Online retailers across categories are feeling the impact of rising oil costs on their supply chains.

Executives at these leading retailers shared in their most recent quarterly earnings calls how oil costs will affect pricing and other strategies. Some executives also have shared how changing policies surrounding tariffs are affecting fiscal guidance for the remainder of 2026.

As of June 4, the price of a barrel of crude oil hovered around $93. It reached about $112 on April 7. For comparison, it was about $66 when the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran began at the end of February, according to historical data from Trading Economics.

All commentary below stems from 11 retailers’ earnings calls in the last two weeks of May. These retailers operate in merchandise categories including:

• Apparel & Accessories (which includes footwear)
• Health & Beauty
• Housewares & Home Furnishings
• Mass Merchant
• Sporting Goods
• Toys & Hobbies

Retailers are in alphabetical order. The number in parentheses reflects retailers’ ranking in the Top 2000, if applicable. The database is Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of North America’s online retailers by their annual ecommerce sales.

1. Abercrombie & Fitch (No. 38)

With “fuel prices up, we are seeing some pressure on freight,” said chief financial officer Robert Ball.

He noted that Abercrombie will adjust its inventory and promotional strategies. The retailer is “navigating external headwinds like tariffs, like freight and these geopolitical conflicts,” he said.

“We’re going to use that playbook that’s been effective to navigate a lot of different scenarios in the past and apply that to the EMEA region here and work to improve that trend as we move through the year,” Ball said.

Overall comparable sales declined 1% year over year in its fiscal Q1, Ball said. Comparable sales include those through stores the retailer operated during both quarters, as well as those through ecommerce.

EMEA refers to Europe, the Middle East and Africa. CEO Fran Horowitz-Bonadies said Abercrombie managed growth in its fiscal Q1 “despite headwinds in the Middle East and other select countries in EMEA.” Sales in the region declined 10%. It was the only region with a year-over-year decrease in sales during the quarter.

“In EMEA, continued growth in the U.K. was more than offset by declines in the Middle East and other European markets as the regional conflict ramped up, driving EMEA sales down 10% for the quarter,” she said.

2. Amer Sports

Chief financial officer Andrew Page said Amer Sports has locked in its freight and logistics costs for the next year as oil prices have continued to rise. 

“Obviously, we don’t live in a bubble,” Page said. “And we are aware of the risks and some of the decisions that consumers need to make associated with all the geopolitical factors out there. To that point, though, we’re not seeing any signs yet with our consumer.”

So far, he said, oil prices have had a “nominal impact” on Amer Sports, if any.

“And if there’s a seismic shift in oil and cost over time, this could have some longer-term effect,” Page said.

3. Dollar Tree (No. 274)

“We recognize the consumer environment remains dynamic, especially for lower-income households navigating higher fuel costs and broader macro uncertainty,” said CEO Michael Creedon. “Customers are shopping thoughtfully and closer to need with a continued focus on affordability, convenience and trip efficiency.”

Chief financial officer Stewart Glendinning said Dollar Tree will see the impact of rising oil costs in the back half of the year. “It really wasn’t a factor so much this quarter because of the timing” of the war with Iran, he said.

Dollar Tree updated its fiscal guidance to reflect “a more cautious view around some of the transportation and fuel costs relative to where we entered last year.” He noted that when he spoke to analysts during the prior earnings call, “there was an expectation, I think, of a shorter period of impact related to the conflict in the Middle East. And that has proved not to be the case.”

He said Dollar Tree is now assuming that higher fuel prices will last throughout the year. That’s because it does not know when the conflict will end, he said.

“And we’re also assuming that that amount is absorbed by the business,” Glendinning said. “At the same time, we do get some benefit from lower tariffs, which will manifest themselves in the second and the third quarter, but that hasn’t really changed from last quarter since we were already expecting that.”

It is also assuming, based on statements from the Trump administration, that tariffs will revert back to levels seen under previous policies, he said.

“The only thing that’s changed in this whole assumption is that the increased fuel prices are going to go for longer,” he said.

