MADISON, Wis. -- At Fresh Mart Madison International Supermarket, groceries are organized by region. That means the impact of tariffs on your food could just depend on the aisle you're shopping in.
"We serve from Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, India, Pakistan, Middle East, Mediterranean, African, Caribbean, Latin, Hispanic...all kind[s] of food," said owner Yashar Tairov.
Tairov and his wife have been running their family-owned grocery store for years, but opened their new location on University Avenue just last March.
"It's especially good for students, international students," said Tairov. "They can come here and find out... all food from back home."
He says as a business that serves college students, prices are always top of mind.
"We try to do a lower price grocery for students," he said. "They have to save money for apartment rent and for other stuff.. insurance, car insurance, school."
But with uncertain tariffs looming, Tairov is worried about competing with large grocery chains that have more options when it comes to offsetting unexpected costs.
"It's going to impact all sellers," said UW-Madison Professor of Consumer Science Cliff Robb. "But I do think it's going to be harder for your small businesses to kind of navigate."
Robb says uncertainty is the biggest detriment to economic growth.
"It's not firm what tariffs will go into place and when. So I think consumers are mainly just doing a lot of buying with not really having a lot of information," Robb said.
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