U.S. demand for passenger car and light truck (PCLT) tires remains stable, but trade-down and deferral behaviour are contributing factors to pockets of softness in the industry. Retail unit sales of PCLT tires increased 0.4% in the first eight months of 2025 compared to the same period last year. However, there are consumer behaviour shifts happening now that may have a longer-term impact on the tire market, according to Circana, LLC.

“Now more than ever, consumers are feeling squeezed by the everyday necessities like groceries and the growing basic costs of owning an automobile,” says Nathan Shipley, automotive industry analyst for Circana. “Tires are a relatively big expense for consumers, and they are finding ways to mitigate that expense however they can, especially given the continued increase in other automobile costs like insurance, repair labour, and parts.”

Demand stability is not common across discretionary general merchandise, where overall unit sales declined 2% during the same period. While the tire industry is currently in positive demand territory, it is still feeling the broader consumer pattern changes like increased do-it-yourself (DIY) maintenance and trade-down behaviours in other maintenance categories.

Despite the topline unit sales stability, there has been a slow but steady shift away from higher-tier tires. According to a recent Circana survey, 26% of consumers indicated that they traded down to a lower-tier or lower-cost tire to save money on their most recent tire purchase. When looking at Circana’s retail point-of-sale data, lower-tier tires represented over 35% of unit demand this year, continuing to take share from tier 1 offerings. Consumers are also deferring tire needs to save money, with nearly 50% indicating they have driven on tires longer than they would have in the past to stretch out the life of the tires. Another third of consumers said they tried to save money by only replacing one or two of their tires instead of all four.

“The changing behaviour among today’s tire consumer should be part of a broader conversation about what lasting changes to loyalty and replacement activity will impact brands and dealers in the future,” Shipley adds. “The current outlook for the tire market is positive but shifting dynamics in consumer purchase decisions that span timing, product, and channel will be critical to monitor and adjust to.”