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In the wake of President Trump’s proposed tariffs on all foreign imports, ecommerce brands are bracing for a fundamental shift in the cost and complexity of doing business. These proposed policies aren’t just political talking points — they’re potential catalysts for massive ripple effects across supply chains, product margins, and marketing strategies.
For ecommerce operators already navigating rising fulfillment costs, tighter ad performance, and changing consumer behavior, the threat of new tariffs adds yet another layer of volatility.
It’s no longer enough to optimize a creative or tweak a landing page — brands now need to rethink everything, from sourcing models to inventory risk, to how tariffs will impact contribution margin and return on ad spend.
This blog post combines:
The following benchmarks compare advertising metrics from April 1-17 to the previous period. Considering President Trump first unveiled his tariffs on April 2, the timing corresponds with potential changes in advertising behavior among ecommerce brands (though it isn’t necessarily correlated).
While total ad spend across platforms and industries continues to grow ($638 million in April 2025 compared to $635.7 million in March 2025), the efficiency of that spend is declining across key metrics:
Our analysis of performance across sectors shows varying degrees of ad performance changes across the first 17 days of April.
As Portless CEO Izzy Rosenzweig puts it:
“I think it's becoming clear there is a new world of tariffs,” he said. “Where it lands TBD, but the good news is that every single one of your competitors is in the same boat.”
Perhaps the most dramatic story in our data is the evolving performance across advertising platforms. The dominance of Facebook (and broader Meta ecosystem) and Google remains clear, but important shifts are occurring.
Facebook continues to command the lion's share of ecommerce ad dollars among Triple Whale brands:
Facebook remains a critical channel for ecommerce brands due to its scale and targeting capabilities. However, the efficiency metrics suggest a need for more disciplined spending and creative optimization.
That’s where a tool like Triple Whale’s Moby Agents is critical for brands. They can automatically analyze ad creative and make recommendations for optimizing performance.
Google maintains its position as the most efficient major platform:
Google's performance suggests it may be worth investing in for brands focused on bottom-of-funnel conversion efficiency.
TikTok presents an intriguing alternative for brands looking to diversify ad spend:
TikTok's metrics suggest it may be particularly effective for lower-priced items and new customer acquisition. However, brands should be mindful of the platform's lower average order value (AOV) when calculating lifetime value projections.
Based on our comprehensive analysis, we recommend the following strategies for ecommerce brands looking to maintain performance.
"The current tariff landscape has certainly added complexity, but it’s also pushed us to be more disciplined across the business," Mark Costigliola, Vice President of Ecommerce at Travelpro, said.
With new tariffs driving up the landed cost of goods, adjusting your pricing model is no longer optional — it’s a strategic imperative. While cost-cutting measures and operational efficiency can offset some of the impact, they often won’t be enough to preserve margins on their own.
“No matter how efficient a brand becomes, whether it’s through first sale strategies, adjusting HS codes, or other tactics, if you want to protect your gross margin, you will have to raise prices,” Rosenzweig said.
But that doesn’t mean raising prices blindly. Smart brands are approaching this shift through controlled price testing to identify optimal price elasticity without sacrificing conversion rates or LTV.
Beyond base price adjustments, brands should also review their bundling strategies, tiered pricing, and premium product positioning to create perceived value and maintain margins in more competitive categories.
"From a digital standpoint, we’ve leaned into smarter merchandising — enhancing visibility for key value-driving SKUs and using analytics to align on-site storytelling with what customers are most likely to convert on," Costigliola said.
Actionable step: Implement A/B price testing tools to find the sweet spot between profitability and conversion. Monitor not just conversion rate, but also downstream metrics like contribution margin, return on ad spend (ROAS), and LTV to ensure pricing changes drive sustainable growth.
With tariff negotiations still in flux, the most resilient brands are staying put, for now, and focusing on smart, incremental supply chain optimizations.
Before overhauling your sourcing strategy, look for margin gains in three areas:
Actionable step: Conduct an HS code audit with a customs broker, renegotiate factory terms where possible, and run 30-day sourcing trials to test cost-efficiency before making permanent moves. Focus on operational precision now—and pivot later, once trade policies settle.
Efficiency is everything right now.
"We’re also leaning into first-party data and performance marketing to ensure we’re reaching high-intent audiences efficiently," Costigliola said. "Across the board, it’s about staying agile, data-driven, and customer-focused."
To make the most of your spend, you need to strategically leverage the strengths of each ad platform:
Actionable step: Establish clear KPI targets by channel based on the strengths of each platform, rather than applying the same expectations across all channels.
Rather than chasing new traffic at any cost, smart brands are investing in retention-first marketing to drive sustainable, long-term growth. Beyond just improving profitability, retention strategies also help stabilize cash flow, improve inventory forecasting, and reduce the volatility that often comes with paid acquisition.
Here are a few proven retention tactics to consider:
Additionally, consider aligning your creative and messaging around value delivery instead of just product features—retained customers are looking for consistency, connection, and continued relevance.
Actionable step: Audit your customer journey to identify key post-purchase touchpoints. Build retention automations (email/SMS) around them, and carve out budget specifically for reactivation and win-back campaigns. Retention isn’t just a nice-to-have in uncertain times—it’s a competitive advantage.
During turbulent times, the most resilient brands are those that can operate efficiently, stay agile, and make quick, data-driven decisions. To accomplish this in 2025, leveraging artificial intelligence is a requirement, not a recommendation.
Savvy brands are increasingly using AI tools for:
The most successful brands utilize agentic AI to automate operations across their entire business, from creative analysis to customer acquisition, measurement, and retention.
Actionable step: Implement AI-powered tools for creative testing, bid management, and cross-channel budget allocation to stay ahead of rapidly changing market conditions. Get started with Moby Agents to save time, eliminate manual analysis, and prioritize strategic efforts during uncertain timesThese disparities highlight a critical insight: The impact of macroeconomic factors varies significantly by product category, and blanket strategies are likely to underperform in this current environment.
Between looming tariffs, shifting platform dynamics, and heightened pressure on profitability, ecommerce brands are operating in one of the most volatile environments we’ve seen in years.
As new import taxes threaten to erode margins and global supply chains become more fragile, the brands that win will be those that adapt quickly, with clarity, precision, and a data-backed strategy.
At Triple Whale, we’re arming brands with the tools to do exactly that. Our platform ingests billions in ad spend and revenue data, enabling AI agent-powered insights that uncover exactly where your dollars are working — and where they’re not.
The ecommerce brands that will thrive in this economy aren’t just cutting costs or chasing ROAS, they’re completely reimagining how to operate more efficiently, and investing in the tools to help them do so.
“This moment favors the great entrepreneurs and operators,” Rosenzweig said. “If you’re willing to lean into efficiency and innovation while others hesitate, you’ve got a real shot at gaining market share.”
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