Price hikes are coming — at lightning speed

***From Business Insider’s Emily Stewart***:

If you feel like you have no idea what anything’s supposed to cost anymore, you’re not alone. The [pandemic](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-prices-inflation-soaring-corporate-greed-profits-margins-wages-jobs-2023-4) and subsequent bout of [inflation](https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-march-cpi-consumer-price-index-federal-reserve-interest-rates-2025-4) sent prices all over the place, and now we’re facing down whatever is going on with [tariffs](https://www.businessinsider.com/winners-and-losers-trump-tariff-pause-stock-prices-2025-4) at any given moment. Unfortunately, our collective state of sticker “Huh?” is likely to get worse. Thanks to a whipsawing economic landscape and the magic of technology, prices can change faster than ever — the price you see in the morning may not be the same that same afternoon. Maybe that new price tag is the result of changing supply and demand dynamics. Maybe it’s tariffs. Maybe it’s corporate funny business. The unfunny part is that it’s impossible for many consumers to know.

You might remember the brief dustup around [Wendy’s](https://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-surge-dynamic-pricing-controversy-fast-food-cost-uber-airlines-2024-2) and [dynamic pricing](https://www.businessinsider.com/inflation-dynamic-pricing-surge-cost-fatigue-2024-7) last year. Its CEO said on an earnings call that the company was going to test out price variations and menu changes, and the internet did a little bit of a freakout. The episode was a sign of the times: [Rapid-fire price changes](https://www.businessinsider.com/wendys-surge-pricing-burgers-fries-2024-2) are everywhere. Thanks to digital price tags, QR codes, and the shift to online shopping, it’s easier than ever for companies to move prices at the drop of a hat. The pandemic helped firms get more agile at reacting to shocks to the system. Instability represents a prime opportunity to make adjustments, including to a business’ benefit.

“Given this really uncertain, volatile environment, if you’re a company who’s been thinking of doing dynamic pricing, it could be a good opportunity,” said Z. John Zhang, a marketing professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business who studies pricing strategies and targeting. “This could be a good occasion, a good excuse, an alibi for them to move in that direction.”

[Read more](https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-tariffs-dynamic-pricing-inflation-costs-china-trade-2025-4?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=insider-futurology-sub-post).

Cool. Thanks for pushing me to stop buying things I don’t absolutely need!