Babylist Founder On Why Parents Need A Break From ‘Baby Tax’ Tariffs

The Babylist showroom in Beverly Hills, where prospective parents can test drive strollers and practice installing car seats.

Courtesy of Babylist

Earlier this year Natalie Gordon, creator and CEO of the popular baby gift registry Babylist, found herself in a new role – advocating for parents against potentially high tariffs on strollers, car seats, and other essential baby products.

In April, when the baby products industry was under the threat of 145% tariffs on goods made in China, Babylist ran a full page ad in the Washington Post headlined “Babies deserve love – not tariffs.” The ad was signed by Gordon and the founders and CEOs of twelve leading baby products companies, and asked for an immediate reprieve from tariffs on essential baby products.

“We don’t tariff our future. We love it. End the baby tax,” the ad stated.

Both Sides Support New Parents

Gordon discovered that helping new parents seems to be something people of all political views can agree on.

“I think both sides of the aisle really want to support new parents,” she said in an interview. “Both sides of the aisle care about families and working families.”

In May, tariffs on Chinese goods were capped at 30%, with that rate in effect until November 10, easing the immediate crisis on the baby industry.

While the 30% rate is more manageable, the tariffs continue to “have an outsized cost to expecting parents,” Gordon said. And she plans to continue to advocate on their behalf.

Babylist has been tracking price increases on the products listed on its website and saw in August that prices across 2,000 baby products were up 17% compared to earlier in the year, with some items like strollers and car seats up 30 to 40%.

$875 Million in Potential Added Costs

In June the minority members of the congressional Joint Economic Committee issued a report showing that new parents were paying 24% more for five essential baby items – a stroller, car seat, crib, high chair, and baby monitor, and that the average cost increase for families with new infants on a broader range of baby goods was $400. That could add up to $875 million in increased costs for all new parents in the United States, the report found.

The tariffs are hitting the baby products industry particularly hard because manufacturing of essential items such as strollers and car seats is almost entirely done in China.

“You can’t start manufacturing car seats in the United States. That takes millions of dollars and that takes years to do,” Gordon said.

She would like to see a permanent exemption on essential baby products, but says even a temporary reprieve would help.

“Give us a reprieve so the industry itself can make the right long term manufacturing decisions,” she said.

Babylist was launched in 2011, two weeks before Gordon gave birth to her first child. She began creating the registry while pregnant, after being overwhelmed at the array of choices in a Babies R Us store.

“I was literally creating my own baby registry, and I knew exactly what I wanted,” said Gordon, who had worked as a software engineer at Amazon for four years after college.

Healthy Growth To $500 Million In Revenue

The site has grown into a leading resource for expectant parents, with $500 million in revenue and over $1 billion in purchases made through the site. Some 9 million people come to the site every year to purchase gifts for the 700,000 parents registered on Babylist.

Babylist decided a few years after its launch to remain focused on babies and new parents rather than using its technology to branch into other types of registries.

“Serving this audience of expecting parents and brand new parents – that’s what actually inspires us, and that’s the biggest strategic advantage we have,” Gordon said.

Over the years it has grown from serving as a registry for its retail partners, to also being a retailer itself, selling products on its site from over 200 wholesale vendors.

It also has a health division that can supply parents with items covered by health insurance, such as breast pumps.

The bankruptcy of Babies R Us and the disappearance of big box baby superstores, combined with the pandemic-driven increase in online shopping helped propel sales and use of Babylist.

The registry also is praised by new parents, in online reviews, for giving them registry options such as donations to college funds in lieu of gifts, and “group gifts” that let multiple people contribute to high-priced items. It also lets new parents ask for help like “bring over a warm meal” or “dog walking” on their registry. Prospective parents can also indicate items where they are “open to secondhand’ which gives friends and family the option to gift them previously owned items.

In 2023 Babylist opened a showroom in Beverly Hills where parents-to-be can look at products, try them out, and add items to their registry. It has become a popular spot for appearances by parenting and expecting influencers and celebrities, who have made over 200 visits over the past year, and helped boost Babylist’s presence on TikTok and other social media.