Companies are starting to roll back prices after years of increases


    After years of hiking prices, retailers, restaurants and other companies are now turning to discounts to win back customers who have begun closing their pocketbooks to goods that aren’t necessities, The Wall Street Journal reports. 

    Businesses that sell a range of products from IKEA sofas to Air Jordan sneakers have said in recent weeks that they have lowered prices this year. Many companies increased their prices in response to supply chain and labor cost pressures, and customers were still willing to dish out for those purchases. Now, demand for many goods that are not necessities has fallen, leaving companies to reconsider previous price increases. 

    While inflation has eased this year, many consumers remain strained by what amounts to higher prices than before the pandemic for necessities such as food, insurance and housing. In September, U.S. inflation eased to a three-year low but cooled more slowly than economists expected. 

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