Economy

I haven't bought a cup of coffee anywhere for 20 years, so I have no idea how much it costs, but here's what I think, just for the sake of conversation.

1. I think during COVID and for a significant period after the serious emergency had passed, people stocked up. They were afraid of shortages again and bought more when they were able to. Now that various financial assists due to COVID are being stopped, people are dipping into their own stockpiles and don't need to buy as much. Major retailers don't think far enough ahead to plan for this. For a while there in 2020, shelves were about as bare as they could be, but now stuff isn't moving and they can't figure it out.

2. "Shrinkage" has always been a problem, and retailers who were profitable just wrote it off. Now that people are shopping online more -- again, a side-effect of COVID -- brick and mortar retailers are less profitable and can't write off the shrinkage. They can, however, use it as an excuse for why their profits have fallen. Drop in stock price leads to more buy-backs? I dunno on that one.

3. The price of ice cream, since you brought it up, has fluctuated here worse than a Cedar Point roller coaster. One brand can be $7.99 for a 1.5 quart carton ($20/gallon!!!!) one week, and $3.99 the next, then back to $5.99, then $6.99, then back to $4.49. Another brand goes in the opposite direction. In the end, all the brands hit that $7.99 peak for a while, then drop back down. Even the store brands rise and fall dramatically. I think it's all a ploy to get shoppers to sign up for online "coupons" that enable more tracking of individual shopping trends. This may work for those shoppers who have more disposable income and can indulge in impulse buying, but I doubt it works as well on those of limited means who tend to shop more carefully.

For whatever it's worth, I'm not a heavy shopper. I have very little idea what anything other than groceries costs these days. In fact, speaking of Nike, I need to buy a new pair of sneakers and realized yesterday that I haven't bought any since 2005. I have no idea what those cost then -- cheap at Target -- and less than no idea what they cost now.