• Walmart's announcement that it will raise prices due to tariffs has other retailers "delighted."
• The news gives retailers cover to raise their own prices, experts told BI.
• Trump's criticism of Walmart sends a warning about discussing price hikes.

Consumers may not be psyched about Walmart's announcement that it's going to raise prices because of President Donald Trump's tariffs, but other retailers are likely breathing a sigh of relief.

Retail analysts told Business Insider that Walmart did other companies a favor with the news, giving them more freedom to raise their own price tags.

"What they are doing is providing air cover for the tens of thousands of retailers — extra-large, large, medium, and small — all of whom are faced with exactly the same issue, and all of whom are going to be raising their prices," said Mark Cohen, a professor at Columbia Business School and the former director of retail studies at Columbia Business School. Other retailers are, he said, "delighted" about the benchmark Walmart set.

Retailers across the board are contending with rising costs, the experts told BI, but Walmart "leads the market on price," according to the cofounder of the blog Omni Talk Retail, Chris Walton. The country's biggest retailer said shoppers will probably start to see prices tick up at the end of this month and more drastically in June, and those BI spoke to agreed with that timeline.

"We have always worked to keep our prices as low as possible and we won't stop. We'll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins," Molly Blakeman, a spokesperson for Walmart, told BI in a statement.

GlobalRetail analyst Neil Saunders wrote in an email that Walmart's honesty about price hikes might open the door for other retailers to have "open dialogues." Yet the honesty didn't come without consequences — Trump bashed the company in a Truth Social post, saying Walmart should, '"EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching."

Representatives for the White House directed BI to Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's comments on Monday about Walmart, when she confirmed that Trump will be "watching" the company and said he "has always maintained that Chinese producers will be absorbing the cost of these tariffs."

Trump's reaction will likely influence how other retailers manage their own pricing conversations, the experts said.

"Retailers will have learned they need to be very careful — and it's very tricky — on how they articulate that so as to not wind up on a Truth Social post," Michael Baker, a senior analyst at D.A. Davidson, told BI. "That does add a layer of complication."

He anticipates executives will figure out how to more delicately discuss tariffs on coming earnings calls so as not to anger the president. Walton told BI that other retailers may try to avoid talking about rising costs publicly, and instead let shelf prices speak for themselves.

"President Trump has sent a warning shot that he doesn't like companies talking about price increases related to tariffs," Saunders wrote. "That may make some retailers more hesitant to draw a link, but I don't think it will stop them putting up prices. They will need to financially."

The president has issued not-so-subtle warnings about price hikes before, like when he sharply criticized Amazon for its reported plans to publicize how much tariffs were contributing to rising costs. Amazon said it had no plans to do so on its main site at the time, but experts told BI that the swift reaction sent a "warning signal to other companies" nonetheless.

Though Walmart may be one of the first big box retailers to publicize looming price hikes, it's better positioned to deal with the new tariffs than some competitors. Both Saunders and Baker said the company's scale gives it the ability to offset some of the tariff impact.

• Walmart said last week it might have to raise prices because of Trump's tariffs.
• Trump was not happy about it.
• The president said Walmart made "billions of dollars" in 2024 and should "eat the tariffs."

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Walmart should "eat the tariffs" after the retail giant suggested it might have to raise prices amid the upheaval brought on by the president's trade policies.

"Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

"Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, 'EAT THE TARIFFS,' and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I'll be watching, and so will your customers!!!" he added.

Trump's response came after Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said during an earnings call on Thursday that "higher tariffs will result in higher prices" even with the administration temporarily lowering the tariff rates for myriad countries over the past several weeks.

Also during the earnings call, Walmart CFO John David Rainey said that higher prices were likely in store for the company's customers in the coming weeks.

"There are certain items, certain categories of merchandise, that we're dependent upon to import from other countries, and prices of those things are likely going to go up, and that's not good for consumers," Rainey said.

In the first quarter of 2025, Walmart reported revenues of $165.6 billion, and its e-commerce sales rose by 21%.

Roughly one-third of the items that Walmart sells in the US come from other countries, particularly Canada, China, India, Mexico, and Vietnam.

Last month, Trump hiked tariffs on most Chinese goods to 145%, but earlier this week the rate was temporarily cut to a baseline of 30% as part of a 90-day pause on the higher tariffs. Trump has indicated that the tariffs might become "substantially higher" if the two countries don't forge a trade agreement.

A spokesperson for Walmart told Business Insider in a statement on Saturday that the company has always sought to keep prices low and "won't stop."

"We'll keep prices as low as we can for as long as we can given the reality of small retail margins," the spokesperson said.

• Walmart will soon offer delivery in three-hours or less to 95% of the US population.
• Its delivery business is also profitable for the first time, executives said on Thursday.
• The retailer has spent billions beefing up its e-commerce operations to take on Amazon.

Walmart's big bet on delivery is finally starting to pay off.

After years of effort and billions of dollars, the retailer is on the verge of being able to deliver to 95% of the US population within three hours, CEO Doug McMillon said during the company's first-quarter earnings call on Thursday.

That's faster than Amazon (though Walmart's selection of products available for such speedy delivery is smaller).

Not only is its delivery reach getting wider, the company handled nearly twice as many three-hour deliveries last quarter as it did a year ago, helping its e-commerce business to post a quarterly profit for the first time.

Overall, Walmart is now handling a lot more packages through its delivery network than it did a few years ago — something that CFO John David Rainey called "densification."

"Think about the opportunity to deliver a package to five houses on the street versus one house on the street," Rainey said. "As we grow, we continue to spread those costs over more volume."

Many Walmart customers are also willing to pay to get their purchases delivered within a few hours, Rainey added. Walmart already offers fast delivery on groceries, for instance, through its Walmart+ paid subscription program. Other shoppers can pay a fee between $7.95 and $9.95 for at least $35 worth of groceries.

Retail tends to be a low-margin business. Turning a profit on delivery can be even more challenging.

But Walmart is starting with something that few competitors have: a sprawling fleet of more than 4,600 stores that are stocked with tens of thousands of items.

From there, Walmart has made further investments over the past several years, including specialized fulfillment centers, remodeled retail stores, and an increasingly automated supply chain to keep inventory flowing.

The company has also built — and redesigned — a suite of apps for customers, workers, and Spark delivery drivers to make ordering and fulfilling more convenient.

More recently, the company has been selling warehousing and delivery muscle to other businesses, as well as a growing (and highly profitable) advertising sales business.

Those revenue streams help Walmart keep delivery speeds fast and costs low while earning money for the company.

All of it adds up to an ever more efficient delivery operation that the company says was able to deliver last-minute bouquets of fresh flowers to customers on Easter and Mother's Day — and presumably some chocolates too.

"It shows the relevance of convenience," Rainey said.

Do you work for Walmart Spark or another gig delivery service and have a story idea to share? Reach out to this reporter at [email protected].

• Walmart says tariffs remain "too high," even after recent reductions.
• The company said it would have to raise some prices if import costs didn't come down further.
• It's not yet clear how already-pressured shoppers would respond to price hikes.

President Donald Trump's shifting trade policy is causing headaches for America's largest retailer.

While Walmart CFO John David Rainey welcomed the recent reduction in tariffs, he said the company was not out of the woods yet.

"Let me emphasize, we still think that's too high," he said of the latest rates during Walmart's earnings call on Thursday.

Walmart says it imports about one-third of what it sells in the US from other countries, namely China, Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, and India, and that cargo is flowing.

"There are certain items, certain categories of merchandise, that we're dependent upon to import from other countries, and prices of those things are likely going to go up, and that's not good for consumers," Rainey said.

Rainey added that shoppers were showing signs of being more financially pressured, evidenced by their spending shifting away from general merchandise and more toward food and essentials.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon added that he didn't think shoppers would tolerate additional price hikes on their grocery bills, which would limit the retailer's ability to shift import costs to other goods in its assortment.

"The first thing that goes through my mind is food inflation," he said. "We've been through a number of years here where prices have gone up on food, and our customers have felt that, and they don't want any more food inflation."

He also said he was hopeful that any long-term policy would address foods that the US doesn't produce in significant amounts, like bananas.

An additional wrinkle for Walmart management is the question of what economists call "price elasticity," or the change in purchasing patterns in response to changes in cost.

American consumers proved resilient during recent years of high inflation and kept on spending even though prices were climbing.

