Maxed-Out US Consumers Call Time on the Age of Big Price Hikes
- Businesses tell Fed officials consumers are trading down
- Anecdotes help make the case for ongoing interest-rate cuts
Source: Hobby Works
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Hobby Works President Michael Brey knows his customers are fed up with price increases, so he’s stocking up on less costly products he thinks people will actually go for. At his stores in Rockville and Laurel, Maryland, the pandemic-era days of passing on price hikes for items like train sets, remote-controlled cars and drones are over.
“We can’t raise our prices because consumers have kind of maxed out,” Brey said. “We are doubling down on these newer, smaller, entry-level items because they’re at a price point that we think will work for consumers in the current environment.”