NEW YORK, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumers may adjust their behavior as the holiday season progresses and the new year begins amid concerns about new tariffs, Matthew Shay, president and CEO of the U.S. National Retail Federation (NRF), said Tuesday.

The adjustment of consumers' behavior would depend on the item and the expense, based on what they're seeing and hearing in the external environment, said Shay at an online briefing on Thanksgiving holiday sales results.

Eight out of 10 consumers were aware of tariffs and the impact on inflation, said Shay, citing surveys leading up to the 2024 presidential elections.

Shay noted that no significant number of consumers changed their behavior yet largely because so much is unknown about where the tariff discussion and conversation may go and may end up.

"At the moment, what we saw during the holiday season was people, individuals, consumers shopping for holiday gifts, as opposed to focusing on the potential specter and impact of tariffs," added Shay.

As many as 44 percent of Americans are planning purchases ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump entering office, in case he ends up implementing tariffs, and 62 percent of Americans felt they have to adjust their 2025 financial plans for potential tariffs, according to a recent survey by Harris Poll on 2112 U.S. adults.

U.S. holiday spending in the last two months of 2024 is expected to reach record levels and will grow between 2.5 percent and 3.5 percent over 2023, totaling 979.5 billion to 989 billion U.S. dollars, according to forecasts by the NRF.

Trump recently threatened to impose tariffs on goods imported from key U.S. trading partners including Mexico, Canada, and the BRICS nations. Enditem

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