Thread by @bopinion

It’s official: Americans are paying up for their favorite goods.

December saw the biggest 12-month gain in inflation since 1982. Procter & Gamble raised its sales outlook for the year to the end of June on the back of higher prices trib.al/ftA3lQJ

Consumers clearly aren’t balking at having to pay more for their groceries.

P&G said that so far, they were reacting to price increases more favorably than in the past.

Instead of pulling in the purse strings, consumers are trading up trib.al/9GGkW7e

A little inflation is good for manufacturers and retailers alike. The value of sales expands, and consumers get used to paying more at the check-out counter.

It’s a problem when price rises grow rampant trib.al/9GGkW7e

We probably haven’t seen the last of grocery price hikes, even with manufacturers putting in place their own cost-cutting programs.

The majority of the increases P&G announced hasn’t taken effect yet trib.al/9GGkW7e

Up until now, many consumers’ incomes have been bolstered by pandemic savings and stimulus payments. That cushion is deflating fast.

Add in the likely prospect of higher borrowing costs, and household spending power may be squeezed trib.al/9GGkW7e

Amid the collision between price hikes and stretched budgets, consumers may be tempted to trade down from P&G’s products to cheaper labels.

That hasn’t happened yet. But consumer goods groups can’t take shoppers’ recent penchant for paying up for granted trib.al/9GGkW7e