From Lululemon tights to Hermès handbags, many TikTok users have been flooded over the past month with random videos of Chinese manufacturers offering popular luxury and fashion items at a fraction of the normal selling price. The idea being you buy “direct” from the source, hence bagging a bargain deal.

This spike comes in the wake of the Trump administration’s imposition of a 145% tariff on Chinese imports, significantly raising the cost of many goods, including luxury fashion. Targeted primarily at US consumers, such “deals” have been around for a while, but the recent surge in the videos likely stems from ongoing US-China trade tensions, and experts worry consumers are buying into it.

“As tariffs continue to be put onto items, the prices of luxury items, especially name brands, are going to make these items unaffordable to potential customers,” Vidyuth Srinivasan, co-founder and CEO of Entrupy, an AI-powered luxury authentication platform, told Retail Brew via email. “People are naturally going to start looking for cheaper alternatives, especially if they want the item. That’s where counterfeiters step in. Chinese factories are taking advantage of this opportunity by selling directly to US consumers, often on social media, skipping over traditional retailers and the tariffs altogether.”

While the luxury counterfeit industry has been growing at an unprecedented rate over the past few years, with high-quality, often indistinguishable dupes, Srinivasan says the problem lies in the fact that consumers lured into these deals often don’t know they’re buying a knockoff.

Keep reading here.—JS

On a sunny spring afternoon, Christophe Caron—owner of Delice & Sarrasin, a beloved vegan French restaurant in New York City’s West Village—keeps a watchful eye on the dining room as he talks. After laying off nearly a third of his staff, he’s had to step back into daily operations himself.

The quaint but sophisticated plant-based spot has amassed a number of loyal customers since its establishment 13 years ago. Known for its vegan iterations of classic French dishes such as escargot and boeuf bourguignon, the restaurant has garnered plenty of interest for its unique offerings. But over the past couple of years, business has been rough.

While the restaurant once received more than 70 reservations per day, it is now down to around 10.

“It’s terrible,” Caron told Retail Brew. “I mean, if I show you the reservations today, we have nine. It’s two tables in total.”

Caron said that although the COVID-19 pandemic was hard on most local food businesses in the city, the real problems for Delice & Sarrasin arose sometime after 2023.

Keep reading here.—JS

Are tariffs making you nervous about spending big this Mother’s Day? You’re not alone.

A new survey from LendingTree found that more than a third of Americans (38%) blamed tariffs for pulling back on their spending this year (though we wouldn’t advise using this excuse on your mom come Sunday, unless she’s up to speed on all the latest macroeconomic threats).

But with just a few days left until the big day, there are still some mixed signals about whether consumers are going to shell out for their mother figures this year or pull back in the face of economic uncertainty and tariffs.

LendingTree’s survey at least is on the bearish side. The online banking service found that Americans plan to spend an average of $148 on Mother’s Day this year, down 14% from $172 last year and down 34% from $225 in 2022.

This isn’t for lack of trying though, as 50% say they might spend more than they can afford.

Keep reading here.—AV