But Rainey said tariffs make it "more challenging to anticipate demand by item," since it's not clear how shoppers would respond to new tariff-related price hikes and retailers are wary of getting stuck holding large amounts of expensive merchandise.

"We'll watch where our price gaps are," McMillon said, "but we'll also watch what customers are telling us and the response that we get from pressure that they're feeling."

While that puzzle is a little more solvable with high-turnover items like food, it's considerably more difficult to predict for seasonal sales events like back-to-school shopping or the holidays — and Walmart has to place those orders now.

And thanks to a quirk of retail accounting, a significant fluctuation in shelf prices could have an outsize impact on the company's financial results in the coming quarters if it has to make large adjustments to its inventory valuation.

"How do you make a quantity call, and what tariff number do you use?" McMillon said.

• Walmart reported first-quarter revenues of $168 billion, up 4% from last year.
• US sales were boosted by shoppers rushing to get ahead of tariff-related price hikes.
• Walmart's CFO said customers should expect price rises soon.

Walmart's strong first quarter underscores that the retailer views tough times as an opportunity.

It reported first-quarter revenues of $168 billion, up 4% from last year on a constant currency basis, and a 3% rise in profit to $7.3 billion.

"We delivered a solid first quarter in a dynamic operating environment. We're serving customers and members in more ways, which is fueling our growth," CEO Doug McMillon said in the earnings release.

US sales were lifted by shoppers rushing to get ahead of potential price hikes related to new tariffs on China and other countries announced during the quarter.

Year-over-year foot traffic to Walmart stores was up an estimated 4.5% in April, after being down in February and March, likely due to shopper concerns about prices and supply constraints, according to Placer.ai.

The stock rose 2.6% in premarket trading.

In an interview with CNBC after the earnings were released, Walmart's CFO John David Rainey said shoppers should expect higher prices in the near future.

"We're wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb," he said.

"It's more than any supplier can absorb. And so I'm concerned that the consumer is going to start seeing higher prices. You'll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June."

Walmart also reported major growth in revenue from its membership programs, with global membership fee income up nearly 15%. The company doesn't disclose publicly how many Plus members it has, but it is estimated at more than 15 million, according to Barclays.

CEO Doug McMillon gave a preview of the results in early April at Walmart's investor meeting, shortly after President Donald Trump ratcheted up tariffs on imports from China.

McMillon said that two-thirds of what Walmart sells in the US is sourced domestically, and said the retailer's broad product assortment and experienced merchandising teams were well-suited to handle the uncertainty.

"We'll just manage it in a way that mix becomes a strength," he said.

In addition, CFO John David Rainey said at the time that fluid situations like this one have historically seen Walmart win customers over from rival retailers.

"If you look back two years ago when we saw inflation, we invited a lot of new customers to Walmart," he said. "We have a similar opportunity today."

• I did a taste test of five brand-name cereals and their cheaper generic alternatives from Walmart.
• I preferred the brand-name versions of Honey Nut Cheerios and Honey Bunches of Oats.
• However, I actually liked the Walmart versions of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Frosted Flakes better.

A box of name-brand cereal may not seem like an especially luxurious purchase, but when you're trying to buy enough for a hungry family of four, the cost can add up.

Luckily, Walmart offers generic alternatives to practically every popular cereal brand under its Great Value label.

These "dupes" tend to be cheaper, and I wanted to see if I could save money on groceries in the future while keeping my 7-year-old and 4-year-old just as satisfied.

So, we did blind taste tests to try five famous cereals alongside their respective generic alternatives.

Here's how they stacked up, and which were worth the savings.

Prices may vary by location.

Great Value Honey Nut O's were way cheaper than Honey Nut Cheerios.

To start, we compared General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios to Great Value Honey Nut O's.

The 10.5-ounce box of Honey Nut Cheerios cost $3.68, or $0.35 an ounce. Walmart's version was significantly cheaper at $1.87 for a 12-ounce box, or $0.16 an ounce.

Out of the box, it was fairly easy to tell the difference between the two. The generic O's were a bit larger and had a lighter color than the Honey Nut Cheerios. The brand-name version also appeared to have a shiny, sugary sheen that the generic lacked.

Most of us preferred the brand-name Honey Nut Cheerios.

Of the five cereal pairs we tasted, these two options seemed the least similar. The generic version was a bit crunchier and a touch less mushy after a few minutes in milk. However, it had a starchy texture that verged on chalkiness.

Overall, the General Mills cereal had more honey flavor and a heartier, oaty taste than the generic.

My 4-year-old couldn't tell the brand from the generic by taste for most of the cereals we tested. With this one, however, she had no problem distinguishing the two. She actually preferred the generic to the Honey Nut Cheerios, possibly because she doesn't really like the taste of honey.

My 7-year-old also had no trouble telling the difference, but he and I both preferred the original.

Honey Bunches of Oats seemed to have a better mix of ingredients than the generic alternative.

This was actually my first time trying both the Post Honey Bunches of Oats and its generic alternative.

I picked up an 18-ounce box of the brand-name version for $4.93, or $0.27 an ounce. The Great Value alternative cost $2.67 for an 18-ounce box, which broke down to $0.15 an ounce.

At first glance, I could tell the Honey Bunches of Oats had a better mix of cornflakes and granola. The granola in the Walmart alternative was harder to find and clumped together.

I think brand-name Honey Bunches of Oats are worth paying extra for.

Here, too, all three of us could consistently tell the difference between the brand name and generic cereals.

The Honey Bunches of Oats were distinctly sweeter than the Walmart alternative, which I thought tasted bland and mostly reminiscent of Corn Flakes.

In this case, we all preferred the brand-name Honey Bunches of Oats and were surprised by how much we enjoyed them. The flakes were nice and sweet, and the granola added some light crunch.

Of the five cereals we tried, this one built the strongest case for paying more for the name brand.

We could easily distinguish between Cinnamon Toast Crunch and the Walmart version.

Next, we tried General Mills' Cinnamon Toast Crunch against Great Value Cinnamon Crunch.

The General Mills version cost $2.97 for a 12-ounce box, which is about $0.25 an ounce. The Great Value option was $2.98 for a larger 20.5-ounce box, or about $0.15 an ounce.

This pair was the easiest to distinguish visually among the five cereals we compared. The brand-name offering was noticeably smaller and darker, with "swirls" of cinnamon sugar on each piece.

I preferred Walmart's cinnamon cereal.

These options also tasted distinctly different to me and my 7-year-old, though my 4-year-old thought they tasted the same.

The 7-year-old preferred the Cinnamon Toast Crunch, which was a bit sweeter, crunchier, and denser. It held up a little better in milk and didn't get soggy as quickly.

In this case, I liked the generic better because it felt airier and less sweet.

The Great Value Rice Crisps were much cheaper than Kellogg's Rice Krispies.

Next up was Kellogg's Rice Krispies versus Great Value Rice Crisps.

The Kellogg's version cost me $4.98 for an 18-ounce box, making each ounce $0.28. I purchased a 12-ounce box of the Walmart version for $1.98, or $0.17 an ounce.

I noticed the generic cereal consisted of larger crisps that appeared more yellow than their brand-name counterparts.

Kellogg's Rice Krispies were a bit sweeter than the generic alternative.

I thought these two cereals tasted very similar. To me, though, the brand name was a touch sweeter, and the generic had a slight aftertaste of cardboard.

However, neither of my kids could tell the difference and I probably couldn't either without trying them side-by-side.

I preferred the Great Value version for rice-cereal treats.

I'm not usually a huge fan of Rice Krispies in a bowl of milk, but I love them in treat form. So, after tasting both cereals, we turned them into bars using marshmallows and butter.

The marshmallow flavor was strong enough to negate any difference between the two cereals. The sticky treats tasted almost exactly the same.

If I'm shopping at Walmart the next time I want to make a batch, I will definitely go with the generic option to save money.

The Great Value Frosted Flakes were significantly cheaper than the Kellogg's version.

Though Walmart's generic answer to Kellogg's Frosted Flakes goes by the same name, it represented one of the biggest discounts of the group on a per-ounce basis.

The 12-ounce box of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes cost $3.98, or $0.33 an ounce. The 13.5-ounce Great Value version cost $1.93, or $0.14 an ounce.

They looked very similar, though the generic one again appeared slightly more yellow in color.

