Within the past few months, students and businesses in downtown San Mateo have been experiencing the effects of inflation. The rising prices are in line with those across the nation, especially pertaining to the energy and food industries. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, food prices in the Bay Area have increased 2.1% since the beginning of summer and 10% within the past year. These increases can be seen in local food and retail stores, as well as Aragon’s campus.
Downtown San Mateo provides a place for Aragon students to hang out or buy something to eat or drink. Sophomore Ethan Chu talked about how rising prices have changed his behavior when going downtown.
“I generally avoid the places with increased prices unless I really [like] them,” Chu said. “I only go treat myself if I [get] a good grade on a test.” Chu added that if prices continue to rise, it would cause him to go out less.
“It makes me [more likely to] hit the no tip button after I see $8 for a boba,” Chu said.
Other students are more interested in saving money or spending it on something more valuable to them.
“I’m trying to save up for my future and for things I want to get [for myself],” said sophomore Sabeeha Sheikh. “If I were to spend a really big amount of money on boba, or anything in general downtown, it would be a complete waste, because you could just go to another store and get the same thing there for less of a price.”
In addition to impacting students, businesses have had to incur several additional costs over the course of the pandemic and inflation from their suppliers.
“It makes me [more likely to] hit the no tip button after I see $8 for a boba”
“The vendors increased their prices, and if they didn’t increase the prices, they increased [the] fuel charge,” said Rafat Haddad, owner of 3 Bees Coffee House in downtown San Mateo. “Also, customers may be buying less. So instead of buying $20 worth of transactions, they may be buying $15.”
Energy prices have increased 36.4% within the past year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Fuel surcharges are an added fee for supplies due to higher-than-usual fuel prices, one reason why the goods students buy are being inflated so much.
Due to increased prices of gas and goods, there is an expectation of higher wages from employees.
“If they were to bring the wage up, it would be much better for teenagers because you never know what’s happening in one’s house,” said Sheikh, a salon employee. “You need the money to be able to buy things that benefit you, and maybe support your family too.”
In addition to expected wage bumps, the businesses also face challenges like decreased customer retention and difficult customer expectations.
“We have to promote [and] incentivize people,” Haddad said. “[We need to] give them an incentive so they’ll come in and buy. Maybe we’ll give deals and that will eat your profit too. But you have to do all this stuff just to bring people in.”
“I generally avoid the places with increased prices unless I really [like] them”
Paulo Rossetto, owner of Mr. Pizza Man and Mr. Taco Man in downtown San Mateo, has noticed a trend in stores, where they interfere with supply to raise prices.
“[Businesses] let the shelves go empty … for weeks, [and] when they put it back on the shelves, they raise the price,” Rossetto said. “It’s a simple thing to do if you have lots of demand.”
Haddad shared his own optimistic outlook on trends for those looking to buy downtown.
“[Inflation] is not affecting the overall economy locally,” Haddad said. “We don’t see the effect of inflation as much as we should see or in a different year … people are willing to still spend because they have a job.”
However, students without a job may feel resistant toward repeatedly asking their parents for more money as prices increase.
“If people were to ask their parents for money, they would feel bad,” Sheikh said. “Because your parents are working really hard to support a family and pay rent and [by] continuously asking your parents for money, we’re just taking [money away from them].”
As higher prices continue to affect the local community, the United States Department of Agriculture predicts that rapid rates of inflation in the food industry will slow back to normal to about 2-3% nationally in 2023, down from about 10-11% in 2022.
In the meantime, Aragon students have to contend with the question of how to continue paying for their local habits.
