Small businesses are hurting at the worst possible time

Enjou Chocolat, a small business in Morristown, New Jersey, is still strained by rising costs these days — from soaring cocoa prices to increased labor expenses.

Enjou Chocolat, a small business in Morristown, New Jersey, is still feeling the pain of inflation these days — from soaring cocoa prices to increased labor expenses. As a result, the chocolate shop, which employs just under two dozen employees, recently raised the prices of many treats for the third time over the past year. The move was met with customer fury, Mark Chinsky, a partner at the business, told CNN. He said one customer, who had been buying half-pound bags of foil chocolate for years at $10.99, reacted badly to being charged $4 more this time. “They said ‘that’s just a rip-off, and you’ve lost me as a customer,’ which really hurt to hear,” Chinsky said. Inflation is down considerably from the 40-year highs seen in 2022, but Americans still have a bitter aftertaste that played a role in handing President-elect Donald Trump a decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s US presidential election. Like everyday consumers, small businesses have also felt inflation’s wrath over the years — and they remain angry about it, according to monthly surveys from the National Federation of Independent Business. That’s because small businesses typically having tighter profit margins compared to behemoths like Walmart and Amazon, so they feel the sting of rising costs more acutely. It also means they’re often forced to pass on those costs to the customer. Having to raise prices couldn’t come at a worse time: The holiday season is a critical period for many of America’s small businesses, but it’s approaching at a time when consumers are feeling more emboldened than ever to push back on higher prices.