Small business owners in the Midwest seeing stress from consumers

National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) survey data shows small business owners are feeling more optimistic about the economy but increasingly concerned about inflation, which has consistently been cited as their top operating problem for over a year.

FOX Business spoke with two Midwest small business owners Tuesday about their take on the economy, and both said that while their businesses are doing fine, many of their customers are not.

Penny Olson, owner of Waukesha Antique Mall in Waukesha, Wisconsin, says her business is doing well overall, but she has noticed a slowdown in foot traffic and an increase in people selling their heirlooms.

“I think that people are stressed out by politics and the economy, and this is kind of like their chocolate, you know,” Olson told FOX Business, “where they buy things for pleasure, to make them feel good.”

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Waukesha Antinque Mall has been in operation for 35 years, and Olson has owned the shop for the last 12. She said all of her business’s costs have gone up in recent years, from the electric bills to garbage pick-up to advertising, and that increase in expenses is “one thing that small businesses are really starting to feel.”

Olson has observed that consumers are already feeling it.

“More people are selling their things. They’re coming in to purge, to get money, because they want money — especially the elderly,” Olson said. “We’re noticing that they’re coming in more and more to sell their items, because they are having trouble keeping up with things… Some of them can’t afford their housing.”

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The owner of Ekart Automotive in Manhattan, Kansas, shared similar observations.

“Inflation is killing everybody,” said the owner, who asked not to be named but agreed to be quoted by FOX Business. “Before too long, they’re not going to be able to afford to fix their vehicles, and it’s already getting to that place right now.”

The owner of Ekart, which has been in business since 1954, said he is seeing customers that have nothing left over after spending their money on groceries and other necessities, and do not have the funds for vehicle maintenance like they used to. He’s noticed a trend that many are foregoing necessary repairs and just doing the bare minimum to keep their vehicles running.

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“We’ve had an established business in here for 75 years, so we’re going to be fine,” he said. “But as far as the general public, they’re not going to be fine if it keeps the way that it’s going.”

Small business owners have consistently cited inflation as their biggest concern in surveys for more than a year, and Midwest shops said they are worried about the toll on the consumer.