//Georgia businesses among hardest-hit states by inflation

Georgia businesses among hardest-hit states by inflation

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IN OTHER NEWS – A new report finds that Georgia businesses are among the hardest-hit states by inflation in the past 24 months.

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With inflation rates showing an increase in the last two months and wholesale prices continuing to climb, the cost of living remains a challenge for millions of Americans, whether they are consumers or business owners.

A new report by fintech company SumUp reveals the U.S. that are hit the hardest by inflation. The comprehensive survey aimed to find how inflation impacted businesses across the U.S. in the past 24 months. The main findings are:

Georgia

  • 84% claimed having been negatively impacted by inflation in the past 24 months
  • 95% had to adjust their pricing strategy because of inflation
  • 68% expect a negative impact on their profitability in 2025
  • 16% have seen their strategy to combat inflation fail
  • The most impacted areas of the business were: Operating costs, supply chains and customer demand
  • The most popular steps to mitigate inflation were: Increase prices and reduce operating costs

The survey focused on 4 key areas: the national impact of inflation on businesses, the states most impacted, the most impacted industries, and small businesses.

The states most impacted by inflation

Despite the recent decrease in the inflation rate over last summer, many are still feeling the lingering effect of inflation, especially businesses. In fact, 84% had to adjust their pricing strategy over the past year and 64% predicted that their profitability would be impacted by inflation in the new year.

RankStateImpact Score (out of 100)
1Maine80.40
2South Dakota80.00
3Tennessee76.60
4Mississippi75.00
5Iowa73.20
6Nevada72.00
7Alaska70.00
8Virginia68.00
9Michigan67.20
10Utah66.60

Maine tops our ranking with a score of 80.40. 100% of those we surveyed in Maine mentioned the increase in energy costs, and all our Maine participants also said that they’d delayed either investments or hiring in an attempt to mitigate the impact of inflation. However, while Maine tops our ranking, only 1% stated that the strategies had been unsuccessful, signalling that progress has been made.

South Dakota ranked second with a slightly lower score of 80.00. All South Dakotan business owners claimed they were still closely monitoring inflation, and they all also mentioned that they’ve had to delay the speed of investments and hiring over the past two years. It’s an even split success wise, with 50% mentioning that strategies have been unsuccessful.

Tennessee stands in the third place, with a total score of 76.60. 83% of business owners said they were actively monitoring inflation, but all of them admitted to having to adjust their strategies because of it. Finally, 33% admitted that the measures they have been implementing have been unsuccessful.

Mississippi and Iowa complete the top 5 of the most impacted states across the US. Business owners.


Small businesses are also struggling

When it comes to smaller businesses, 92% have admitted having felt the negative impact of inflation on their business in the past two years. 7 in 10 admitted that operational costs (such as energy and materials) were a standout issue.

Looking towards 2025, 75% of business owners expect profitability to go down in the next year, despite customer demand and pricing having been brought up for nearly half (47%) of businesses.

Many in smaller industries seem to have put strategies in place, with 63% admitting that they’ve had to raise prices to keep up with increased costs. 30% mentioned that they’ve diversified suppliers, and 35% stated they’ve had to delay investment and hiring.


For more information about the study, please visit: https://www.sumup.com/en-us/business-guide/inflation-intelligence/