May 29 (Reuters) - Best Buy slashed its annual comparable sales forecast on Thursday, on signs that consumer demand for big-ticket items such as appliances, home theater and gaming consoles will be pressured by U.S. tariffs.

Shares of the company were down 2.8% in premarket trading as it also posted a bigger drop in first-quarter sales than analysts expected.

American households are in a limbo as they battle higher borrowing costs, with tariffs now fueling concerns of price surges on everything from toys to groceries and sneakers.

Best Buy is heavily reliant on imports from China, its biggest manufacturing hub, for products such as gaming consoles, audio equipment, cameras and drones, according to Telsey Advisory Group analyst Joe Feldman.

The top U.S. electronics retailer expects fiscal 2026 comparable sales in the range of down 1%-to-up 1%, compared to its prior expectation of flat-to-up 2%.

It logged same-store declines of 0.7% for the quarter ended May 3, compared to analysts' average expectation of a 0.6% drop, according to data compiled by LSEG.