Prices are steadying and wages are climbing, new DoorDash report shows

[libertybele]

Prices are steadying and wages are climbing, new DoorDash report shows

Americans are finally catching their breath. A new DoorDash report shows that after years of rising prices, families are spending smarter, small businesses are holding steady and paychecks are beginning to go further.

The inaugural "State of Local Commerce" report, based on millions of DoorDash transactions, offers a look at how the U.S. economy is shifting on the ground.

To track those shifts, DoorDash analyzed affordability trends through three of its key measures: the Everyday Essentials Index, the Cheeseburger Index and the Breakfast Basics Index, which reflect price changes across household goods, restaurant meals and groceries.

The Everyday Essentials Index, which monitors the prices of staples like toothpaste, shampoo, toilet paper, laundry detergent, pain medicine and diapers, found that the average cost of these household items has remained largely flat over the past 12 months.

While household costs have held steady, fast-casual spending has inched slightly higher.

DoorDash’s Cheeseburger Index, which tracks the cost of a classic meal of a burger, fries and a soda, found prices up just 3.8% over the past year, rising from $17.90 to $18.58 nationally. But the picture looks very different from city to city. In Lincoln, Nebraska, the meal averages $10.75, while in Anchorage, Alaska, it jumps to $25.55................

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/prices-steadying-wages-climbing-new-doordash-report-shows

[libertybele]

Well, at least DoorDash has some legitimate reasoning for declaring prices steadying as opposed to some random data from the gov't. 

[libertybele]

Prices might becoming more steady, but stores are still closing....Wendy's is next.

Wendy's to close hundreds of US stores next year

Fast food giant Wendy’s plans to close hundreds of its U.S. stores next year as part of a broader effort to revive its domestic business, which has been under pressure from slowing sales.

Interim CEO Ken Cook said during the company's earnings call on Friday that a "mid-single-digit percentage" of its 6,011 U.S. restaurants are expected to close next year. A mid-single-digit percentage is about 4% to 6%, which means the least number of closures would be 241 stores.

FOX Business reached out to Wendy's for comment.

This comes as Wendy’s executives said that its business and sales "remain under pressure" and that it is "acting with urgency" to return sales at its U.S. stores to growth.

In its latest fiscal quarter, global sales were down 2.6% and sales at U.S. locations fell 4.7%. The company blamed the drop in U.S. sales largely on fewer customer visits, though this was partially offset by higher spending per order............

https://www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/wendys-close-hundreds-us-stores-next-year