If you feel like you have no idea what anything’s supposed to cost anymore, you’re not alone. The pandemic and subsequent bout of inflation sent prices all over the place, and now we’re facing down whatever is going on with tariffs at any given moment. Unfortunately, our collective state of sticker “”Huh?”” is likely to get worse. Thanks to a whipsawing economic landscape and the magic of technology, prices can change faster than ever — the price you see in the morning may not be the same that same afternoon. Maybe that new price tag is the result of changing supply and demand dynamics. Maybe it’s tariffs. Maybe it’s corporate funny business. The unfunny part is that it’s impossible for many consumers to know…
Volatility is always a part of business, but now we’re facing a “”trifecta of volatility,”” said Craig Zawada, chief visionary officer at PROS Holdings, a price optimization company. First, costs are changing quickly — in the past, a company might negotiate once or twice a year with a supplier, but now they’re having to review their agreements all the time. Second, competitive fluctuations are happening. Businesses in the same industry tend to have similar inputs, but not always. If the guy next door imports from China and you don’t, you’ve got an advantage, but if you see them increase their asking price, do you bump yours up a little anyway? Third, consumer demand is shifting, and not always in ways that are obvious or predictable or even bad. In times of economic precarity, sales of items such as lipstick and mini bottles of alcohol tend to go up.