BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – With several Walmart stores in Berkeley County, local shoppers may soon have to pay more for some of their favorite items. In the wake of Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported goods, the giant retailer recently warned that it may have to raise prices on some of its products.
“We are wired to keep prices low for customers, but the level of tariffs that have been proposed is pretty challenging for all retailers,” Walmart’s chief financial officer, John David Rainey, told CNBC in an interview Thursday.
The CFO added that shoppers would likely start seeing higher prices later this month and even more by June.
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“The level of tariffs, at least those that were originally proposed, in early April were more than what retailers can absorb,” Rainey added. “In order to manage their margin, they’re going to look at all categories of products and look at the elasticity of the demand for those products and maybe change prices on other products that might not have a tariff applied to them.”
During an earnings call Thursday, the company’s CEO Doug McMillon said that two-thirds of what Walmart sells in its stores is made, assembled, or grown in the United States. While many goods originate at home, Walmart also imports a lot of its merchandise from China, Mexico, Vietnam, India, and Canada.
These imported products include fruits, vegetables, clothing, and electronics.
“China, in particular, represents a lot of volume in certain categories like electronics and toys,” McMillon said during the call. “All of the tariffs create cost pressure for us, but the larger tariffs on China have the biggest impact. The cost pressure from all the tariff-impacted markets started in late April, and it accelerated in May.”
As Walmart warns that a price hike on merchandise is inevitable, Trump took to social media over the weekend to tell company executives to “eat the costs.”
“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” he posted to Truth Social. “Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected. Between Walmart and China, they should, as is said, “EAT THE TARIFFS,” and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”
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Meanwhile, while the tariffs come with a lot of uncertainty for retailers and will prompt some to increase prices, Walmart leadership remains optimistic about the future.
“What we hope happens is that there are changes from a policy point of view that help us get prices back, for example, tariffs on bananas and things that we don’t grow here,” McMillon said.
“During times like this in the past, we tend to come out of the other side a stronger company. We fully expect that to happen this time as well,” Rainey said.
Walmart has five locations in Berkeley County. They are:
- Walmart Supercenter: 511 N Highway 52 in Moncks Corner
- Walmart Supercenter: 605 St James Ave. in Goose Creek
- Walmart Supercenter: 1317 N Main St. in Summerville
- Walmart Neighborhood Market: 1635 Red Bank Rd. in Goose Creek
- Walmart Neighborhood Market: 215 St James Ave. in Goose Creek
