Buy or wait? Americans wrestle with how tariffs will affect their shopping

Even if prices of some goods had yet to surge, uncertainty about what was ahead and sudden declines to retirement savings accounts were worrying signs. — Photos: Mark Abramson/The New York Times

MERE hours after their implementation, US President Donald Trump made a surprise U-turn decision to pause for 90 days the hefty “reciprocal tariffs” he had imposed on dozens of countries.

This means for many American shoppers, their dilemma remains – to buy or not to buy.