We couldn't tell the difference between the Great Value and brand-name Frosted Flakes.

These two cereals tasted almost exactly the same to us: sugary, crunchy at first, and mushy after a couple of minutes in milk.

Of the five generic cereals we tried, the Great Value Frosted Flakes were the only ones that we couldn't distinguish from the original by taste.

I thought the brand name might have had a slightly more assertive sweetness to it, but I wasn't able to pick it out reliably in our blind taste test.

In this case, I think buying the cheaper Walmart version is a no-brainer.

• I'm a dietitian who tries to follow a Mediterranean diet with lots of healthy fats and lean meats.
• I buy some of my groceries at Walmart and love the chain's Great Value frozen berries.
• Some of my favorite staples to buy at Walmart include raw honey, salmon, and Pearl's olives.

Many of us don't necessarily picture Walmart when we think of buying groceries for the Mediterranean diet.

However, as a dietitian devoted to the Mediterranean way of eating, you can regularly find me buying groceries at the chain.

The Mediterranean diet focuses on wholesome, nutrient-rich foods, healthy fats, lean meats, and vegetables. Fortunately, Walmart has loads of products at prices that don't make my wallet weep — even beyond the produce aisle.

Here are a few of my favorite things to buy for the Mediterranean diet I follow at Walmart.

Sahale Snacks has some great nut mixes.

I pick up Sahale Snacks glazed mixes when I'm looking for a tasty snack that also has protein.

The combo of nuts and fruit makes these packs quintessential Mediterranean-diet-friendly snacks for me, especially when I want something sweet.

The maple and pecan mix with dried cherries and apples is one of my favorites. The sweet maple syrup pairs perfectly with the rich pecans.

Ben's Original Ready Rice is great in a pinch.

Ben's Original Ready Rice can be ready to eat in just 90 seconds, and the microwaveable pouch makes cooking easy with no prep or cleanup. It's a great pantry staple.

One of my favorite varieties is the Spanish-style rice, made with tomatoes, peppers, and savory herbs and spices. The flavors complement many Mediterranean-style dishes.

Salmon is a staple in my diet.

When I want a simple dinner, I pair a small portion of fish with lots of veggies and whole grains.

Walmart has some great choices in its seafood section, like its Marketside salmon fillets.

I like adding Grape-Nuts cereal to my diet for extra fiber.

The Mediterranean diet is all about prioritizing whole, nutrient-packed foods. For me, Grape-Nuts fits that bill.

The cereal is made from a mix of whole-grain wheat and barley — it's crunchy, rich in fiber, and low in sugar. It's hearty, satisfying, and has this delightful crunch that makes breakfast (or snack time) feel exciting.

The cereal is versatile, too. I sprinkle some on yogurt, pair it with fruit and honey, or just enjoy it from the box with milk.

Pearl's to-go packs of olives are great for snacking.

Pearl's perfectly portioned cups of olives are my snack-time savior. Olives are tasty and packed with healthy fats and antioxidants.

These packs are ridiculously convenient — no messy fingers and no pits, just pure olive-y goodness. I toss them in my bag, and boom, instant Mediterranean vibes anywhere I go!

Olipop is more of a treat than a staple for me.

Sure, soda isn't recommended on the Mediterranean diet — in part because it can be quite sugary.

However, for those like me who love a sweet drink once in a while, I grab an Olipop.

I like that its varieties contain far less added sugar than classic sodas and still have lots of flavor. Plus, Olipop says its prebiotic sodas can help support digestive health with ingredients like plant fiber and botanical extracts.

Little Leaf Farms has one of my favorite lettuces.

Little Leaf Farms' sweet baby butter leaf lettuce is light, tender, and ridiculously fresh, with a smooth texture that feels high-end without the luxury price tag. On this trip, a carton cost me just $3.

The crisp lettuce is great for elevating a salad or sandwich wrap.

I keep Great Value triple-berry blend in my freezer.

I usually have frozen fruit from Walmart's Great Value brand in my freezer, and the triple-berry mix is one of my favorites.

Frozen berries are considered as nutritious as fresh ones (they're picked and frozen at peak ripeness), and can be much more budget-friendly. Plus, I love that frozen fruit mixes help me enjoy different berries all year round, even when they're out of season.

Whether I'm tossing berries into a morning smoothie, sprinkling them over Greek yogurt, or adding them to oatmeal, they fit perfectly into the Mediterranean diet.

Honey can be used in marinades, sauces, and more.

When I visited Greece, I was both surprised and impressed by how much honey was served with many dishes.

Since then, I have happily been adding delicious raw and unfiltered honey to my yogurt parfaits, smoothies, and even marinades. I like the brand Local Hive.

• I shopped at Ollie's Bargain Outlet for the first time, where the slogan is "Good stuff cheap."
• At Ollie's, the prices of groceries, toiletries, and toys were cheaper than at Walmart and Target.
• I thought the organization of the store felt a bit chaotic, but it had lots of personality.

When I mentioned that I planned to visit Ollie's Bargain Outlet for an article, several of my East Coast-based colleagues responded with some variation of "OMG I LOVE OLLIE'S."

I'd never heard of Ollie's until the brand acquired 40 former Big Lots stores across the US in February, including four new locations in my home state of Wisconsin, but it appears to have cultivated a loyal following of bargain-hunters.

Another indicator of the brand's staying power: as many brick-and-mortar stores downsize and struggle to stay afloat, Ollie's is one of the fastest-growing brands in the US in 2025, according to a Yelp report. Net sales grew 8% in the 2024 fiscal year to $2.27 billion, according to Ollie's latest earnings report. It also opened 50 new stores in the 2024 fiscal year, bringing its total to 559 stores in 31 states, and it plans to open 75 more locations by February 2026.

President Donald Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs may also increase the popularity of discounted shopping locations, as consumers are expected to pay more for items such as groceries, electronics, and toys once they're implemented.

I visited Ollie's to compare its prices to Target and Walmart and see if it lived up to its slogan of "Good stuff cheap." Take a look inside.

I visited an Ollie's location in West Bend, Wisconsin, that used to be a Big Lots.

All four new Ollie's locations in Wisconsin opened in February. There are no longer any Big Lots stores in Wisconsin after the brand closed 200 stores across 41 states in 2024.

When I walked inside, the first thing I saw was a section labeled "Ollie's Deal Zone" with items under $5.

The carts appeared to contain mostly seasonal items such as summer-themed tumblers and beach towels for $2.99. It reminded me of the Bullseye's Playground section at Target containing items costing between $1 and $5.

The handwritten signs and cartoons of Ollie's namesake mascot made it feel more personalized than a big-box store.

Ollie's, founded by Mark Butler, Mort Bernstein, Harry Coverman, and its namesake, Oliver "Ollie" Rosenberg, opened its first store in Pennsylvania in 1982. Its 100th store opened in 2011, and Ollie's became a publicly traded company in 2015.

The walls at Ollie's were plastered with illustrated signs advertising the low prices in creative ways, such as "Caution: bargains ahead" with "Ollie" dressed as a construction worker, and "Knockout deals" showing the character wearing boxing gloves. Everywhere I turned, I saw another quirky sign that made me chuckle.

I was surprised to find that Ollie's had a sizable section of books at the front of the store.

Instead of selling the new releases and bestsellers I usually see at big-box chains, Ollie's stocked an eclectic collection of graphic novels, coffee table books, volumes of Bible studies, and picture books for kids.

I thought the coffee table books in particular would make great inexpensive gifts. I found a giant book about baseball stadiums for $7.99 that the baseball enthusiasts in my life would love.

The shelves at Ollie's resembled chains like Aldi and Costco that leave items in the shipping boxes to save on labor costs.

In one of the grocery aisles filled with canned goods and condiments, many of the items were still in boxes. I recognized some brands, like Campbell's and Libby's, but others were new to me.

Piles of boxes in a store can be a sign of the retail apocalypse, but since there were already boxes everywhere, they didn't stick out as much.

Piles of boxes crowding a store can indicate understaffing and may deter customers from shopping if they have to squeeze through the aisles, Business Insider previously reported.

Since most of the merchandise was shelved in cardboard boxes, this could have been more of a stylistic choice.

In the grocery section, a box of Cheerios cost $1.99 at Ollie's, which was significantly cheaper than at both Target and Walmart.

