I own a hair salon. Typically, November is my busiest season. It has been SO quiet. A lot of my colleagues are also saying the same thing and have had to close up shop because of it - or get a second job.
People keep saying it will get better and the economy will bounce back but I don’t know. I am so close from just throwing in the towel, closing up shop and getting a corporate gig.
Year on year inflation though the start of November was under 4%. Inflation is back into the long term normal range.
But savings from the COVID era are all spent. Interest rates are still high, so folk who’ve had to move are spending more on home loans. Rental rates have skyrocketed, so renters have less cash. And, as others mentioned, student loans restarted so a third of the population just lost a significant amount of disposable income. That alone might be the biggest change.