It seems that Inflation has hit a 40-year high affecting everything from
gas prices, housing, food, and consumer goods. Inflation started to creep up on us back in December 2021 as the pandemic took its toll on
employees who were resistant to going back to work again and risking their health by catching COVID-19. Many employees lost their jobs during the COVID-19 epidemic, and some worked for years at businesses only to be let go. The Gig economy has grown because workers don’t want to work for businesses that let them go so easily, many are opting to work from home. Or they take on side hustles to supplement their income. The economy is different than it was before Covid-19 happened in the USA and abroad.
Inflation has its root causes, and many causes are contributing to
it such as supply chain disruption, and many truck drivers refused to work during the pandemic. Those that did work refused to
adhere to the mask mandates rules. Canada had recent protests where
truckers used trucks to jam traffic and prevent supplies from being
delivered. Many Americans supported the Canadian protests.
The disruption of the supply chain such as ports full of cargo that hasn’t
been delivered to stores has caused shelves to become bare. With the
supply, not being delivered the prices for those goods have gone up.
What were some of the reasons for the rise of Inflation?
Some reasons for Inflation and the slowing of the economy during the time of COVID-19 and the present were that Truck drivers were not delivering the products to the stores which caused supply chain disruptions. Cargo ships from China and many other countries that sent goods to the USA were not processed due to the lack of workers available to unload the ships. Some cargo ships took months to get unloaded and driven to stores.
The second reason was that the US workforce was in turmoil as the great resignation has caused many Americans to look for higher-paying jobs as they switch jobs or quit. Many businesses suffered a labor shortage which persists until this day.
Higher gas prices at the pump were making goods and services more
expensive as these businesses passed the cost down to the
consumer.
All of these factors have contributed to Inflation.
How Inflation is affecting the Thrift
Inflation is affecting the thrift stores because more people are going to the thrift
stores to find consumer goods that they would otherwise purchase at a
retail store.
Fewer people are donating to thrift because they would rather resell
items on eBay, Facebook marketplace, Mercari, and Posh Mark. In hopes of making some money off of their goods. As opposed to donating like before the Inflation hit the general public.
People need money and are making money by sales of items at garage sales
flea markets and online sales.
Thrift stores are raising their prices as Inflation hits most retail
stores. Clothing is becoming more expensive in both retail and
thrift stores. Even though, some thrift stores have prices that are
less than the retail prices in comparison.
The thrift stores are increasing in volume and increasing their
prices.
Despite the slightly higher prices, you can still find deals at the thrift.
The savings on larger ticket items such as furniture and appliances can be noted when buying thrift.
We as consumers have to take our time to carefully research what we want or need to purchase at thrift. As consumers, we have to recognize a good deal when we see it and make a snap decision to purchase the item before it’s sold at the thrift, unlike a regular store where they may have many in stock.
The Fed has kept interest rates high to curb demand for goods and services. In an attempt to lower inflation, it works for a few weeks, but inflation keeps showing its ugly head because companies refuse to lower their prices on their goods and services citing higher costs.
We can only hope this stubborn Inflation continues to go down so that the American public can get some relief. From all areas of the economy including the Thrift stores.
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