Due to inflation, several retailers are already dealing with higher cost of goods and services (COGS) – and dealing with the supply chain crisis. They just finished reporting Q3 earnings; 141 retailers have already discussed inflation worries, and 192 have mentioned the supply issues during their earnings calls. Consumers’ short-term inflation expectations rose again, with the median cost of living increase for next year pushing up from 5.7% to 6.0%. This increase is twice the pace of expectations for income growth, which slid to 2.8% from 3.0%, according to the New York Federal Reserve. As a result, the latest Ipsos

With many people quarantined and working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumer buying patterns have changed. In normal times, demand for the latest fashion trends is strong in the weeks leading up to Easter, a time when retailers are still selling the season’s must-have items at full price. These days, retailers have closed their physical stores and have increased the amount of merchandise on sale online. While some spending is sure to be constrained by high unemployment, some consumers are apparently willing to pay full price for some fashion items now rather than waiting for a discount later

Facebook is leading tech to a Minsky moment, much like the one finance faced a decade ago. Since then, Mark Zuckerberg’s social network feasted on burgeoning data and devices, just as banks gorged on easy money. Society’s focus on benefits over risk gave them free rein – until the resulting abuses couldn’t be overlooked. As user trust in Silicon Valley evaporates, regulation beckons, as it did for Wall Street. The financial crisis showed how boom conditions can make almost everyone complicit. Consumers and lawmakers were too beguiled by the prospect of extending home ownership and driving up household wealth to