ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — As tariffs push clothing and shoe prices up nearly 40%, Tampa Bay families are turning to thrift stores to stretch their budgets and avoid what experts call a "hidden tax" on consumers.
At the Goodwill store on 34th Street North in St. Petersburg, shoppers like Richard Horton are finding creative ways to save money.
"I hit all the thrift stores," Horton said. "Five bucks, sometimes three, if it's on sale, you know, got a red tag on it."
According to Yale's Budget Lab, a nonpartisan research group, tariffs are hitting consumers hard, with shoes up 39% and apparel 37% in the short term. The analysis reveals that the average household is losing approximately $2,400 in income, with tariffs potentially pushing up to 875,000 Americans into poverty.
"This is just the nature of any tax increase. To be frank, it's born on the backs of consumers or workers or businesses," said John Ricco, Associate Director of Policy Analysis at Yale's Budget Lab. "And you know, what we've been showing is these are the different effects of who is going to feel it, when they're going to feel it, and how big that bite is going to be. And the poverty angle is just one measure of the distributional impacts of these tariffs."
Goodwill, however, does not pass those tariff-related costs on to shoppers. It sells donated, secondhand items, including previously imported goods, which are not subject to the tariffs, so customers don't see the price increases.
"We are seeing an uptick for sure, in our shopping and the beauty of what you see here right now, 88% of what's on our floor are donated goods. So they don't have the traditional retail model business challenges that others are facing," Drew Przybyszewski, Director of Marketing and Public Relations for Goodwill-Suncoast, told Tampa Bay 28 reporter Michael Paluska.
Shopper Chrissy Sanchez is redoing her entire wardrobe.
"Very good deals. And I come here because you can get high-end clothing at a cheaper price than paying retail," Sanchez said. "I moved to Tennessee for a couple of years, and I worked from home. And of course, you get a little bit relaxed in your wardrobe. But when I came back to Florida, I had to go back into the office and replenish my work outfit wardrobe. So I decided to try Goodwill. It pleases my husband because I don't spend a lot of money."
The store offers more than just clothes. Shoppers can find furniture, kitchenware, and other household items. Goodwill also helps customers find the perfect outfit for a job interview or employment opportunities at their Job Connection Center.
Recently, Goodwill-Suncoast launched a free loyalty program offering deeper discounts. On their color of the week, all items are marked down 50%, but loyalty members get those same items for just $1.98.
"Someone got a dining room table and six chairs for $1.98," Przybyszewski said.
The shopping also supports the community. Last year, Goodwill-Suncoast helped more than 9,400 people through its job connection program and served more than 90,000 people through various programs. Their children's literacy program distributed over 81,000 books to more than 62,000 children.
For shoppers like Horton, thrifting has become a smart financial strategy.
"So you know what you're doing," Paluska asked.
"Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I know what I'm doing," Horton said.
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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