free html hit counter Amazon secretly raises costs on 1,200 ‘cheapest household goods’ – shoppers can get same items at Walmart for 2% less – My Blog

Amazon secretly raises costs on 1,200 ‘cheapest household goods’ – shoppers can get same items at Walmart for 2% less

A RECENT report revealed that Amazon has quietly bumped up the prices on 1,200 of its everyday household goods across the past few months.

As fans of the e-commerce giant shell out more cash, Walmart is reportedly offering up the same products for 2% cheaper.

Amazon delivery worker pushing a cart full of packages.
Reuters

Amazon has bumped up its prices on over 1,000 items across recent months, according to a new report[/caption]

Walmart's Everyday Low Price sign in a store.
Alamy

As Amazon raises its prices, Walmart is charging less for similar items[/caption]

In spite of fears in early 2025 that the Trump administration’s tariffs would result in an inflation surge, the cost of goods and services across the country has remained relatively stable. 

Amazon, one of the largest companies in the world by revenue, revealed in April that it would maintain low prices in the face of Trump’s tariffs

However, the e-commerce giant has reportedly increased the prices on thousands of products in recent months.

The cost of a range of low-cost items sold on Amazon rose on average 5.2% in the five months since Trump first announced his tariffs, per a Wall Street Journal analysis of pricing data from e-commerce firm Traject Data.

The outlet analyzed roughly 2,500 items, concluding that Amazon had increased the prices of 1,200 of its cheapest household goods between January 20 and July 1.

Some of the Amazon products that saw price increases were pet ear rinse, cough drops, deodorant, protein shakes, chicken broth, tea, and eye drops.

Even goods produced in the US jumped in price on Amazon, such as a can of Campbell’s New England Clam Chowder that cost $1.98 in January and $2.58 by July.

Imported goods and products with mixed origins saw greater price hikes on Amazon than those made in the US, per the Journal’s analysis.

On the other hand, the report found that rival retailer Walmart dropped the prices on similar products by nearly 2% during the period analyzed.

While Amazon spiked the prices of cheaper goods, the e-commerce giant reduced the costs of more expensive items, per the report.


Amazon clapped back at the Journal’s findings, arguing that the 2,500 items that were tracked did not offer a clear picture of the company’s overall prices.

“We have not seen the average prices of products offered in our store change up or down appreciably,” Amazon said in a statement to the outlet.

“Our commitment to offering low prices – not relative percentage changes – is what delivers the most value to our customers.”

An Amazon spokesperson accused the Journal of “cherry picking” 2,500 items out of the “hundreds of millions” it sells, they told NewsNation.

What items will be affected by the tariffs?

AMERICANS should prepare to see significant prices changes on everything from avocados to cars under President Donald Trump’s new global tariffs.

Here is a list of some of the everyday products that could see a massive price tag surge.

  • Coffee
  • Tea
  • Bananas
  • Foreign-made cars
  • Sneakers
  • Furniture and other home goods
  • Pharmaceuticals
  • Video games
  • Clothing
  • Toys
  • Washers and dryers
  • Avocados
  • Housing materials

“This story is false and misleading. We have not seen the average prices of products offered in our store change up or down appreciably outside of typical fluctuations across millions of items on Amazon,” they said.

MONEY MOVES

Many of the items that the Journal analyzed are “everyday essentials” on Amazon, a category representing roughly 33% of products that the retailer sold in the US during the first quarter of 2025, per the company.

The e-commerce company has trouble profiting on these items because of their thin margins, dampened further by shipping costs, Corey Thomas, an Amazon vendor consultant, told the WSJ.

Walmart, on the other hand, can afford to lose money online on similar items because shoppers typically purchase more profitable goods in stores, he noted.

The pricing report found that the lowest-cost products on Amazon experienced one of their biggest price jumps in one day on February 15, two days following Trump’s order implying that tariffs would soon hit most of the country’s trading partners.

Prices naturally fluctuate due to a number of reasons, such as seasonal discounts, retail competition, and inflation, which increased in June.

Amazon noted that the items tracked by the Journal were out of stock more frequently on rivals’ sites, making its prices potentially seem artificially high by comparison.

The overall response to tariffs in the retail landscape has been relatively muted, with prices on imported goods up roughly 2% since March, per research from Harvard economist Alberto Cavallo.

“The lack of clarity may be causing retailers to implement price changes more cautiously and incrementally,” Cavallo told the Journal.

The U.S. Sun reached out to Amazon for comment.

As Amazon prices increase, Walmart is further gaining a leg up with an “expected” cheap TV move – and the deal will be exclusive to the retail giant.

Amazon, however, remains a major player in the industry, selling millions of items at affordable prices – including an “upscale” tiny home for $13,999 – it comes with a full kitchen, bathroom, and expanded living room.

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