Record high business costs pushing up prices, eroding operator and consumer confidence
ABCSmall businesses are struggling with record high costs while trying to remain competitive, as consumer confidence falls in response to rising inflation and interest rates. Key points: Input, labour costs and consumer prices are at record highs Businesses are worried that passing on price hikes will scare customers away Australian Retailers Association says some businesses will be forced to close Data from NAB's monthly business survey shows the cost of doing business is at record highs, and those prices are being passed on to consumers. "They kind of peaked in April, May this year quite noticeably above previous peaks in or prior to the GFC as well," said Gareth Spence, senior economist at NAB. "We've really seen input costs increase at a faster rate, as we came out of the first phase of the pandemic," Mr Spence said. "Input costs have risen quite strongly, particularly in sectors like retail, but at the same time, we've also observed that retailers have been able to kind of increase their prices as well."
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