Tariffs, Trade, Turmoil and Rethinking Holiday Shopping

Retailers are gearing up for their annual “Christmas in July” sales, but this year, the early holiday cheer comes with a warning: escalating tariff whiplash may lead to higher prices, fewer options, and major delays for shoppers come December. Behind the scenes, businesses are scrambling to forecast demand and lock in orders for the back-to-school and winter holiday seasons — but unpredictability in trade policy is breaking the very tools they rely on to plan.

In this episode, I’m joined by Debdatta Sinha Roy, a principal scientist in O.R. and data science at Oracle Retail Science R&D, to explore how this volatility is creating an invisible crisis within the analytics systems that power global logistics, and what a better path forward could look like. From smarter sourcing strategies to more stable policymaking, we’ll discuss what it will take to bring long-term resilience to today’s fragile supply chains — as retailers and consumers alike are already feeling the impact on the holiday shopping season.