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Holiday shoppers might notice some higher prices on decorations this year — and tariffs could be part of the reason.
At The Gerson Companies warehouse in Olathe, Christmas ornaments and home decor run the business. But this year, what's happening overseas is affecting prices at home, and it could mean you'll pay a little more as you start to shop for the holidays.
The company has been importing most of their products from China for years, but recent tariffs have forced them to rethink things.
They've started buying more from other countries and even began making some of their Christmas ornaments at their warehouse in Olathe.
President Trump announced that tariffs on some Chinese goods will drop from 20% to 10%. This will slightly lower the overall tariff rate on imports from China. It's good news for importers like Gerson, but those price cuts won't reach shelves overnight.
"We had to have a lot of difficult conversations with our customers about, hey, we're incurring these additional costs. We're going to absorb as much as we possibly can, but we have to share that cost and pass it through in many situations, which that's always really tough on our customers," Gerson said.
Jacob Gerson with The Gerson Companies warns that shoppers might notice some higher prices on anything imported they're purchasing this season. Most products were shipped and priced months ago.
"Retailers make their buying decisions almost a year in advance. And so if you think about this holiday season, or what we presented and we sold to retailers, it was at one price. Fast forward, six months later, tariffs get implemented and we had to have a lot of difficult conversations with our customers." Gerson said.
While tariffs are easing a bit, shoppers may still notice higher prices this season. One way they're trying to offer some relief at Gerson is by having a warehouse sale. Retailers purchased a lower volume this year, so they have tons of holiday overstock on sale through mid-December.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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