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Do brands and retailers use inflation as an excuse to raise prices more than necessary?

ended 23. July 2026

53% of Brits lay the blame at the government when prices for goods go up, compared to just 16% who would blame the supermarkets themselves and 18% who put price rises down to ‘corporate greed’, according to new Omnisend data.

Meanwhile, only 9% of people believe the manufacturers are responsible for price rises.

Despite the daily headlines on the economic effects of the conflict in the Middle East, less than a quarter of consumers (23%) blame that the most for rising prices.

However, compared to six months ago, 35% of people say that they have less faith in retailers to raise prices only when they need to. 28% of people say that they have never trusted companies on pricing.

Finally, a whopping 86% of consumers believe that brands and retailers often use inflation as an excuse to raise prices more than necessary.

  • Do brands and retailers use inflation as an excuse to raise prices more than necessary?
  • Who is to blame for prices going up?
  • Will it lead to less goods/services being bought if people feel prices are too high?

Responses by tomorrow.

1 responses from the Newspage community

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Editor
Harvey Dhillon
Founder & CEO at Zmartly
Most price rises are not decided in a boardroom. They arrive as bills.

Take a café. The owner pays 15 per cent National Insurance on each person's wages above £5,000 a year, with under-21s the main exception. The Employment Allowance takes up to £10,500 off that bill, then it runs out. Energy and supplier costs land on top. The menu is where all of it shows up.

Is greed the answer? Mostly no, but not entirely. Keep the same mark-up on a bigger cost and the cash you keep grows too. That is arithmetic, not a plot. But prices go up fast and come down slowly, and that is where goodwill goes.

Will people buy less? Yes, quietly. They trade down, buy own brand and skip the extras. Inflation, out this morning, is 2.6 per cent, so prices are still rising, just more slowly.

The 86 per cent who think they are being had are saying something simple: nobody tells them why a price moved. Put the reason on the shelf edge, and most shoppers will accept it.