I compared prices using the Target and Walmart apps on my phone while browsing the aisles at Ollie's. The same 8.9-ounce box of Cheerios costs $4.49 at Target and $3.68 at Walmart.

A can of Campbell's Chunky Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup was priced at $1.99, which also beat Target's and Walmart's prices.

A can costs $2.69 at Target. At Walmart, it was on sale for $2.48, which was still more expensive than Ollie's.

I found some amazing bargains in the toiletry section, like this three-pack of Crest toothpaste for $3.99.

That three-pack would cost $5.79 at Target and was listed for $12.80 on Walmart's website, though it's likely cheaper in-store.

Ollie's also sold limited-edition seasonal Dove body wash, which may have been excess inventory or overstock from another store.

Ollie's keeps its prices low by buying closeout, irregular, discontinued, and overstock merchandise at a discount.

The limited edition Dove body washes, which retailed for $4.99 at Ollie's, were no longer available at Target or Walmart. Other Dove body washes of the same size sell for $8.69 at Target and $7.97 at Walmart.

Home appliances like toaster ovens are expected to get more expensive due to tariffs, so I looked at Ollie's prices on Black and Decker products.

A Black and Decker Crisp 'N Bake air fryer and toaster oven was priced at $39.99 at Ollie's, while a regular four-slice toaster oven cost $29.99.

Target appeared to sell the same four-slice toaster oven for $29.99, matching Ollie's price, but it was difficult to compare prices for the air fryer since I didn't find exact matches on their websites. Perhaps the toaster-air fryer combination Ollie's had in stock was an older or discontinued model that is no longer sold in other locations.

Ollie's sold certified refurbished electronics like air conditioners, another way it keeps prices low.

There were also new air conditioners for sale, like a 10,000 BTU window unit from Danby priced at $279.99. The exact design I saw no longer appears to be sold by Danby, though the company offers other units with the same cooling power for $429.99 and above.

The housewares section sold rugs and home decor as well as actual flooring, such as laminate wood squares.

The raw flooring materials in the housewares section reminded me of Menard's, a Midwestern home-improvement chain frequented by contractors and DIYers and known for its mail-in rebate discounts.

Laminate chestnut oak flooring cost 97 cents per square foot, while 5-foot by 7-foot Zephyr Collection rugs cost $99.99.

In the toy section, Barbie dolls were cheaper than at Target and Walmart, a welcome discovery as toy prices are expected to rise due to tariffs.

Barbies ranged from $8.99 to $12.99 at Ollie's, which was less expensive than at other stores.

For example, the "You Can Be Anything" teacher Barbie cost $8.99 at Ollie's compared to $14.99 at Target and $11.60 at Walmart.

Toy prices are expected to increase due to Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese goods.

Overall, I felt that Ollie's lived up to the hype.

Ollie's is a store with personality. The vibrant comic book-like signage and the treasure-hunting nature of sorting through the aisles made for an enjoyable outing. The prices were also lower than big-box competitors like Walmart and Target.

I wouldn't necessarily shop at Ollie's if I needed a specific brand of cereal or shampoo since the inventory varies based on what discounted merchandise is available, but if I just need some "Good stuff cheap" once Trump's tariffs take effect, I'd definitely shop there again.

When BI reached out to Walmart and Target about how their prices compare to Ollie's, a Walmart representative told BI: "At Walmart, we operate an every day low price model, in which we work to remove costs through efficiencies in our own operations and supply chain — to operate at an every day low cost (EDLC) so that we can in turn provide our customers with every low prices (EDLP). We constantly advocate for lower prices on behalf of our customers."

Representatives for Target and Ollie's did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

• Sushma Kukkadapu moved to the US from India for grad school and then broke into software engineering.
• She emphasizes early career planning, networking, and leveraging open-source projects.
• Kukkadapu's journey highlights the importance of proactive networking and skill development.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Sushma Kukkadapu, a 28-year-old software engineer in Bentonville, Arkansas. The following has been edited for length and clarity.

I grew up in Hyderabad, India, where I got a bachelor's degree in computer science. In 2018, I came to the US to pursue my master's in software engineering at UT Arlington.

I started working for the AI labs at Sam's Club, which is owned by Walmart, in November 2023. I work on innovative automation, developing advanced forecasting computational solutions that transform financial forecasting, real-time system monitoring, and security compliance. Before Sam's Club, I worked at Amazon Web Services.

As an immigrant, I faced complexities in immigration and cultural adaptation, and I also had to build a professional network from scratch. I found four techniques that helped me design my career path to gain internships and then my full-time career.

1. Be proactive and start building your career as soon as possible

I volunteered at my university to set up a booth at the Grace Hopper Celebration, a major convention for women in computing where people come to find internship opportunities and network. I received a partial scholarship to attend the career fair, and my university paid for the trip expenses.

I secured my summer internship at McAfee by talking to a recruiter there who was also a graduate of UT Arlington. We connected, and I shared my journey with her. She loved my story and gave me an opportunity.

You need to start early during your first year of college or grad school. Talk to your university's career counselors and ask them what kind of scholarships and career fairs the universities represent. Can I volunteer there? Can you give me a scholarship to attend a certain program?

That way you can kick-start your career and seize an opportunity.

2. Find networking organizations relevant to you

Groups such as the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers hold careers fairs. Attending these can bring networking opportunities and, in turn, help secure internships and job offers. That's how I secured my summer internship in the Bay Area and how I first got industry exposure in the software domain in Silicon Valley.

The following year, I received a scholarship through the Grace Hopper Celebration, which offers student scholarships for women worldwide. It's a highly competitive process that involves writing an essay, and pitching why you deserve the scholarship.

I was selected for my second year to attend GHC free of cost, including accommodation and flights. That's when I realized the true potential of networking, which could lead to important job offers.

3. Try cold emailing, and don't wait for opportunities to come to you

Prior to attending GHC and other conferences, I cold-emailed the LinkedIn professionals who I knew were attending the conference. This helped me make connections and get into the interview pipeline faster.

I also talked to recruiters before attending GHC. This got me two rounds of interviews with Google Summer of Code, and they did my last round there in person before I landed the internship.

You must not wait for opportunities to come to you. Instead, a short message through LinkedIn, X, or GitHub can help you take a huge step forward.

4. Make the most of open-source technologies

Open source is a real buzzword in tech, but there are a lot of programs being developed on open source, where everybody can contribute to the code. That means the code is fully open to the public and people can plug their own solutions into it, tweak it, develop it, and build it to make it more useful.

I worked on several open-source contributions because they helped me write code at a more sophisticated level, which helped me have strong work experience on my résumé, which helped me land the Google internship.

Companies such as Lyft, Google, Apple, Microsoft, BNY Mellon, and others invited me to conference afterparties because I showcased my work as part of an open-source contribution on my LinkedIn. Recruiters looked for this and reached out to me.

Open source-contribution helps you develop your skills, expand your knowledge, demonstrate results, and build your industry contacts.

• The US may not have royals, but it does have family empires worth billions.
• They've accumulated fortunes in a variety of ways, such as publishing, cosmetics, retail, and hotels.
• The richest families in the US include the Waltons, the Kochs, the Hearsts, and the Lauders.

Billionaires' wealth has been growing exponentially over the past few years.

And even though the United States doesn't have any royal families, it does have family empires with enormous fortunes.

There are the Hearst and Newhouse families, who built publishing powerhouses; Estée Lauder, the founder of the cosmetics giant that generated the Lauder family fortune; and the families who created their wealth with retail and hotel empires, such as the Waltons with Walmart and the Pritzkers with Hyatt Hotels.

But not all of America's richest families began as entrepreneurs; some were also savvy investors.

Below, meet the 25 richest families in the US, ranked from lowest estimated net worth to highest estimated net worth. The rankings were determined using the most up-to-date estimated net worths available from Forbes, which were determined in February 2024.

The ranking excluded first-generation fortunes, like those of Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, as well as fortunes controlled by a single heir.

Spoiler alert: The Roy family, of HBO's "Succession," didn't make the cut.

25. Kohler family

Net worth: $16.2 billion

Source of wealth: Kohler Company

The Kohler family's legacy traces back to 1873, when John Michael Kohler founded the Kohler Company as a farm tools manufacturer. Since 1883, the company has focused on manufacturing bathroom fixtures and plumbing. Leadership of the company has been passed down from its founder to his son, former Wisconsin governor Walter J. Kohler Sr., and most recently to longtime CEO Herbert Kohler Jr.'s son, David Kohler. In 2024, the company made $9 billion in revenue, Forbes reported.

