Prepare for another wave of rising prices
Shoppers who hoped the inflation lull would last may need to steel themselves for higher costs once again. After a stretch of relative calm and promotional holiday discounts, price increases are resurfacing across a wide range of products—jeans, spices, software, and more, according to the Wall Street Journal. The hikes, typically in the high single digits, are steeper than what we usually see after the holiday dip, particularly for durable goods like electronics and appliances, economists say.
Major brands such as Levi Strauss, Columbia Sportswear, and McCormick, along with many smaller companies, report higher input costs—from tariffs and wages to health insurance, materials, and shipping—and are passing at least part of those costs to customers. Online trackers from Harvard economist Alberto Cavallo and Adobe show web prices jumping more in a single month than at any time in over a decade, driven by large-ticket items.
Small businesses, grappling with thinner profit margins, are responding by raising prices across products or by pruning offerings they believe customers won’t tolerate at higher prices. A Vistage survey found that over half of small-business leaders anticipate near-term price increases, mostly in the 4%–10% range, even as they worry steeper tags could push customers away. Reuters reports that JPMorgan economists expect inflation to re-accelerate briefly this year, due in part to tariff-related costs passed to consumers and the continued impact of a weaker trade-weighted dollar.
In the words of a Cincinnati-based construction firm president, tariffs pushed up steel costs by about 10% last year, and healthcare costs for employees rose by a similar amount. He emphasizes that sustained price increases without some relief from customers isn’t sustainable for his business.
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