Tariffs don't kill agencies. Margin panic does. Early 2025, US tariffs landed an
By George Barnett Reid 👀 · October 1, 2026 · Curated by George's Blog
Tariffs don't kill agencies. Margin panic does.
Early 2025, US tariffs landed and our clients did the maths.
Suddenly every line on their P&L had to justify itself.
We were a line.
$18k of monthly revenue gone in 8 days — and not because the work got worse. It was the best it had been.
When margin gets squeezed, brands cut what they can cut fastest.
An agency retainer is the easiest cancellation in eCommerce. One email. No redundancy process. No notice period. No awkward conversation.
That's not a complaint. It's just what an agency is.
A person on your team is a different kind of commitment. Harder to start. Much harder to cut.
I lost most of a business finding that out.