First of all, we must understand that rising prices are not equal to inflation. On the contrary, we are now facing the danger of deflation. There is more money in the market, but people's desire to spend money has not kept up. In February, the CPI of China was only 1%, which was lower than the target of the central bank. What does this mean? It shows that our economy has not fully recovered and needs more stimulus and support.
So, why do we feel that prices have gone up? This is because the goods and services we are concerned about are greatly affected by market supply and demand. Such as air tickets and hotels. Last year, because of the epidemic, people's travel was restricted and tourism was hit hard. As soon as it was released this year, people flocked out to make up for past losses. This leads to demand exceeding supply, and prices naturally rise. A scalper told Jin Yongjun, "It's the hardest to sell tickets this year. You have to increase the price to buy a music festival. It is simply' terror'. "
Such as mineral water, McDonald's. The price increase of these commodities is mainly due to the increase of raw materials and costs. Last year, high international oil prices made packaging materials such as plastics and cartons more expensive. The catering industry is also facing the pressure of raw materials and labor costs. According to the report released by Ai Media Consulting, the three highest costs in the catering industry are raw material cost, labor cost and three expenses. In order to ensure profits, businesses can only pass on the costs to consumers.
Of course, not all goods and services are rising in price. Some goods are even on sale, such as cars and electronic products. The demand potential of these commodities has not been fully released. Moreover, prices vary from region to region. According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics, in February, the highest CPI index of all provinces in China was 1.7% in Jiangsu, and the lowest was 0.3% in Guizhou. Therefore, our perception of prices is often limited and cannot reflect the real situation of the whole society.
In fact, from another perspective, the price increase of some goods and services is not all bad. It can reflect the recovery and vitality of tourism and catering industry, and also urge businesses to improve product quality and service level to meet consumers' higher-level needs. After all, in modern society, price is not the only factor that determines consumers' choice, but also experience, brand and word of mouth.