Tyler Schipper, associate professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of St. Thomas, shared insight on the “Marketplace” podcast examining why grocery prices remain elevated years after the pandemic. Schipper explained that while supply chain disruptions, tariffs and weather events have contributed to rising food costs, prices may not fall if consumer demand stays strong, noting that companies have little incentive to lower prices when shoppers continue to pay more at the checkout line.
From the conversation:
Bananas, beef, coffee and seafood are all more expensive than they were last year.
Nearly half of Americans say groceries have become harder to afford since 2024, according to a 2025 September survey from Axios and The Harris Poll.
Grocery prices were up 1.9% in November from the previous year, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data. While that’s a modest rate, grocery prices are up nearly 30% since the pandemic began. ...
If the cost of certain food products went up due to tariffs, then removing these taxes could ease prices, said Tyler Schipper, an associate professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas, in an interview with Marketplace last year.
However, if demand remains high even amid tariffs, companies won't see a need to lower the price. “Firms are profit-maximizing entities, and they're happy to keep their profits higher if consumers are willing to pay these higher prices,” Schipper said.
Tariff uncertainty can also affect how quickly retailers decide to lower prices. If they think the administration is going to change their tariff policies again, they might take a wait-and-see approach, (Joseph) Balagtas said.