Dollar Tree expects net sales in the range of $20.5 billion to $20.7 billion for the remainder of the year. That would reflect comparable store sales growth of 3% to 4%, Glendinning said.

4. e.l.f. Beauty (No. 328)

Chief financial officer Mandy Fields said e.l.f. Beauty is seeing “inflationary pressure on commodities and transportation costs, like many other companies have spoken about.”

She said the retailer anticipates oil prices remaining around $100, on average. In such a case, she said, e.l.f. Beauty expects to face $15 million to $20 million in cost headwinds tied to fuel.

It is also pursuing a refund on tariffs it paid last year, which would be about $58.5 million, she said. The retailer is not factoring in the impact of oil prices or tariff refunds in its outlook for the year, “given the situation remains fluid.”

5. Hasbro (No. 539)

“The macro environment continues to require agility, including absorbing and offsetting the impact of rising oil costs across the business, which impacts our freight, resin and packaging costs,” said Gina Goetter, who is both chief financial officer and chief operating officer at Hasbro. “While the impact of higher inputs won’t be realized until the back-half of 2026, we have several actions underway across a variety of operating levers, including freight optimization, mix management and operating spend reductions to mitigate the impact.”

She said that although freight impacts the entire company, most of the resin factors into its consumer-products segment. The rough impact for this year, she said, is about $30 million. That assumes that oil stays at a price of about $100 per barrel, she noted.

Hasbro is maintaining its fiscal guidance for the year, she said. It feels it can mitigate the impact of oil costs through the second half of the calendar year, Goetter said.

6. Ralph Lauren (No. 62)

Justin Picicci, chief financial officer at Ralph Lauren, said the retailer is planning for “modest growth” in its fiscal 2027. He attributed that to “the context of a dynamic macro environment.”

He said Ralph Lauren based its initial outlook for its fiscal 2027 on its “best assessment of the current operating environment, including the geopolitical backdrop, foreign currency dynamics and broader macroeconomic trends. Our guidance does not currently assume any potential impact from tariff refunds.”

He said ongoing volatility in the environment makes the retailer’s outlook subject to change as conditions evolve.

“We expect Europe revenue to increase approximately low to mid-single digits, reflecting solid underlying growth balanced with a measured approach to the consumer backdrop and near-term macro pressures, including elevated energy costs and disruption to Middle East partner sales and tourism, as well as lapping strong fiscal ’26 compares,” Picicci said.

7. Ross Stores

Michael Hartshorn, chief operating officer, said that historically, it has been difficult for the retailer to see an immediate direct correlation between fuel prices and sales performance.

“That said, obviously the potential impact can vary based on the magnitude and how long the increased fuel prices last,” Hartshorn said. “I would also add the silver lining for off-price is that any uncertainty in the macro environment could lead to customers seeking more value when shopping and create closeout opportunities for us for the supply side.”

Distribution and domestic freight costs declined by 0.15% and 0.1%, respectively. However, higher-than-expected fuel prices limited “some of that leverage that we typically get from that sales outperformance,” according to chief financial officer William Sheehan.

8. Shoe Carnival (No. 568)

Clifton Sifford, interim president and CEO, said customers at Shoe Carnival “are absorbing higher costs for fuel, food and other essentials with recent geopolitical developments adding pressure.”

He said Shoe Carnival saw that reflected in “an unusually consistent softness” across all its four major footwear categories. Those are adult athletic, men’s nonathletic, women’s nonathletic, and children. Each was down low single digits in the quarter.

“That kind of cross-category symmetry tells us this is a consumer pressure story, not a category-specific one,” Sifford said.

He added that Shoe Carnival expects continued pressure on “moderate income households” through the rest of its fiscal 2026.

9. TJX Cos. (No. 100)

John Klinger, chief financial officer at TJX Cos., said the retailer is planning on fuel prices remaining in place for the rest of the year. TJX operates brands including T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and HomeGoods, among others.

“Of course, if fuel prices come down from their current levels, we would expect to see favorability to our full year profitability plan,” Klinger said.

CEO Ernie Herrman said that “fuel prices can cause pressure all around the board.”

