Tariff headwinds slams into Australian consumer confidence

Unsurprisingly, the announcement of global tariffs caught the eye of Australian suppliers and consumers, though KPMG’s indicator of the health of Australia’s retail sector indicates that the medium-term outlook remains positive.

The road to recovery for Australia’s retail industry has faced an unexpected roadblock in the first quarter of 2025, as consumer confidence plummeted in response to the global uncertainty created by the change in trade policy by the new United States Administration. Though the March 2025 edition of KPMG's Retail Health Index (RHI) expected the index to cruise into positive territory in the second quarter of 2025, the escalation of trade tensions has emerged at a delicate point in Austr...

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Authors: Gayle Dickerson

Published Date: 19 June 2025