24. The Brown family

Net worth: $16.5 billion

Source of wealth: Brown-Forman Corp.

The Brown family is behind Jack Daniel's, Woodford Reserve, and Old Forester, among other alcohol brands. Forbes estimated 25 family members own more than half of Brown-Forman Corp., which began with pharmaceuticals salesman George Garvin Brown in 1870.

23. The Dorrance family

Net worth: $17 billion

Source of wealth: Campbell Soup Company

An estimated 11 members of the Dorrance family own more than 50% of Campbell's Soup. John T. Dorrance invented the process for condensing soup in the late 1800s. Today, the company owns more than soup, including the brands V8, Pepperidge Farm, and Snyder's, generating more than $9 billion in annual revenue, per the company's latest earnings report. At least three of Dorrance's descendants are board members. 

22. The du Pont family

Net worth: $18.1 billion

Source of wealth: DuPont

The du Pont fortune is one of the oldest and most widely shared fortunes on this list. Chemicals giant DuPont was founded in 1802 as a gunpowder manufacturer. Over time, it evolved into producing everything from dynamite to plastics and invented nylon and Teflon. Forbes estimates about 3,500 family members control the majority of shares in the company, although none take part in running the company.

21. The Ziff family

Net worth: $18.5 billion

Source of wealth: Ziff Davis Inc.

William Ziff Jr. sold the magazine publisher his father created, Ziff Davis Inc., which published PC Magazine, for $1.4 billion in 1994. Forbes report his sons, Daniel, Robert, and Dirk, grew their inheritance through Ziff Brothers Investments and reportedly invested some of their billions with managers who used to work at their hedge funds.

The brothers own several homes in Aspen and have put their money toward philanthropic efforts.

20. The Butt family

Net worth: $18.8 billion

Source of wealth: H.E. Butt

Florence Butt founded H-E-B grocery store in Texas in 1905, which her son, Howard, expanded throughout the state when he took over the company in the 1920s. His son Charles is the majority shareholder and currently runs the company, which has over 400 stores in Texas and Mexico and generated over $46 billion in revenue in 2024, Forbes reported. Charles' siblings and two nephews also have stakes in the business.

19. The Taylor family

Net worth: $19 billion

Source of wealth: Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental, and Alamo Rent a Car

The Taylor family controls Enterprise Mobility, the parent company of National Car Rental, Alamo Rent a Car, and Enterprise Rent-A-Car, which was founded by Jack C. Taylor in 1957. Since then, the Taylor family has acquired competitors National Car Rental and Alamo Rent a Car and grown into a powerhouse, with Enterprise Mobility reporting $35 billion in revenue in the 2023 fiscal year, Forbes reported.

18. Millstone-Winter-Heyman families

Net worth: $19.2 billion

Source of wealth: Standard Industries

Currently led by David Millstone and David Winter, the Standard Industries conglomerate dates its family ties back to a 1938 proxy battle in which businessman Sam Heyman acquired GAF Corporation, which is the country's largest roofing manufacturer, per Forbes.

17. The Smith family

Net worth: $19.8 billion

Source of wealth: Illinois Tool Works

Dating back to Byron Smith's 1889 founding of the financial services company Northern Trust Corporation and his 1912 co-founding of the manufacturing firm Illinois Tool Works, the Smith family has ties to both the tools manufacturing and finance industries. The family now holds at least 9% of Illinois Tool Works and 1% of Northern Trust's shares, according to Forbes.

16. The Reyes Family

Net worth: $19.9 billion

Source of wealth: Reyes Holdings

Led by chairmen Chris and Jude Reyes and CEO Duke Reyes, Reyes Holdings is a leading food-and-beverage distributor, according to Forbes. It owns Martin-Brower, McDonald's's main global food distributor, Reyes Beverage Group, the largest beer distributor in the US, and Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling, which serves the Midwest and the West Coast.

15. The Busch family

Net worth: $20 billion

Source of wealth: Anheuser-Busch

The Busch family roots in the beer industry date back to 1876, when Adolphus Busch created what is now known as Budweiser. While the company passed through each family generation, an estimated 25% of the business was sold between 1989 and 2008, and it was fully bought out for $52 billion in 2008, as reported by The New York Times. Roughly 30 members of the family split the fortune.

Part of the family got back into the beer business with William K. Busch Brewing, but the company shut down in 2019.

14. The Hearst family

Net worth: $22.4 billion

Source of wealth: Hearst Corporation

About 67 family members share the fortune that William Randolph Hearst created when he took over the San Francisco Examiner in the late 1800s, Forbes reported. Soon after, Hearst acquired other newspapers and expanded into radio and TV, creating the foundation for the media giant, Hearst Corporation, which owns 76 newspapers, nearly 260 magazines, television stations, and stakes in cable TV channels that include A&E and ESPN. 

Hearst used to own what is now one of the most expensive homes in America. His grandson, William R. Hearst III, is currently the chairman of the company's board.

13. The Newhouse family

Net worth: $24.1 billion

Source of wealth: Advance Publications

The Newhouse family's wealth derives from the publishing giant Sam Newhouse created. Advance Publications owns Condé Nast Publications, whose media properties include Vogue, Vanity Fair, and GQ. As of 2021, the company owned a 30% to 35% stake in Reddit. 

In April 2016, Sam's sons sold the cable-TV company Bright House Networks for roughly $11.4 billion in cash and stock, per reports.

12. The Hunt family

Net worth: $24.8 billion

Source of wealth: Hunt Oil Company

H.L. Hunt laid the foundation for his family's fortune with Hunt Oil Company. His many heirs (he had 14 children) command several fortunes, from Hunt Oil and Petro-Hunt to Rosewood Hotels & Resorts. His children spend their billions on real estate, like the 6 million-square-foot underground business park SubTropolis, and sports teams. The Hunt family owns the Kansas City Chiefs, which won its fourth Super Bowl in 2024, and they have a minority stake in the Chicago Bulls. 

11. The Lauder family

Net worth: $25.9 billion

Source of wealth: Estée Lauder

In 1947, Estée Lauder received her first major order for $800 of skincare products from Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomberg reported. The company, which sells cosmetics and fragrances through over 20 brands that include MAC and Clinique, brought in over $15 billion of revenue in fiscal year 2024, the company reported.

The Lauders are active philanthropists, and Estée Lauder's sons, Leonard and Ronald, are major art collectors. Leonard donated $1 billion worth of paintings and sculptures to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The family also owns a significant amount of real estate.

10. The Cox family

Net worth: $26.8 billion

Source of wealth: Cox Enterprises

Since its founding in 1898, Cox Enterprises has a hand in a number of industries — cable and broadband (Cox Communications), newspapers and radio stations (Cox Media Group), and the automotive industry. It generates about $20 billion in revenue per year, per Forbes.

The company's CEO is Alex Taylor, the great-grandson of the founder, James Cox.

9. The Duncan family

Net worth: $30 billion

Source of wealth: Enterprise Products Partners

Dan L. Duncan founded the gas and oil company Enterprise Products Partners in 1968 with just $10,000, per Forbes. After he died in 2010, the company remained under family control, and his four children inherited a nearly $10 billion estate. The family fortune has since more than doubled.

Randa Duncan Williams is the only one of the children actively involved with the company, serving as a non-executive chairwoman.

8. The Cathy family

Net worth: $33.6 billion

Source of wealth: Chick-fil-A

Samuel Truett Cathy founded the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A in 1967. Since then, the business has remained in the hands of second- and third-generation family members. In 2021, Andrew Truett Cathy, the founder's grandson, took over as CEO from his father, Dan. 

As of May 2025, Samuel Truett Cathy's sons, Dan and Bubba, each have a net worth of more than $10 billion, per Forbes.

Members of the Cathy family have previously generated controversy for donating to causes considered to have anti-LGBTQ+ stances.

7. The SC Johnson family

Net worth: $38.5 billion

Source of wealth: SC Johnson

The Johnson family is behind SC Johnson, which produces cleaning products such as Pledge, Glade, and Windex. The company was founded by its namesake, S.C. Johnson, in 1882 and was eventually taken over by his son Herbert Fisk Johnson. Herbert died in 1928 without a will, and the family feuded over the inheritance until it was eventually divided between his two children, Herbert Fisk Johnson Jr. and Henrietta Johnson Louis.

