As new tariffs increase the cost of imported products, more Amazon shoppers are actively looking for goods manufactured in the US, but that interest hasn’t yet turned into a meaningful shift in consumer behaviour.
According to SmartScout, searches like “made in USA products only” have jumped 220% year over year. Terms such as “made in America products only” are up 130%, while more niche queries like “American flag made in America” surged 250%.
Jason Boyce, founder of seller agency Avenue7Media, told Modern Retail: “We’re seeing five times the search volume for ‘made in the USA’ this month compared to the same month last year.”
But despite the rising interest, experts say that increased visibility isn’t translating into a corresponding spike in purchases. “There’s a lot of curiosity about ‘Made in the USA,’ but it’s not driving a lot of revenue growth,” Boyce added. “I don’t think that group of customers [who buy American-made goods] is getting any larger, at least not yet.”
Scott Needham, SmartScout’s founder, echoed the view. “Maybe people just want to browse and see what’s actually made in the USA, not to actually buy something, but just to discover what’s possible to purchase from the US”
Still, the trend has caught sellers’ attention. Boyce’s agency is now testing “Made in USA” keywords for clients, something it had previously avoided due to weak performance. “That significant increase in that traffic spike made it interesting to us to start testing it with clients,” he said.
He also noted that brands are updating product images to emphasise US origin earlier in the listing. “Now, brands are moving those visuals up to the first or second image to make the message immediately clear to shoppers,” he added.
That approach aligns with what Dayne Rusch, founder of Vyper Industrial, is seeing in the market. “There’s a big push, in terms of updating creatives right now, to really put the flag at the forefront,” he said.
Scott McIntosh, owner of Cell Phone Seat, has also leaned into the moment. His viral phone mount is made in Detroit, and he told Modern Retail he’s updating Amazon listings to include a new hero image with the phrase “no tariffs applied,” and plans to add “Made in America” to his SEO strategy, including titles.
Vyper, which produces industrial equipment in the US, has seen a sales increase, and Rusch partly attributes that to changing consumer awareness. “Historically, it wasn’t that effective,” he said. “But now everyone’s talking about it.”
Carrywell, a Miami-based company that manufactures its products in Cambodia, has even gone so far as to label its listings with “Not Made in China.” The move reflects the impact of April’s newly announced 145% tariff on many Chinese goods, far exceeding those placed on products from other countries.
Yet while the interest is growing, American-made brands still face an uphill battle. Amazon shoppers remain highly price-sensitive, and for the eighth year in a row, the platform has maintained a 14% price advantage over other online retailers, according to Profitero. That price gap makes it hard for more expensive, domestically produced products to compete.
Rusch said he hopes Amazon will follow up with a new “country of origin” badge to support local brands, similar to its existing “Small Business” badge.
Amazon itself hasn’t made any big public statements about tariffs, but Modern Retail reported it recently surveyed sellers about how trade policy changes were affecting their operations.
CEO Andy Jassy, in a recent interview with CNBC, confirmed the company’s focus remains on keeping prices low, an effort that includes strategic early inventory buys and new supplier agreements.
Elsewhere, platforms like Etsy and Shopify are offering more support. Etsy now highlights US-based merchants in curated sections of its site and app, while Shopify has introduced tools to help manage duties and filter by country of origin.
So far, the surge in searches is most noticeable in categories like kitchenware and apparel. But as Needham noted: “We need more time to know if this is a flash in the pan or a sustained trend.”
Rusch added a note of caution: “It’s a strange cultural shift. We’ll see whether or not it sticks.”
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