Tariffs Shifted. Your costs just went up. What now?

If you’re running a Shopify store right now, and you’re affected by the latest round of tariff increases—you have a tough call to make:

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Do you raise prices and risk conversion?

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Or absorb the cost and eat your margins?

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There’s a better option: You test.

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This week alone, I spoke with four merchants who saw their COGS increase between 6% and 18% due to recent tariffs. Three of them were already running price tests. One wasn’t. Guess which one panicked?

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I’ve Seen This Pattern Before

At ABConvert, we’ve powered over 7,000 pricing experiments in the last 6 months. Across verticals. Across price points. Across geographies.

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Here’s what we know from our data:

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But here’s the most important insight:

The winning variant is rarely the one the merchant expects.

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I say this as someone who’s personally reviewed dozens of test dashboards, case studies, and even the “loser” tests.

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Gut feel is a great place to start.

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But price is too important to leave to instinct alone.

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Tariffs = The Perfect Trigger to Start Price Testing

When costs shift suddenly, you need to:

1. Protect your margin
2. Understand price sensitivity
3. Make changes without guessing

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Most merchants do one of three things:

• Raise prices across the board (and hope CVR holds)
• Freeze in indecision (and erode margin)
• Change nothing (and bleed slowly)

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Our most successful users? They run structured tests and adjust with confidence.

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Real Story: €10K Extra Revenue Without More Traffic

Let me give you a concrete example.

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One of our users—Smartwatchmagazijn.nl in the Netherlands—ran a simple A/B test:

• Variant A: €79 + Standard Shipping
• Variant B: €89 + Free Express Shipping

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To offset tariff-driven costs, they needed to lift prices. But they didn’t want to guess.

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So they tested.

• ‍Winner: Variant B
• ‍Result: AOV increased, CVR held steady
• ‍Revenue: +€10,000/month from one pricing change

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They’ve since run over 500 experiments on ABConvert, and built testing into their weekly ops.

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“We don’t just guess anymore. We ask the market. The data answers.” — Quoted from the Shopify merchant

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That’s what testing gives you: certainty in uncertainty.

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Want to Adapt Like They Did? Here’s Your Playbook

Here’s what I’d recommend—especially if you’re feeling the squeeze from rising COGS or tariffs:

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1. Pick Your Top-Sellers

These get traffic. They give you answers faster. Test on SKUs that matter.

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2. Run a Price Ladder Test

Try your current price vs. +€3, +€5, or +€10

(Optional: pair with value perks like shipping)

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3. Isolate the Variable

Don’t test price and layout at the same time. You want clean attribution.

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4. Let It Run for 3–5 Days

That’s the statistical sweet spot for most stores.

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5. Apply Learnings

If higher prices win? Roll them out. If not? Try a bundle or test again next quarter.

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Testing isn’t a one-time fix. It’s an insurance policy on every pricing decision you make.

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The Tools Matter Too

What you shouldn’t do:

• Clone products
• Manually split traffic
• Break your analytics

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That’s why we built ABConvert the way we did:

• Native Shopify integration
• No product duplication
• Clean test groups
• Real order tracking
• Works with any Shopify plan (including Basic)

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And yes, it handles theme checks. One time per theme version. We even schedule these early in the week so you don’t get stuck on a weekend when support sleeps.

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Final Thought

“Tariffs are temporary. The cost of guessing is forever.”

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If your costs just went up, and you haven’t tested pricing yet—this is your moment.

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Don’t make permanent decisions based on a gut check.

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Your customers will tell you what’s worth paying.

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You just have to ask them—in a controlled, measurable way.

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And that’s what we do best at ABConvert.

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Let’s turn pressure into profit.

👉 Start testing today →

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If you’re an ABConvert customer already and want help designing a price test strategy, just contact me.

We’re here to help. Always.