Consumer News: Shoppers see more empty grocery shelves, inflation hits 39 year high and more

Consumer News with ABC Columbia is brought to you by Grow Financial.

CNN– Empty shelves at grocery stores are becoming more and more common, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. Consumers say they’re having trouble finding milk, bread, meats and even energy drinks. Besides supply chain issues being the problem, surging COVID-19 cases are also to blame. Grocery stores say worker shortages are causing transportation and logistic issues, which is delaying deliveries. The National Grocers Association says many of its members have less than 50% of their normal workforce.

ABC NEWS– On top of dwindling grocery shelves, Americans are also pinching their pennies as prices at grocery stores spike. That rise is being caused by a number of factors, but when will it end? ABC’s Deirdre Bolton looked into what’s costing us more, and if we could soon see relief at the register.

CNN– It’s not just groceries that are seeing a rise in prices, but everything we’re buying is now costing us more. The Bureau of Labor Statics reports that inflation hit a 39 year high, rising 7% in 12 months. That’s the steepest climb in prices since June 1982. It was also a faster rate of increase than November’s 6.8%, and much higher than economists had predicted.