The days of shielding shoppers from tariff impacts have come and gone after a year of “sustained pressure” on importers’ margins.

That’s according to a newly released study from supply chain planning solutions provider Netstock, which revealed that the vast majority of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have been forced to raise prices as a result of President Donald Trump’s sweeping duties.

Drawing on survey data from its American customer base, Netstock found that SMBs have changed their posture dramatically when it comes to mitigating the effects of trade policy.

“This time last year, nearly half of SMBs had never implemented a tariff strategy. Today, the vast majority not only have one in place, but are layering multiple approaches at once,” said Ara Ohanian, the group’s CEO.

When Netstock surveyed businesses in May 2025, their concerns about tariffs were “largely anticipatory,” with almost two-thirds saying they expected to see disruption on some level, but nearly half admitting they had no go-forward plan. A prolonged watch-and-wait period took shape wherein many SMBs were paralyzed by the mercurial nature of the tariff policies, which changed nearly weekly.

But cost pressures have forced operational changes over the past year. Over half of the SMBs queried reported greater tariff impacts now than one year ago, and 72 percent cited cost-related challenges as their most pressing concern. Increased landing costs came in second at 56 percent, followed by margin pressure at 16 percent.

As a result, absorbing added costs is no longer a sustainable strategy for placating consumers. While 44 percent of SMBs last May said they were absorbing tariff costs internally rather than pass them along, 82 percent this spring said they’ve had no choice but to pass the burden onto buyers—92 percent through direct price increases.

But businesses aren’t looking at cost increases as a solution to the problem. Almost 60 percent said they’re deploying two or more mitigation tactics at once, like supplier diversification (39 percent), safety stock adjustments (39 percent), frontloading inventory (31 percent) and nearshoring (10 percent).

Businesses have also been facing “multi-region pressure” on their sourcing portfolios amid the tariff turmoil; almost half of the businesses surveyed said they have seen direct tariff impacts on two or more of their sourcing markets at one time, and one out of three said tariffs have prompted them to switch suppliers over the past 12 months. Not surprisingly, 74 percent named China as the top-impacted sourcing locale, as country-of-origin risks have driven more than 25 percent of switches in suppliers.

Long-term exposure to tariffs has also changed the way businesses purchase inventory—and how far in advance they do it. Netstock’s data showed that 73 percent of SMBs are planning inventory further out than they did previously, with 29 percent saying the timing shift has been significant and 44 percent saying the extension in planning has been more modest.

Even though the vast majority of the Trump administration’s tariffs were unraveled in February—and importers are due massive refunds, to the tune of $166 billion—a 10 percent universal tariff remains in effect under Section 122, and the federal government is engaged in two Section 301 investigations with the aim of reconstituting the defunct duty strategy.

Asked about the potential impact of tariff refunds, 49 percent of respondents said paybacks on the duties could be “meaningful” or even “game-changing,” while 34 percent said they would be “helpful.”

While much about the refund process—and the future tariffs—remains to be seen, 82 percent of SMBs said they were better equipped today than they were a year ago to react to tariff shakeups. More than one-third even described themselves as “much more prepared” in 2026.