“We try not to get too theoretical about what the impact is going to be, other than we know the better value we offer and the more exciting we make the treasure hunt shopping experience for our customers, the more market share we will gain,” Herrman said.

He also said that if fuel prices do come down, TJX wants to “hang on to the customers that maybe we have grabbed in certain situations due to the fuel and due to them being value-conscious. We want them for the long term.”

10. VF Corporation (No. 56)

Abhishek Dalmia, chief operating officer, noted two key near-term challenges to how VF Corporation manages its cost discipline. Those are oil price fluctuations and potential tariffs. VF Corp. operates brands including Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Jansport and more.

Within the oil price fluctuations are also two impacted areas, he said: freight and product cost. Regarding the former, VF Corp is leveraging scale with its carriers and partners across its supply chain, he said.

“On product cost, we are consolidating materials across brands and leveraging our VF materials library to drive pricing scale while also reviewing our pricing strategies,” Dalmia said.

VF Corp. is adjusting its sourcing flows as it monitors logistics and works with regional teams, he said. It also has contingency plans in place and is “operating with extreme flexibility,” according to Dalmia.

“On tariffs, we are closely watching a potential step-up to take effect mid-July following the conclusion of the Section 301 investigations,” he said. “Over the past year, we have been actively mitigating, rebalancing our sourcing footprint, reducing exposure to higher tariff routes and working with partners to share cost burden.”

11. Williams-Sonoma (No. 22)

Williams-Sonoma CEO Laura Alber said the retailer beat its expectations in terms of operating margin. Its operating margin rate was 16.2% in its fiscal Q1. 

“We delivered this operating margin even while absorbing tariffs and higher fuel costs,” Alber told analysts on Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly earnings call. 

Chief financial officer Jeff Howie noted that higher oil prices have pressured transportation costs. Williams-Sonoma believes its size and scale will help it continue to mitigate the impact of ocean freight costs. In terms of domestic shipping expenses, he said, Williams-Sonoma has embedded fuel prices around today’s levels into its guidance. 

Alber declined to comment on whether Williams-Sonoma will raise prices if the inflationary environment persists.

She also noted that Williams-Sonoma made enhancements to support its supply chain efficiency in the quarter. The retailer has put a focus on timely delivery as well as low returns and replacements, she said.

“These improvements helped us offset higher year-on-year tariffs and higher fuel costs,” Alber said. “We stayed lean and efficient throughout the organization and managed variable costs.”

Additionally, Williams-Sonoma has reiterated the annual guidance it provided at the end of its fiscal Q4 2025 earnings call. She said the retailer is confident both because of its Q1 results and its strategies for the remainder of 2026. She called the direction of oil prices “difficult to predict.” The retailer’s guidance reflects its best estimate of the impact of higher oil prices, Alber said.

“Despite our beat in the first quarter, we are not raising guidance as it is early in the year and there’s a lot of uncertainty in the external environment,” Alber said. “We are not building in a meaningful housing recovery and we are assuming continued volatility across geopolitics, war, fuel prices, trade policy and tariff and interest rates.”

Williams-Sonoma anticipates comparable brand revenue growth in the range of 2% to 6%. It also expects an operating margin in the range of 17.5% to 18.1%.

Williams-Sonoma’s guidance does not factor in any benefit from tariff refunds. That’s because of “the uncertainty surrounding the timing and potential of recovery,” Howie said. As it did in Q4, Williams-Sonoma expects the impacts of tariffs to be front-weighted and then moderate over the balance of the year, he said. Its guidance assumes the effects of Section 122, 232 and 301 tariffs to remain in place for the rest of the year, according to Howie.

The Section 122 tariffs are currently set to expire in July. However, the retailer’s guidance assumes the current administration will replace them with tariffs at a similar rate.

Do you rank in our databases? 

Submit your data and we’ll see where you fit in our next ranking update.

Sign up

Stay on top of the latest developments in the online retail industry. Sign up for a complimentary subscription to Digital Commerce 360 Retail News. Follow us on LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and YouTube. Be the first to know when Digital Commerce 360 publishes news content.