[cityhantam]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2...1706771aa9

Stagflation Threat Is Latest Nail-Biter For Retailers

To the list of recent retail industry headaches — COVID, the great resignation, supply chain disruptions, inflation, declining consumer sentiment — we can now add the looming threat of stagflation.

Stagflation…roughly defined as what happens when rising prices converge with declining demand.


....... In spite of low unemployment and higher wages, consumers have been losing buying power for staples like gasoline, food, and shelter. In March, the national average cost to rent a one-bedroom apartment was 12% higher than a year ago, according to Zumper.com, an apartment listings platform. Driven in part by the war in Ukraine, the price of a pound of bread is 27% higher today than it was before the pandemic, according to the St. Louis Fed. Gasoline is up more than 100% from two years ago.

What’s a retailer to do? Raising prices turns off shoppers. Squeezing margins turn off investors. And slashing overhead turns off everybody....
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