Riding the Inflation Wave for Profit

Everybody is feeling the pinch of inflation, and, of course, the Republicans are blaming President Biden, front and center. But a new study shows that many retail businesses are actually using inflation as an excuse to drive up prices and make more money.

Once again, it's all about greed and consumers are forced to pay the price.

Today we’re with Digital.com’s small business expert, Dennis Consorte. Dennis discusses with us the results of a survey of retail owners and executives Digital.com conducted to discover how inflation is impacting profitability, pricing, and discount offers this shopping season.

Shockingly, the survey showed that 56% of retail businesses say inflation has given them the ability to raise prices beyond what’s required to offset higher costs.

In other words, they figure consumers know inflation is with us, so they can jack up their prices more than necessary just to boost their bottom lines. Consorte says on the show that some businesses, especially big businesses, are playing on people's fears simply to make shareholders happy.

Here are some questions we posed to Consorte:

1.Tell us about the study and how it was conducted.
2.What were some of the other major conclusions?
3.Of those that increased profits beyond inflation to increase profitability, what companies were most likely to do that.
4.We know that the prices of cars and technology have been increasing significantly. Are those companies capitalizing on inflation?
5.What about retailers?
6.Do you see a reduction in discounts and sales this holiday season? Why?
7.What industries are most likely to be shrinking discounts? Are they increasing the prices of complimentary products?
8.Can you give us an example?
9.What tactics are companies using to increase prices besides just jacking up the sticker price?
10.What do you think is contributing to all of this?

Take a listen.