Small Businesses (and Their Customers) Feel Sting of Inflation
The electricity for the lights at the 3,200-square-foot store costs more than it did a year ago. So does the fuel for deliveries. Mr. Roesner says he has been spending more of his time lately trying to figure out the most efficient delivery routes. Then, there are the ever-rising costs for horse and bird feed, shelled corn and fertilizer. Nancy Roesner says she has been scouring the invoices each day, and then figuring out how much to raise prices to keep her profit margins.
“I don’t see an end in sight,” she said, not with prices so high — and heading higher — on fertilizer and seed. “I don’t see how prices can go down.”
Inflation has sunk its teeth into small businesses this year. The number of owners citing inflation as their No. 1 concern on the National Federation of Independent Businesses monthly economic index in April was at its highest level since 1982. One in five owners is raising prices, according to William C. Dunkelberg, the trade group’s chief economist.
“What’s happening is every time people open the back door to receive supplies, prices are higher,” Mr. Dunkelberg said. “Right now they are trying to pass it on to their customers.” In April, 35 percent of owners said they raised prices, he added.