Herbert Fisk Johnson III, a fifth-generation member of the family, is the current CEO and chairman of the company.

6. The Pritzker family

Net worth: $41.6 billion

Source of wealth: Hyatt hotels

A.N. Pritzker and his sons Jay, Donald, and Robert created the family's wealth by founding the Hyatt Hotel chain and investing in holdings such as Marmon Group. Today, the fortune is split among 13 family members, 11 of whom are billionaires, per Forbes. They reportedly spent much of the 2000s arguing over trusts, ultimately dividing up the fortune at the end.

Members of the Pritzker family have also been involved in politics. Penny Pritzker, Donald's daughter, is the former US Secretary of Commerce. Her brother, J.B. Pritzker, has served as the governor of Illinois since 2019. 

Hyatt Hotels reported over $6.65 billion in annual revenue in 2024. 

5. The (Edward) Johnson family

Net worth: $44.8 billion

Source of wealth: Fidelity 

Edward C. Johnson founded one of the world's largest mutual-fund companies, Fidelity, in 1946, which has been run by three Johnson generations since. It's currently helmed by his granddaughter Abigail Johnson.

As of 2020, the family owns 49% of the company, which is shared among six family members, according to Forbes. In 2024, the company generated over $32 billion in revenue, it reported.

4. The Cargill-MacMillan family

Net worth: $60.6 billion

Source of wealth: Cargill Inc.

William W. Cargill founded agribusiness giant Cargill Inc. in 1865. As of 2020, roughly 23 members of the Cargill-MacMillan family owned 88% of the company, Forbes reported, which generated over $160 billion in revenue in 2024.

Bloomberg reported in 2022 that the family keeps 80% of Cargill Inc.'s net income inside the company for reinvestment annually.

3. The Koch family

Net worth: $116 billion

Source of wealth: Koch

Brothers Charles and David Koch expanded their father's oil-refinery firm into the conglomerate Koch Industries, Inc. — later shortened to Koch, Inc. — after their other brothers, Frederick and William, left the business following a failed takeover. Today, Koch generates roughly $125 billion in revenue annually.

David Koch stepped down from a leadership position in the company in 2018 and died the following year. Charles Koch became the company's chairman and CEO in 1967, and he has been the chairman and co-CEO since 2023.

David Koch's foundation has pledged to contribute more than $1.2 billion to cancer research, hospitals, education, and cultural institutions, Koch's external relations team told Barron's in 2019.

The Koch brothers have also used their wealth to reshape conservative politics in a substantial way over the past few decades. Since the 1970s, they donated at least $100 million to fund the fiscally conservative Tea Party movement and fortify the Republican Party, The New York Times reported in 2019.

2. The Mars family

Net worth: $117 billion

Source of wealth: Mars Inc.

Jacqueline and John Mars inherited a stake in the candy empire Mars Inc., which invented M&Ms, Milky Way, and Mars Bars, when their father died in 1999.

The company also owns other food brands, such Ben's Original and Dolmio, and petcare brands. In 2024, the company brought in over $50 billion in revenue, per Forbes.

The siblings run the Mars Foundation, which donates to educational, environmental, cultural, and health-related causes.

1. The Walton family

Net worth: $267 billion

Source of wealth: Walmart

Sam and Bud Walton founded Walmart in 1962. Following its success, they founded Sam's Club in 1983. In 2024, Walmart brought in $648.1 billion in revenue, the company reported, making it the largest retailer by revenue in the world.

The Walton family fortune is dispersed among seven family members, including cofounder Sam Walton's three children, Rob, Jim, and Alice, who is the richest woman in the world.

Correction — May 6, 2025: An earlier version of this article misstated the name of Koch, Inc. and Charles Koch's role. As of August 2024, the conglomerate is called Koch, not Koch Industries, and as of March 2023, Charles Koch is its chairman and co-CEO.

Money may not buy happiness, but it does buy stuff. And buying stuff is at the heart of our consumer-driven economic engine. Lately, it's wealthier people, in particular, who have been keeping that engine running. The better off don't love high prices, and they're feeling uncertain, but they're spending through it all — and everyone's increasingly dependent on them being able to keep going.

In the immediate postpandemic era, consumers across the income spectrum were spending like gangbusters. For many people, being stuck at home for months meant a lot of pent-up demand and cash to spend. But over the past two years, the consumer story has split in two.

Lower- and middle-income people have had to pull back and be more judicious with their spending amid inflation, increased interest rates, and the rising costs of budget mainstays such as rent, food, and gas. Higher-income people have been able to brush off those concerns, thanks to rising stock prices and a solid housing market.

"Higher-income families have been doing more than their fair share of spending," says Gregory Daco, the chief economist at EY-Parthenon.

Companies have picked up on this split: Walmart has said that high-income shoppers are boosting its sales. In its most recent earnings call, McDonald's executives said they are seeing a "divided" economy, with steep declines in traffic from low- and middle-income consumers while high-income visits remain solid.

"The wealthy, the well-to-do, are driving the economic train, yes, at this point," Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody's, tells me. "It's always the case, but to a greater degree now."

Just how drastic the split is among income groups is up for debate. An analysis from Moody's earlier this year, first reported by The Wall Street Journal, estimated that the top 10% of households, meaning those making $250,000 a year or more, accounted for half of all spending, compared with about one-third 30 years ago. In Daco's view, the Moody's analysis may somewhat overstate the bifurcation, but there's no denying that there's a bifurcation. He tells me that he sticks to the 60-40 rule, which says that the top 40% of income earners, so those making about $100,000 or more, "do about 60% of spending, and the bottom 60% do 40% of the spending." Daco tells me this is starting to shift. "We've seen that rise, that share for the top 40% rise to about 65%," he added.

Federal Reserve economists examined retail spending on goods last fall, using data from Numerator, a consumer data company. They found that middle- and high-income consumers were the ones keeping growth going while low-income spending had been stabler. This year, spending among low- and middle-income consumers has fallen off, while high-income consumers are maintaining their pace.

"It doesn't look like higher-income households have pulled back at all. It's pretty flat," says Leo Feler, the chief economist at Numerator. "When we look at the aggregate and we say, 'OK, well then aggregate consumers have still been going out and spending,' that aggregate really is driven by the higher-income households."

This is showing up in credit card spending data, too. As CNBC recently reported, Synchrony, which makes branded cards for everyday companies such as Walgreens and JCPenney, said it saw a 4% decline in spending during the first quarter of the year, while American Express and JPMorgan Chase, which target higher-end consumers, saw spending increases. Joe Wadford, an economist at the Bank of America Institute, said in an email that his firm's data showed higher-income households continued to spend at least through the middle of April, despite the stock market chaos. "In fact, our data shows that the top third and top 5% of households by income have seen no deterioration compared to overall spending growth," he said.

The conversation in many well-off circles — meaning upper-ish middle class and above — seems to be, "Gosh, everything is so expensive nowadays. Anyway, did I tell you about my last trip to Paris?"

Despite the rising tide of uncertainty, wealthier people have been up for spending through it for many reasons. They saved a lot during the pandemic because of stay-at-home orders. They've also seen their stock portfolios and housing values rise significantly. Despite this year's market woes, the S&P 500 is still up by 100% over the past five years. Home values have soared, and many homeowners were able to lock in lower mortgage rates a few years ago, which has helped them save on their monthly payments.

"Even though this isn't realized income in the sense that people aren't necessarily selling their stocks or cashing in on their home equity, they perceive themselves as being wealthier," Feler says.

Consumer spending has jumped in recent months, in part due to people trying to get ahead of tariffs and related price increases. Feler says it's likely wealthier consumers doing the spending — they're the ones with the extra cash on hand to be able to try to get ahead of tariffs.

"It's higher-income households that can suddenly drop $1,500 on a new TV and buy a new TV before prices go up. They can go out and put down $6,000, $7,000 on a brand-new car," he says. "Lower-income households don't have the ability to do this because they don't just have $1,500 sitting around."

In an online survey from the Harris Poll on behalf of Rakuten, a cash-back shopping platform, conducted in March, 12% of people making over $100,000 a year said they couldn't afford to pay their bills, while 33% making under $50,000 said the same.

