September 26, 2025

New tariffs and a slowing job market are creating a challenging environment for retail sales. EY-Parthenon Chief Economist Greg Daco and EY-Parthenon Americas Retail Sector Leader Will Auchincloss discuss the changing consumer sales environment and outline strategies retail companies can take to adapt.

Watch the episode

Key takeaways

  • Retail companies may soon feel the economic pinch between higher costs from tariffs and slower sales volumes.
  • With labor conditions softening and inflation reaccelerating, consumers are being more judicious with their outlays.
  • Retailer strategies should focus on driving sales by optimizing pricing, customer loyalty and product assortment and increasing productivity by embedding AI in operations.

Host and featured guest

gregory daco

Gregory Daco
 EY-Parthenon Chief Economist, Strategy and Transactions

Will Auchincloss

Will Auchincloss
EY-Parthenon Americas Retail Sector Leader

How EY-Parthenon can help

Watch more episodes of Macro Bites

Explore our Macro Bites series for real-time economic insights from industry leaders at EY.

Explore episodes
  •  

EY refers to the global organization, and may refer to one or more, of the member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, does not provide services to clients. For more information about our organization, please visit ey.com.

EY-Parthenon is a brand under which a number of EY member firms across the globe provide strategy consulting services.