Tariffs and the stock market decline after they were announced were all over the media late last week. I lived through tariffs with my e-commerce company, and it wasn’t fun. I learned valuable lessons about how tariffs impact wholesale and retail markets for physical goods, especially for the automotive parts we sold online.

I was curious about how entrepreneurs think about tariffs, so I talked to a few e-commerce entrepreneurs, who are also friends, this weekend.

A few things I learned:

• Entrepreneurs in retail (online and physical) are worried about tariffs because they can’t absorb the cost of tariffs—they have to pass the cost on to customers.
• All the entrepreneurs saw sales soften in the last quarter or two before the tariff announcements. The tariffs feel like a double whammy.
• Customers are asking when or if prices will increase because of tariffs.
• All the entrepreneurs are looking at ways to do more with less and exploring whether AI can help.
• They’re all pausing any spending on new growth initiatives.
• They all recognize that they can’t do anything about the tariffs and aren’t dwelling on them—but they’re monitoring developments like hawks and navigating them as best they can.

Tariffs are a big deal for e-commerce companies whose products aren’t manufactured in the US. I’m curious to see how this all plays out, and I’m mentally preparing myself to pay more for physical goods.