By Patrick Thomas and Sarah Nassauer

U.S. companies have an unwelcome message for inflation-weary consumers: Prices are going up.

Companies including Hormel Foods, J.M. Smucker and Ace Hardware said this week they would raise prices for reasons ranging from higher meat costs to tariffs. Large retailers like Walmart, Target and Best Buy said some tariff-related price increases are already in place. More are on the way.

"Some vendors are clearly communicating cost increases. Some are adjusting promotions. Some are planning to potentially increase prices with new product introductions, which always happens," Best Buy Chief Executive Corie Barry said on an analyst call Thursday. She said price increases are much lower than the overall tariff rate.

The escalating prices offer a glimpse of how President Trump's trade policy is starting to trickle down to American shoppers. For consumers fatigued by recent bouts of heavy inflation, the announcements portend another round of sticker shock when buying groceries and household goods.

Inflation has eased in recent months, but job growth has also slowed, and there are signs shoppers worry that tariffs could further increase prices.

James Paternoster, a 52-year-old resident of Queens in New York City, said beef prices at his local grocery store last week were double what they were a few years ago.

"I couldn't believe how fast it went up," Paternoster said. "I'm not buying this little piece of meat for this." He said he has cut back fast food to once a month, and buys less meat overall.

Makers of consumer goods and retailers this year have been hustling to absorb much of the tariff-related cost increases, or finding other ways to keep their prices competitive.

Passing through

So far, tariff-related price increases have been muted, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said last week. "But as we replenish inventory at post-tariff price levels, we've continued to see our costs increase each week, which we expect will continue into the third and fourth quarters."

McMillon said price increases have led middle- and lower-income shoppers to pull back on some purchases.

Tariff-related price increases are also on the way at thousands of Ace Hardware stores across the country, executives said this week. Ace, the world's largest hardware cooperative, sources products from more than 75 countries, especially China and Mexico.

With tariffs driving up its purchasing costs, Ace said it plans to pass the increases through to its stores, which in turn will pass them along to consumers.

Food giant J.M. Smucker, which makes Folgers and Jif peanut butter, said prices will continue to go up for its coffee products as a result of the Trump administration's 50% tariff on certain imports from Brazil, one of the world's largest coffee producers. Smucker raised prices for its coffee in May and said it would raise them again this month.

Up to this point, many U.S. companies have either sold through existing inventory purchased when tariff rates were lower, absorbed the tariffs or negotiated with suppliers to share the burden. Other tariff-related costs haven't arrived until now.

Pork and peanuts

Tightening supplies of commodities are also driving up prices at grocery stores and restaurants.

Federal estimates put retail ground-beef prices at a record in July, more than 11% higher than the same month last year, after years of herd thinning by ranchers. Wholesale pork carcasses are 10% more expensive than a year ago, while bellies for bacon are up roughly 30%, as processing plants slow the number of hogs they slaughter.

Wholesale prices for fresh and dry vegetables rose about 16% from a year ago, largely because of bad weather in key growing regions, according to the Labor Department.

Hormel Foods said Thursday that rising costs for beef, pork and nuts eroded its profit for the most recent quarter. As a result, the maker of Spam, Jennie-O turkey and Planters nuts began raising prices during the summer and plans to continue increases on some products.

"We will continue to be thoughtful and measured to make sure the consumer can withstand additional pricing," Hormel President John Ghingo said on a call with analysts.

Tyson Foods, the largest American meat supplier by sales, said its average selling price for beef, chicken, pork and precooked products was up about 4% in the three months ended June 28 from a year earlier. Restaurant chains including Texas Roadhouse and Portillo's have said they are hiking menu prices because of pricier beef.

There are signs consumers have accepted some price increases companies have introduced.

Dialing back discounts

Retailers including Dick's Sporting Goods, Victoria's Secret, Dollar General and Williams-Sonoma reported higher quarterly sales in recent weeks, saying that while they and their suppliers have implemented some tariff-related price increases, that hasn't slowed consumers' purchases.

Dick's Sporting Goods said shoppers are gravitating to new products and premium brands. "We have not seen a consumer having any issue with the price increases, the small level of price increases that have gone in," said CEO Lauren Hobart.

At home-goods retailer Williams-Sonoma, which owns brands including West Elm and Pottery Barn, executives said higher prices and fewer discounts helped boost its profit in the most recent quarter. Apparel retailer Victoria's Secret also said it continued to pull back on discounts, in part to offset the cost of tariffs.

Dollar General, which offers smaller pack sizes to cater to value-conscious shoppers, said tariffs have prompted it to raise prices on some products, but it is mitigating some of those cost increases by doing things like shifting production to lower-tariff countries.

Dollar General CEO Todd Vasos said climbing consumer prices elsewhere could benefit his chain. While the company's core clientele of low-income shoppers has increased spending at the chain, higher-income shoppers are trading down to Dollar General as they look for deals.

All are "seeking value at this point," he said Thursday.

Write to Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com and Sarah Nassauer at Sarah.Nassauer@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 28, 2025 20:00 ET (00:00 GMT)

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