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By Hugh Cameron
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The number of American businesses planning to raise their prices has shot up in recent months, underscoring widespread commercial pressures and leaving companies with the difficult task of addressing these while still appealing to an increasingly cost‑conscious customer base.
A survey of hundreds of small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by Website Builder Expert, published last month, found that nearly half (48 percent) plan on hiking prices within the next six months. This is up from only 36 percent last year, a shift researchers said reflected growing efforts by business owners to “save money by reducing costs internally.”
“With unstable tariff shifts, rising inflation, and tax fees hitting businesses hard, it is becoming increasingly difficult to plan ahead financially, as these shifts are becoming too unpredictable,” the group’s research executive Olivia Masson told Newsweek. “In order to stabilize operational costs, SMBs are turning to a strategy within their full control: raising prices for customers.”
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Why It Matters
Other surveys have revealed that businesses are planning similar moves in order to manage economic uncertainties and offset anticipated labor and cost pressures, during a time when many Americans are already struggling with the rising cost of living and associated financial strains.
Masson told Newsweek that businesses will have to balance this issue when raising their prices, being careful not to hike them beyond customer budgets and finding ways to justify the increased costs for their goods and services.
What To Know
According to the survey of over 300 businesses, conducted in January, of those considering raising prices, 17 percent plan to do so by between 8 and 12 percent, with 80 percent eyeing smaller hikes and 3 percent unsure of their strategy.
However, as Website Builder Expert noted, “While raising prices can protect your profit margins, it also puts you at risk of losing customers and sales to competitors,” and a quarter of the surveyed businesses said they had reservations about hiking costs for their goods and services.
A separate December survey from the executive coaching firm Vistage found that a similarly large share of U.S. businesses expected to hike prices over the coming months, which the group said reflected CEO caution about current economic conditions.
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However, both surveys were conducted prior to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling which annulled the majority of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs—a move that has been welcomed by the American business community given the reduction in import tax rates and the promise of refunds for those paid last year.
“The Supreme Court’s decision is welcome news for businesses and consumers,” said Neil Bradley, executive vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, following the decision.
“Over the past year, the chamber has been working with small and midsize businesses around the country that have seen significant cost increases and supply chain disruptions as a result of these tariffs,” he added. “Swift refunds of the impermissible tariffs will be meaningful for the more than 200,000 small business importers in this country and will help support stronger economic growth this year.”
What People Are Saying
Website Builder Expert researcher Olivia Masson told Newsweek: “While SMBs are being hit by these economic issues, so are their customers. The challenge for businesses is justifying the increased cost of their services. This is what leads businesses to offer personalized, high-impact support—they must find and prove alternative value, which can justify raised prices, and still entices cost-conscious consumers. This is SMBs' means of maintaining loyalty within their customer base.”
What Happens Next
The Trump administration has turned to alternative tariff authorities to impose his global duties following the Supreme Court ruling, though the average effective rate has been brought down as a result of the 6-3 decision.
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