ATLANTA — For more than a decade, Patrice Hull has operated a shop in Atlanta’s Little 5 Points neighborhood, selling shirts and swag to people and businesses.
“I’ve been here 13 years, and it’s probably the most important thing I’ve ever done,” Hull said.
Hull told Channel 2’s Michael Doudna that much of her business comes from selling things like bags to companies, along with custom shirts.
[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]
She says she used to sit on a stockpile of goods, which made it pretty simple to customize goods quickly. However, she says tariffs have changed things.
“Now that the tariffs have hit, it is better for me to run out of product in order to sit on product,” Hull said.
Part of the reason is based on the impacts that changing tariffs have made in the industry. Hull says it’s made it hard to predict future prices.
“If we quote the item today, two weeks from now it could be a different price. Sometimes two days from now, it’s a different price,” Hull said.
RELATED STORIES:
- Some Georgia businesses starting to feel tariff tension
- Items essential to caring for your baby aren’t immune to tariff impacts, metro shop owner says
- Beauty supply store owners say tariffs will affect wig, hair extension prices ‘pretty heavily’
- Tariffs hiking up prices of medical equipment and supplies
- Metro brewery says it has already paid up to $60,000 because of tariffs
Emory University professor Nikolay Osadchiy says some big corporations stockpiled before tariffs were implemented.
“Uncertainty, generally, is not a good environment for businesses,” Osadchiy said.
However, during times of changing prices, companies may change their buying habits.
“It’s hard to deploy capital in that situation. It’s also hard to make inventory decisions in those situations,” Osadchiy said.
For business owners like Hull, the change in buying habits from businesses will impact the consumer beyond the price they pay. She says by waiting for orders to come in, what may have only taken one week to deliver may now take four.
[SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
©2025 Cox Media Group
