Advertisers from Macy's to Levi Strauss have announced that a portion of the multimillion-dollar tariff refunds they received from the federal government will go to boost marketing spending as the holiday shopping season approaches.

These messages may, however, say more about the companies' investor-relations strategies than their marketing plans.

Later this fall, eyeglass maker Warby Parker will launch Intelligent Eyewear, a line of AI-powered glasses developed in partnership with Google and Samsung.

In order to help market this critical product rollout, the company will draw on the $11.8 million it received last quarter after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump's tariffs on imported goods.

The cash injection has given Warby Parker flexibility to invest more in its brand by offsetting other expenses, Chief Financial Officer Adrian Mitchell said on the company's August earnings call.

"Within marketing, we plan to meaningfully increase our total brand and media investments, which will be shared with our partners as we scale Intelligent Eyewear campaigns," Mitchell said. "With regards to the investments in the business and integrating Intelligent Eyewear -- that's fully funded by the tariff benefits."

Billions of dollars have begun making their way to some of the importers that qualified for refunds after the February high court decision.

As of Oct. 2, U.S. Customs and Border Protection has received approximately $136 billion in refund requests and sent $126 billion to the Treasury Department for payment, said an agency spokesperson. More than 286,000 importers requested refunds, according to a September court filing.

Much subsequent conversation has focused on whether companies that receive tariff refunds would cut prices, but some recipients have told investors that portions will go toward promotions and brand investments.

E.l.f. Beauty will use some of the approximately $50 million it has received so far to help raise awareness of its brands in key markets such as the U.K., Canada and Germany.

"Our tariff refunds are being reinvested first to support our value proposition through lower prices on 10% of our portfolio, then to support marketing across our portfolio of brands, highlighting our holy grail innovations," Kory Marchisotto, president of e.l.f. Brands, said in a statement. "Marketing is one of our best-performing investments."

The company's overall marketing spending for the fiscal year through next March will skew toward the high end of a given range of 23% to 25% of net sales, powered in part by the refunds.

Levi Strauss on Wednesday said a large portion of its tariff refunds will go toward holiday-season marketing campaigns.

"We redeployed $60 million out of the $80-odd million from tariffs that we received," Harmit Singh, the denim-maker's chief financial and growth officer, said on its earnings call. "I would say a third is marketing, a third is distribution and logistics, and a third is promotional activities."

Levi Strauss's coming projects include an extension of its work with brand ambassador Beyoncé and a fall campaign targeting men, Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass said on the call.

Tariff refunds have unquestionably boosted many companies' bottom lines.

But many announcements about using refunds to defray marketing costs are likely designed to reassure Wall Street that companies will reach their financial goals, and don't necessarily signal more spending than was already planned, according to Brian Wieser, founder of consulting firm Madison & Wall. He compared them to "AI washing," a practice whereby executives overstate the impact of artificial intelligence on actions or changes that would probably have happened anyway.

"It's almost more of a messaging thing than a question of whether the tariff refunds are really contributing meaningfully to the proportion of their budget that they do spend on marketing," he said.

"In an established business, you don't wake up in the morning and say, 'I can't wait to increase my budget'," Wieser added. "You're a hero when you cut your budget."

Some companies, however, have been specific about their plans.

After reducing its marketing budget last year due to tariff pressure, Macy's is directing most of its $116 million refund to its "Bold New Chapter" turnaround strategy, including store redesigns and Bloomingdale's marketing, the company said.

Women's clothing maker J. Jill similarly plans to reinvest the bulk of its $13.3 million refund in marketing, with an increased focus on customer acquisition as it promotes its new loungewear collection and an expanded denim line, said Mark Webb, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, on last month's earnings call.

Consumer goods maker Kimberly-Clark's $45 million refund will help counterbalance recent investments in its brand portfolio, and footwear retailer Genesco plans to use part of its $22 million for incremental increases in marketing spending, according to the companies' earnings reports and calls.