There are risks to having the economy depend on a relatively small number of people to sustain and grow. Namely, if things start to go south for wealthy people — or they start to worry their fortunes are changing — things may go south for everyone. Higher-income people may have more resilience in the face of prospective labor market weakness and inflation than lower-income people, but they're not completely isolated.

Zandi of Moody's says he's not too worried about wealthier people's spending falling off a cliff, though it may fall off somewhat. "Stock prices are down, housing values have gone flat, so their wealths may not increase nearly to the same degree, and that may take some juice out of their spending over time," he says.

There's an adage among economists and investment analysts that the stock market is not the economy, meant to serve as a reminder that little lines going up and down aren't reliable indicators of what's happening in the real economy, in areas such as jobs, wages, and spending. But given the effect richer people have on the economy and the effect the stock market has on their spending, the market is a little bit the economy. So the economy is susceptible to the stock market's swings. If a person making $200,000 sees stocks dive, they may think twice about going to that restaurant down the street for dinner and opt for a meal at home. That hits the restaurant, the waiter, and the rest of the staff, and can eventually ripple across the economy.

"You want to have as many growth engines as possible, and relying on a limited set of economic drivers exposes you to downside risks," EY-Parthenon's Daco says.

Practically no one is feeling hot about the economy right now. Surveys from the University of Michigan found that consumer sentiment had taken a dive across all income groups this year.

"Because of the headwinds we're going through, you're already experiencing a slowdown in spending for a majority of households," Daco says. "And you're risking essentially a further slowdown from a smaller share that drive a bigger share of spending that could be subject to stress from financial market volatility, from lower pressure on stocks, from just the environment of uncertainty that we're seeing."

We're all in this together, rich and poor. It might behoove everyone to root for each other — and perhaps the stock market especially.

Emily Stewart is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

• More than one in five US grocery dollars is being spent at Walmart, for the third year in a row.
• At the same time, Costco is snapping up a growing share of grocery spending.
• The increases come as US shoppers look for more ways to get the most out of their household budgets.

Walmart's reign as America's grocery king is showing no sign of slowing down.

For the third year running, more than one in five US grocery dollars is being spent at Walmart, according to consumer analytics firm Numerator.

And that share (21.2% to be exact) represents spending only at the Walmart US banner. When taking the additional 4% from company's warehouse chain Sam's Club into account, a Walmart overall rakes in a whopping one in four dollars spent on groceries in the US.

That makes Walmart US more than twice as large as nearest rival Kroger. In fact, it would take the four largest pure-play grocery chains combined — Kroger, Albertsons, Publix, and Ahold Delhaize — to finally outgun the behemoth of Bentonville.

Big as Walmart is, it doesn't appear to be the brand that grocery chains appear to be losing sales to. It's Costco.

The Issaquah, Washington-based wholesale club has been snapping up more grocery spending since at least 2019, and has managed to improve its market share by nearly a percentage point in the past two years, from 7.6% in 2023 to 8.5% now. That's no small feat in the extremely competitive and famously low-margin grocery industry.

Costco's focus on a limited selection of bulk products means it probably won't ever take up all of a household's grocery spending, but it is positioned to take more of it.

The share gains for Walmart and Costco alike in recent years come as US shoppers look for more ways to get the most out of their household budgets.

Both companies have seen transactions and sales tick up in the face of economic uncertainty, while competitors are having a harder time hitting their numbers.

Each retailer also does robust business selling a lot more than just food, and those general merchandise sales often bring higher profits than groceries do. That mix can help offset lower markups on the everyday essential foods and sundries that keep shoppers coming in each week.

At any rate, the numbers from Numerator show consistent consumer shift toward these banners, which have an established reputation for value. Walmart, Sam's Club, and Costco now collectively account for more than a third, or 33.7%, of US grocery spending, compared with 30.1% five years ago, per Numerator.

• Walmart says its use of honeycomb-style map segments is helping expand same-day delivery.
• More accurate maps enable the company to reach 12 million more households in the US.
• Walmart says nearly a third of its e-commerce orders are fulfilled in less than 3 hours.

Walmart is taking a lesson from the humble honeybee in its quest to make its deliveries as fast as possible.

The retail giant already boasts a formidable store count of 4,700 locations across the US, which puts it within a short drive of more than 90% of households.

But in order to grow its reach without necessarily having to build new supercenters, Walmart says it has been using a relatively new hexagonal map segmentation — a change from the conventional ZIP code or radius-based strategies that are commonly used in determining delivery areas.

Walmart says the strategy allows it to better understand where customers are and which stores have what they want.

As bees have long known, hexagons can be an excellent shape for making the most of a given space, and Walmart says the more precise maps allow it to reach an additional 12 million US households with same-day delivery.

"This is helping us to adapt how we service our customers, by allowing us to go from a fixed-mile radius into a much more dynamic catchment area that caters to the needs of the customers that a particular store will serve," Walmart global tech senior director of engineering Parthibban Raja told Fast Company in December, following a pilot of the concept.

Walmart says its platform uses a combination of its own data and open-source software to create new delivery zones.

Some examples from other mapping experts show how the hexagonal segments are particularly effective at analyzing drive times from one part of a city or town to another. After all, one store might be located slightly farther away from a shopper's house than another, but that extra distance may not matter in a meaningful way if it follows a major roadway.

As location data service Esri puts it, "hexagons are preferable when your analysis includes aspects of connectivity or movement paths."

Figuring out how to get a customer's eggs, bread, and milk from the store to their front door as quickly as possible certainly fits that description.

• The US is still in the relatively early stages of experimenting with drone delivery.
• Chinese companies, by comparison, have been doing it successfully at a larger scale for years.
• The difference highlights some of the ways that retail innovation is often tested first in China.

To see what the future of ultra-fast delivery looks like, just open TikTok.

Videos on the app feature influencers visiting a kiosk at a park in Shenzhen, browsing a screen of beverages and food sourced from multiple restaurants in the city, and then watching their order arrive roughly 20 minutes later via drone.

In one video, the drone hovers above the kiosk before descending down inside the structure. Moments later, a door slides open, revealing a package with the two teas the influencer ordered. The packaging can then be flattened and returned through a separate slot.

It's the sort of thing that looks downright futuristic to an American viewer but is increasingly normal in China.

The drones are operated by delivery giant Meituan — China's answer to DoorDash — which has similar kiosks in Beijing and Shanghai. Meituan reported roughly $46 billion in revenues last year across several business divisions.

While Meituan has been running these drones for a few years, the US is still very much in the early stages of retail drone delivery.

Retail giants Amazon and Walmart are demonstrably the US frontrunners in the space, offering products from their stores to shoppers primarily in Texas and some select other markets. Some restaurant brands like Wendy's, Chick-fil-A, and Chipotle have also tested the tech.

Unlike Meituan's low-fee deliveries from multiple brands, Walmart's offering is currently limited to what you can buy at Walmart and requires either a Walmart Plus membership or a $19.99 delivery fee. Amazon charges Prime members $9.99 for drone delivery and $14.99 for everyone else.

There are some key differences between the US and China that are shaping the rollout of this technology, including government regulation of airspace for autonomous drones and the population density of the markets they serve.

In particular, several of Meituan's solutions are tailored toward getting deliveries to people in more crowded cities along consistent routes. Meituan uses lockers to fulfill ground-based orders, and its kiosks also serve as a safe landing area for drones.

Meanwhile, Amazon and Walmart's initial approach is designed to tackle the suburban sprawl of American metro areas. Typically these drones remain airborne and lower a payload into a yard or driveway.

Even so, China's running start with drones highlights some of the ways that retail concepts are being first tested there before the ideas are adapted to the US market.

At Walmart's investor meeting last week, the company explained how it was using a hub-and-spoke fulfillment strategy in China to get Sam's Club orders to shoppers within 15 minutes — a benchmark that US executives said they were looking at with interest.

In other words, if you want to experience what the future of retail could look like in the US, go visit Dallas. And if you want to experience what the future of retail could eventually look like in Dallas, go visit Shenzhen.

• Walmart's finance chief said the company is facing increased volatility with daily changes in tariffs.
• CFO John Rainey said that sales volatility was changing "day-to-day."
• China, one of Walmart's biggest suppliers, was hit with 125% tariffs on Wednesday.

