SMB Tariff Worries Increase

SMB’s current sentiment on tariffs? Not good. We polled 500 SMBs about tariffs to update our May tariff report. Here's what they said:

‍Concern is surging among midsized firms. 70% of midsized businesses (MBs, with 100–1,000 employees) now see tariffs as a threat, up from 51% in March and 61% in May.

‍Half of small companies are worried. 51% of very small businesses (VSBs, with 1–19 employees) and 52% of small businesses (SBs, 20–99 employees) expect tariffs to hurt their business. No change since May.

‍Support is waning. Backing for tariffs as a way to protect domestic industries has declined across all SMB segments. Among VSBs, it dropped from 43% in March to 35% now. For SBs, it fell from 49% to 36%, and for MBs, it slid from 68% to 57%.

‍Operating costs are rising. 85% of MBs now worry tariffs will raise operating costs, up sharply from 70% in March and 74% in May. Concern among VSBs and SBs remains steady at about 60% and 70%.

‍Bigger companies plan layoffs. Expectations for layoffs due to tariffs are moving in opposite directions by company size. Fewer VSBs and SBs now expect staff cuts, while more MBs do. In May, 25% of VSBs, 37% of SBs, and 49% of MBs anticipated layoffs. Today, those numbers are 14%, 29%, and 56% respectively.

We have made or expect to make layoffs because of tariffs:

Wondering about tariff views by industry, how SMBs will adjust to higher costs, or other up-to-the-minute SMB views? Get in touch. As a Bredin client you gain access to the latest and most actionable SMB data to improve go-to-market, product, content, PR, and sales support programs.