, as well as streaming it online. Booker is streaming the speech on his social media sites, including X. The speech is also being streamed on YouTube by a number of news outlets, including USA Today, Fox, PBS, and CBS. How has Cory Booker filled that much time? Booker has spent a lot of time criticizing the Trump administration and Elon Musks role in it, but he has thrown in a bit of filler now and then, reading letters from citizens and quoting speeches and news articles. He has also gotten a fair bit of support from fellow Democrats, who ask him to yield for a question, without yielding the floor, giving Booker a bit of a rest. And before accepting those questions, Booker has been having some fun, sometimes joking or telling stories about the Senator who’s asking the question. And, from time to time, Booker has reminded himself (and people just tuning in) about the reasons for his speech. Twelve hours now Im standing, and Im still going strong because this president is wrong, and hes violating principles we hold dear and principles in this document that are so clear and plain, he said. Has Cory Booker taken any bathroom breaks? No. Booker has also not been seen eating anything during his speech and has only had two small cups of water within reach, neither of which has been emptied. U.S. Senate rules dont set time limits on debate. A Senator who has been recognized by the chair can speak for as long as they want, providing special limits on debate are not in effect. Senators who hold the floor cannot be forced to stop talking (or even interrupted) without their consent. They do, however, have to remain standing and speaking consistently. (Booker had a Senate page remove his chair so he wouldnt be tempted to sit down at any point.) Senators can yield for a question without yielding control of the Senate floor, which Booker has been doing. What will Cory Bookers marathon speech accomplish? Bookers main goal in this long address seems primarily to energize the Democratic base and show that their complaints to party leadership arent being ignored. In terms of real-world impact on Senate business, there hasnt been a lot so far. Depending on how long he talks, though, it could delay the vote on Matthew Whitakers nomination to be the U.S. ambassador to NATO. And the speech does raise Bookers visibility in a big way, which could be useul should he decide to run for president again in 2028. (Booker ran briefly in 2020, but dropped out before the Iowa caucus.)
Category:
E-Commerce
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