[bash-j]

These large cost increases have been great for businesses. If your company buys a widget for $10 and sells it for $50 and the cost goes up 20%, you can tell your customers our costs have gone up 20% and we can't afford not to pass on the increases, etc. The thing is the business is only paying $2 more, but the customer is paying $10 more. Plus we also have businesses like supermarkets that saw a huge increase in demand during the COVID restrictions, where people couldn't travel, eat out, go to concerts. But even after the record breaking year due to a non repeatable event, they still expect to grow on top of that. When demand falls, the only way to keep or grow your revenue is to increase prices.