Inflation dampens otherwise bright small biz holiday season

By Mae Anderson
AP Business Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — In some ways, the bustling holiday shopping season feels like a return to pre-pandemic days: More people are out and about, shopping in groups and buying for themselves as well as gifts. And there’s plenty of merchandise to select from because the supply chain snags that plagued last Christmas have largely subsided. But small retailers say this year is still far from “normal” because decades-high inflation is forcing them to raise prices and making shoppers rein in the uninhibited spending seen in 2021 when they were flush with pandemic aid or gains from the stock market.