Walmart's finance chief said the retailer is facing "day-to-day" sales volatility amid President Donald Trump's tariff uncertainty.

"We are one week into this new tariff environment, and we're still working through what it means to us," John Rainey, the company's CFO, said at the Walmart Investment Community Meeting on Wednesday.

Rainey said that a third of Walmart's offerings are imported from outside the US. China and Mexico are the "most significant" countries that Walmart imports from, he said.

As China and the US's trade tensions continue to escalate, Rainey said as well that the company is facing increased uncertainty.

"For the current quarter, the uncertainty and decline in consumer sentiment have led to a little more sales volatility week-to-week and, frankly, day-to-day, but we still expect Q1 sales to be in the range of our guidance of 3 to 4% growth," Rainey said.

He said that Walmart's priorities in the US's volatile tariff environment are to keep prices low and manage its inventory well.

Rainey's comments came before Trump announced his latest set tariff increase on goods from China. In the past few weeks, Trump has been stacking additional duties on China, which on Wednesday reached 125%.

As Trump raised China's tariff rate to 125%, the administration temporarily lowered tariffs on all other countries to 10% for 90 days.

In November, shortly after Trump won the 2024 presidential elections, Rainey told CNBC that the company would likely raise prices if Trump implemented the tariffs he promised on his campaign trail. While running for president, Trump promised to impose tariffs of 60% and more on China.

"We never want to raise prices," Rainey told CNBC in November. "Our model is everyday low prices. But there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers."

During an earnings call in February, Walmart's CEO, Doug McMillon, said that tariffs are something the company's "managed for many years."

"We'll just continue to manage that," McMillon said.

Representatives for Walmart did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

• YouTuber Rebecca Zamolo is launching a fertility brand at Walmart inspired by her own struggles.
• The supplement category has become a playground for influencers.
• Zamolo says Molo's key selling point is in the way it's consumed.

Top YouTuber Rebecca Zamolo went through fertility struggles, including multiple rounds of IVF and miscarriages. She says this was part of the inspiration for her new supplement brand for hopeful mothers, Molo.

The name is both a play on her surname and short for "Mother's Love." Zamolo said its key selling point is a powder delivery system rather than the "horse pills" she took while trying to conceive her daughter, Zadie.

The supplements arrive Wednesday at Walmart stores nationwide as well as online.

"I realized there was definitely a problem when I was taking 14 giant pills a day to get pregnant," Zamolo told Business Insider. "I was like, how can we make this easier?"

In addition to Molo, other players in the fertility supplement market, including Needed and Perelel, offer powder formulas. Other brands like Olly offer gummies.

Influencers including Kourtney Kardashian and Andrew Huberman are active in the supplement category, via Lemme and curations with the brand Momentous, respectively. At the same time, companies like AG1, Bloom Nutrition, and Sugarbear Pro have relied on influencers as a key marketing channel.

All told, the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a lobbying group, pegged the size of the supplement business at $158.6 billion in 2023.

Forty-year-old Zamolo, for her part, has a massive digital footprint, including roughly 18 million followers on both YouTube and TikTok. She creates kid-friendly content with her family, including challenges and games.

Zamolo said that after she struggled for years to get pregnant, her fertility nurse, Christina Westbrook — a Molo cofounder, who also runs an IVF clinic in Los Angeles — recommended a vitamin regimen. Zamolo credits it with helping her conceive.

She is currently expecting her second child, a boy, via surrogate.

The products will be accompanied by a digital hub

While Westbrook developed Molo's formulas, Zamolo's other cofounders include Eyal Baumel — whose company, Flywheel, collaborates with influencers on product launches and other ventures — and Adam Ross at the investment firm Three Leaf Clover, who oversees manufacturing and product development.

Molo will comprise four products at launch: a prenatal mix, a hormone balance mix, a conception mix, and an ovulation and pregnancy test kit. An ovulation mix is coming down the line, and Zamolo said she eventually envisions creating postpartum products and supplements for men.

Molo boxes comprise 30 sachets, which are vegetarian, gluten-free, and non-GMO. All of the products in the line are priced at $29.99 apiece.

The efficacy of different supplements — which aren't regulated by the FDA as drugs — is a topic often debated in the medical community. An evaluation of studies on prenatal supplements in 2023 concluded that they "can play an important role in supporting a healthy pregnancy." The authors, however, noted some concerns surrounding regulation, dosages, and safety, and recommended pregnant women discuss any use of them with their healthcare provider.

In addition to Molo's physical products, a digital hub is in the works where fertility experts, OB-GYNs, and nutritionists will lead discussions, and women — including Zamolo — will be able to share their experiences with the goal of reducing stigma.

"It's giving that opportunity for women all over to take back control of their fertility," she said.

The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on Business Insider for current information.

• My husband cut our $2,000 monthly grocery bill by $415 just by shopping differently.
• Switching from name brands to store brands saved us thousands — and my kids didn't even notice.
• His engineering mindset means no impulse buys and less food waste.

In May 2023, my husband and I sat down to look over our budget app on his laptop — one of my least favorite activities.

As a family of six living in the Chicago suburbs, our grocery bills were already sky-high and climbing with inflation. I hated budget conversations.

Even though my husband never made me feel this way, I always felt like I was getting in trouble for overspending. So when he pointed out that our Walmart grocery bill for the month was $1,923, I felt the guilt creep in.

But then, he said something that I didn't expect: "Let me take over the grocery shopping."

I laughed. Not because I thought he'd do a bad job but because I couldn't imagine it would make any real difference. Plus, grocery shopping was my domain: I knew what we liked, and I meal planned. I didn't love the idea of him double-checking my choices. But I was exhausted from the weekly trips, so I handed him the grocery list — half expecting him to come back overwhelmed.

The next month, our grocery bill dropped to $1,511. I figured he was just cutting corners to prove he could spend less. But the following month? $1,555. Our pantry was full, our kids were happy, and we were spending around $400 less a month.

I had to admit: maybe my husband was onto something.

He started by taking his time in the store to consider all the options

I got curious about his method: "How are you doing this?" I asked.

It turns out his first grocery shopping trip took almost two hours — and not because he couldn't find anything. While I was home imagining him wandering lost in the aisles, he was carefully reading ads (the ones I would have tossed aside) and checking prices on every single item.

Ever the engineer, my husband pulled out his phone to show me some of the side-by-side price comparisons he made. I was beyond surprised.

My husband made some big money-saving switches

My kids go through ketchup like water. I had been buying Heinz at $4.48 for years without thinking twice. The Great Value brand my husband chose is just $1.92 for the same size bottle, and it tastes exactly the same, saving us $2.56 every time.

But the ranch savings may be one of our biggest. Switching from Hidden Valley at $6.97 to Great Value at $3.54 saves us $3.43 per bottle, and no one can even tell the difference. We use it for everything from salads to dipping vegetables, so these savings add up quickly. We even did a blind taste test with our pickiest eater, and he liked the generic brand best.

The cereal aisle turned out to have big savings, too. Name-brand Rice Krispies were costing us $3.98 per box, but Great Value Rice Crisps are only $1.97. This cut our cost in half while keeping breakfast the same.

For the kids' school snacks, I used to buy the individually packaged Goldfish for $9.76 out of convenience. My husband started buying the bulk carton for $7.79 which saves us almost $2.00 for even more crackers. For what we are saving, I don't mind taking the extra minute to put the Goldfish into individual baggies for school snacks.

It's not just about switching to store brands or buying in bulk. Even with name-brand things we love, my husband finds a way to save money. For example, with our coffee, instead of paying $31.08 at Walmart for three pounds, he gets it directly from Dunkin on his way home for $26.21. That's saving $4.87 just by changing where we buy it. It's the exact same amount, but almost $5.00 cheaper.

We're happier and saving money

There have been unexpected benefits beyond just saving money. I no longer dread those weekly grocery trips because I'm not making them anymore. Since my husband actually sticks to the grocery list (unlike me and my impulse purchases), we're wasting less food.

I still handle meal planning, but he approaches grocery shopping with his engineering mindset.

I wish we'd made this switch years ago. It's funny how sometimes the best solutions come from playing to each other's strengths and letting the more cost-conscious partner do the shopping.

That one conversation didn't just change how we grocery shop — it's saving our family about $4,980 a year. And, all because I was willing to hand over the grocery list to my husband, who was willing to spend two hours comparing ketchup prices.