thread Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response in Retail & eCommerce

Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:30:01 GMT

Hey Everyone!

U.S. inflation recently hit a three-year high of 4.2% year-over-year. Perhaps it is temporary, perhaps it will stick around for some time.

My local coffee shop raised the price of their 20 oz black ice tea from $4.90 to $5.30. So now I order a 16 oz.

Are you seeing inflationary pressures in your line of business?

If so, how do you account for it?

How do you respond when a customer mentions the price increases?

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

ascoach — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 16:43:22 GMT

The inflation we have experienced over the past year has been challenging for many small businesses.

At the beginning of the year, I implemented price increases on some of our products, and a few customers have questioned the changes. When that happens, I explain that our production costs have risen significantly and continue to increase.

As a custom apparel business, I have watched wholesale garment prices steadily climb, with many items increasing by $0.08 to $0.10 at a time, sometimes on a near-weekly basis. The supplies we use for production have also seen regular price increases, and as a business located in a small rural community, virtually everything we purchase must be shipped in. Shipping costs alone have become a major expense, and it often feels as though some vendors have added substantial surcharges on top of already elevated freight rates.

The frustrating part is that customers often notice and comment on a price increase from a small business, yet they rarely question the higher prices they encounter at large retailers such as Walmart or Amazon. Small businesses are facing the same inflationary pressures as everyone else, but we have far fewer resources to absorb those rising costs. Price adjustments are not about increasing profits—they are often necessary just to maintain the same level of service and quality our customers expect.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

MayuSilkArt — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 17:28:48 GMT

My business has the word Silk in its’ name. The price of silk went up 50% last year.

Although our paint-your-own-silk-scarf experience is very popular, and we haven’t raised our prices in spite of the growing costs, folks are feeling the squeeze and when it coming down to discretionary spending vs food on the table, folks will always go for the necessities first. Even our corporate clients (who hire us for team building/client appreciation events) have been migrating away from art-centered activities to food-centric experiences. Raising prices WILL result in fewer sales. We feel stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

MudFire_Dex — Wed, 17 Jun 2026 18:44:17 GMT

Yes - we've had the studio in operation since 2013 - we charged $149 a month for membership then - and increased to $155 post pandemic attempting to recover losses and increased our membership capacity by 50 more members. Then this spring when the tariff pricing, materials shortages, and increases in shipping started hitting us dramatically we decided new members would pay $170 but our current members would only increase to $163 (for a month...) and yes - we did get questions/marginally rude emails from a few member. Other studios charge $275 and up, so it doesn't result in fewer customers - we still have a waitlist.

We strongly believe art making should be accessible and we have 6 month hardship spots that are free and/or pay what you can - we reserve 10% of our membership for those spots.

I agree - price adjustments aren't about profit for most small businesses - they are about keeping the same profit you had before - rarely increasing profit. People get mad at big box stores but take out frustration on smaller businesses that are targets because of our empathy and customer relationships.

But on the plus side - some customers get it. We got a Doordash certificate for the team in the amount of $300 today because a customer was having a hard day at work. They were grateful to be here and wanted to say thank you to all of us.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

homeprogreen — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:24:24 GMT

I am having to run margin calculations on basically every single restock order that I receive and adjust prices accordingly in order to remain profitable. Very few customers have mentioned price increases probably due to the fact that they are aware that I always try to keep my prices fair and that I also adjust prices down when my cost drop on a product. Plus I am not increasing my profit just maintaining it

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

MrBucketHat — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 18:54:31 GMT

I don't love the idea of raising prices on customers. I've tried a bunch of backflips like adding preorders and moving free shipping to a higher dollar amount. Getting squeezed on gas surcharges and material cost increase and whatever goofy tariff of the week pops up has me feeling like I'm going crazy. I've starter prioritizing lower cost items that I can move with a decent margin at around $25 but it's truly a trying time to be in business.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

DinaLRosenberg — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 16:35:16 GMT

Great question...

for what we can control we''re holding prices. I've seen some books/decks go up and some of our smaller vendors have moved prices up slightly.

Thankfully we work with vendors that offer free freight which is a life saver.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:40:43 GMT

You make a great point about price adjustments being necessary to maintain the same level of service and quality.

I have noticed that a lot of big businesses do not have the same quality of customer service they used to, whether is a lack of employee count or training.

What is difficult is when prices increase weekly, because as a seller it is easier to do a single price increase once a year than weekly/monthly. If you don't know where your costs are going to land, it makes it impossible to determine the proper price.

Hoping things settle down a little.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:43:41 GMT

Yes, that is a difficult decision to make.

Our business is in a tourist town, but we too have seen customers cut down on their discretionary spending as they focus on necessities.

50% increase from last year is huge, but as @ascoach mentioned, it is important to maintain the quality and customer service.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:45:27 GMT

It seems like your studio is very competitively priced!

That is fantastic that you have hardship spots. It really creates a sense of the community being there for people. Kudos to you!

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:48:03 GMT

I think relationship-building is important in business. It seems your connection to customers has created the trust that your prices are fair and it is a necessary reality given exogenous factors.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:49:46 GMT

Making those adjustments on free shipping is a smart strategy.

Great insight on adjusting product offerings to be more accessible/affordable for customers.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

TCSlaguna — Mon, 22 Jun 2026 17:53:33 GMT

It's great that some vendors are keeping free shipping. Hopefully that's not too much of a big hit to them.

I remember around 10 years ago we had quite a few vendors go out of business, and the trade show halls were just empty.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

doc_choc — Tue, 23 Jun 2026 08:07:33 GMT

Inflation is a tough one to bust once economies get caught in the cycle and it requires some tough political and economical decisions to be made to bring the inflation under control.

Its felt bad here in the UK, with inflation between 3.5 - 4.2% since the pandemic, but how bad is it really? Looking at the UK inflation current, its seems the 1970's had it even harder and perhaps puts things in to perspective. When you look at the charts below you can but wonder what a 25% inflation rate feels like.

Looking at the historical data it does seem high inflation sticks around for a few years but eventually calms down. So its seems to be a case of trying to ride the storm with the tried and tested methods to manage margins and hope the storm is not too long or intense.

Re: Inflationary Pressures - Retailers' Response

Getonthebus — Thu, 25 Jun 2026 08:11:22 GMT

YES! Gas costs are nuts. Food prices are even nuttier. Beer prices have gone up as well as the merch in our retail shop. We raised prices on food and beverage as we had to to be able to keep the doors open. We have seen merchandise sales slow down a bit as folks are deciding how the spend that discretionary income. We are working hard to make wise choices to help manage the rising cost of doing business. Sometimes not even our staff understands the choices but it's a tough economy right now and you have to stay diligent.