You may be owed a tariff refund and the clock is ticking

You may not notice at first, but the small ways your customers act add up to valuable data about their buying behavior. We take a closer look at how monitoring your local patterns can help you maximize your seasonal business. This week, we’ll also hear from a former U.S. Customs and Border Protection attorney about what you need to do immediately if you're owed tariff refunds: two simple steps could net you a lot of money.

But before we dive in, check out a Coach store in Singapore that’s taking experiential retail to a whole new and adorable level.  

Memory lane: Take a peek at San Diego’s lost department stores 

Cool beans: How one small entrepreneur is opening their first physical location 

Getting carded: SMBs want ease, flexibility, not fancy perks, from their credit cards

Taking a page from FL: Four trends affecting SMBs in 2026 

Crimes of passion: E.l.f. riffs on true crime docs to promote makeup decluttering

Do this ASAP: Tariff refund tips from an ex-U.S. Customs attorney

Navigating tariffs was hard enough. Now that some of these import duties have been struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court, retailers who already paid them could be due refunds. That process is even more complicated, but it’s worse to leave money on the table.

Chris Duncan, a former attorney for U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), says the two most important things you need to do ASAP are simple—and there’s no need to file a lawsuit or pay hefty legal fees. 

First, file an administrative protest with CBP regarding liquidated or finalized customs duties already paid. Once an imported shipment has liquidated, the importer has 180 days if they want to file a protest to challenge the tariffs paid. Next, set up Automated Clearing House (ACH) banking details with CBP, which is mandatory to receive any tariff refunds. The government will no longer mail paper checks for tariff refunds.

Why this matters: In addition to what you may have already paid in import duties, the government must also pay 7% interest, accruing daily from the original date of the cash deposit. After suffering tariff whiplash for a year, it’s worth it to take these steps to recover your money. (Retail Touchpoints)

Have you applied for tariff refunds? Let us know.

Fair weather trends: Why monitoring local patterns matters to seasonal business

The importance of retail data can’t be overstated, but what kind of data you’re looking at and where to find it is just as critical, especially when it comes to seasonal inventory, staffing and promotions.

Many retailers make the mistake of depending too much on national data—stats from the National Retail Federation can hide the local story. What you should be paying closer attention to are what shoppers in your area are searching for (use Google Trends, which is free) and regional retail transactions and foot traffic (use the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s CARTS index, also free).

Pairing this with the Census Bureau’s Monthly State Retail Sales data (also gratis) can give you a more nuanced read of what’s going on. One national metric you should follow is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ job data. Knowing when to time your hires or freezes makes a huge difference, and pairing their information with local search data and transaction indices will give you an idea of when local traffic is beginning to pick up and when you should hire seasonal help.

Why this matters: Watching local trends requires checking two or three free sources weekly, comparing them with your own sales and adjusting seasonal plans by a few days or weeks. Over four seasonal cycles a year, those small changes add up to bigger margins. (South Florida Reporter)

Retailers use this tactic to avoid tariffs but Congress pushes back 

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Retailers are doubling down on AI dressing rooms to avoid returns

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Retail real estate guru predicts new game plan for investors, owners

How to stay resilient when economic chaos is the only certainty 

Michigan-based small business consultant Mark Lee, president and CEO of The LEE Group, sat down with Detroit Public Radio’s The Metro podcast to share how small business owners can guard against multiple pressures of an unsteady economy, tariffs and Iran war-induced supply chain disruptions. He suggests looking closely at your financials weekly, examining your cost structure, seeking partnerships with other small businesses and suppliers, and being transparent with customers and vendors. 

“The average small business in Detroit, and particularly the average small minority-owned business, has less than $15,000 in capital reserves in the bank. That’s enough to get you through two weeks... So now all of a sudden my revenue is tight, my costs continue to increase, the small business owners say…'Eventually, I have to make a decision, and if I don’t pass that cost onto the customer, that means I have to eat the cost,’ so therefore they become that much more at risk." –Mark Lee 

Why this matters: Letting your community know you are struggling is one of the greatest defenses you have in moments of crisis. Locals are more likely to support Main Street businesses if they know what’s affecting them. (WDET)

Why SMBs are targets for cyber fraud and how to prevent it

Small businesses and nonprofits are increasingly targets for cyberattacks ranging from fraud to ransomware, with AI enabling sophisticated scams and impersonating trusted individuals, but practicing good “cyber hygiene” can help stop bad actors. This includes keeping your software patched and up to date, enabling multi-factor authentication, using a password manager, training employees to recognize suspicious emails, using device encryption and email filtering tools, maintaining secure backups and having a written incident response plan. Cyber insurance is the final step. 

Why this matters: The cost of taking no preventive action is high. Recovery from a cyberattack, noted one cybersecurity expert, typically runs four to eight times more than proactive security investment. (NJ Biz)

Thanks for reading this week's edition!

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The SKUpe is curated and written by Marcy Medina and edited by Bianca Prieto.