As citizens continue to grapple with inflationary pressures amid rising interest rates, growing unemployment, and declining personal financial health, consumer spending is among the few sources of current economic expansion.

Inflation has become the defining feature of the consumer landscape of the last few years. The economic shadow cast by monetary policy interventionism in the face of the COVID pandemic. It saps consumers' purchasing power, undermines retailers' pricing strategies, and roils both economic calculation and financial management. Much has been said at AIER about the increasingly questionable state of spending capacity over the past quarter or so.

Although Black Friday is a day of discounts, rebates, and other sales promotions, examining the price changes in the most-marketed merchandise categories may provide some insights as to what consumers face this year.