Tariffs taking a break for mom? Mother's Day prices hold steady

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- As we prepare to show mom some love this Mother's Day, many are concerned about the impact of tariffs.

From boutiques to bonbons, tariffs have been giving many businesses that rely on other countries whiplash on when they will go in place.

"I hear they're going to be more, but I think it's changing every single day," said Sue Schmidbauer, manager and creative director of Barb's Greenhouse Florist.

Fortunately, this Mother's Day, prices will remain around the same.

"For major holidays, we pre-book things so far in advance that a lot of my prebooked things weren't affected by the cost increase," said Schmidbauer.

Sue Schmidbauer is the manager and creative director at Barb's Greenhouse Florist in Hales Corners. She says her wholesalers are honoring the price before tariffs went into effect.

"For fresh flowers, we have seen a little bit of an increase with things coming out of Holland, things coming out of Canada, there's about a 7% increase," Schmidbauer explained.

For Schmidbauer, Mother's Day is the last major holiday before wedding season. She says prices should remain the same through the end of the year.

"The stuff we pre-book for Christmas and fall for this year, we had to purchase that in January. They are going to stay with the price that they quoted us. However, moving forward if we have to do add-ons things, yes, there will be an increase," said Schmidbauer.

If mom is a chocolate lover, Pat Murphy, owner of Ultimate Confections in Wauwatosa, says tariffs shouldn't deter you from getting mom her fix.

"If the supply side is plentiful, we might not even notice the tariffs because the cost might go down tariff or no tariff," said Murphy.

Murphy says since chocolate is a commodity, prices are determined by supply and demand.

"Weather and disease, depending on certain parts of the world where they're grown, and even trial wars depending on what part of the world," Murphy explained.

Schmidbauer says their biggest change happens behind the scenes.

"It's probably going to change the way we buy. I try to buy as many of the bulk items as I can because we try to keep our prices as low as possible," said Schmidbauer.

Schmidbauer recommends putting your flower orders in as soon as possible.