![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1d6419be13aa9280d0a4132d991ec3d3adfaaaf85e9396b2f7a52ebb2dd15b00.png\")
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September 15, 2026 \u2014 12:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s inflation woes are spreading out from the fuel sector to everything from discount fast food meals to premium computers, keeping inflation higher as merchants begin to price in costs that they had once tried to absorb.<\/p>\n Over the past year, food and beverage prices rose 3.2 per cent, alcohol prices gained 4.5 per cent, and clothing and footwear increased 4.8 per cent on average according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a bunch of businesses who haven\u2019t shifted their prices or haven\u2019t shifted them much because they keep hoping price shocks will be temporary,\u201d said independent economist Chris Richardson. \u201cBut as this looks more and more like a forever war, businesses will build that into their pricing.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran has kept the Strait of Hormuz largely closed amid its ongoing conflict with the US under President Donald Trump, while the Houthi militia movement in Yemen has curbed shipping through the Red Sea. Both steps have sharply curbed oil coming out of the key region.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople know they used to be better off,\u201d Richardson said. \u201cThose fuel prices are starting to wreak havoc upstream and that will hit downstream everywhere from supermarkets and your Amazon purchases.\u201d<\/p>\n McSmart meals<\/p>\n In mid-2025, McDonald\u2019s froze the price of its McSmart Meal (two burgers, fries, and a drink; or three nuggets or a sundae instead of a second burger) at $7 for 12 months, but that freeze is now over. It will now cost you $7.95 to get a McSmart Meal, which now offers the option of a hash brown, apple pie or cookies \u2013 all smaller items \u2013 instead of a second burger.<\/p>\n The more affordable offer, the $6.95 \u2018McSmart Saver\u2019, will get you a hamburger, small fries and a drink, and three nuggets \u2013 but is only available on the MyMacca\u2019s app.<\/p>\n Macbooks, phones, and tech<\/p>\n Billed as Apple\u2019s \u201cmost affordable laptop ever\u201d, the Macbook Neo launched in Australia earlier this year at a starting price of $899 \u2013 but in late June, Apple lifted its prices around the world, pointing to the data centre boom that has resulted in a shortage of storage and memory parts (nicknamed \u201cRAMageddon\u201d<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Reserve Bank\u2019s assistant governor Sarah Hunter called out the AI boom as a contributor to global economic and inflation risks.<\/p>\n \u201cAnyone who\u2019s bought a new iPhone recently might have noticed that the price went up quite a bit. That\u2019s actually true for consumer electronics more generally,\u201d she said on Monday.<\/p>\n \u201cIt certainly doesn\u2019t move an aggregate needle, but it\u2019s just to give you an example of that global environment potentially being more inflationary.\u201d<\/p>\n Grocery staples<\/p>\n Supermarkets are one of the first to see how our purchasing patterns change, and Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have all announced lower shelf prices in recent months to keep shoppers on side.<\/p>\n Swathes of pantry items now cost more than they did just months ago. A four-pack of Mother energy drink that would have cost $9.30 in June, is now $14.50, according to figures provided by grocery price comparison site WiseList.<\/p>\n German discount supermarket Aldi isn\u2019t immune from price hikes either. A box of White Mill banana bread mix that was $1.99 six months ago is now $2.49.<\/p>\n Economists are flagging more pain to come. With harvest season now kicking in, higher diesel and fertiliser costs are yet to be passed on. \u201cIt\u2019s not over yet,\u201d said Richardson.<\/p>\n Cafe and restaurantsRelated Article Hospitality operators have been struggling with higher electricity, wage, and ingredient costs for years. Consultant and Catering HQ managing director Steve Sidd said his business has overhauled its menus across over 30 venues. Food costs, which usually cover around 30 per cent, had to be reduced to 25 and 26 per cent<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been so many costs we\u2019ve had to absorb this year alone,\u201d Sidd said. \u201cWe can only sustain so much, absorb so much cost before passing onto the consumer. We\u2019ve had no choice but to put prices up.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe scary part is, there\u2019s only so much our customers are willing to pay as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Sidd has introduced more weekly specials to tempt diners in during the week, but has removed specials during the busy weekend period to maximise margins. In one instance, a popular lamb dish that had been sold for more than a decade had to be removed from the menu as lamb prices hit record highs, and replaced with a seafood dish.<\/p>\n \u201cI know my customers are not willing to pay for it,\u201d said Sidd. \u201cBut if I didn\u2019t do it, I\u2019d have to close my doors. We\u2019d go belly up.\u201d<\/p>\n He predicts that other operators, which aren\u2019t adjusting menu prices and even discounting meals, will not survive. \u201cMore and more businesses are closing their doors every day. It\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n The Business Briefing newsletter delivers major stories, exclusive coverage and expert opinion. Sign up to get it every weekday morning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Everyday](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/e8ab2ea578809dca707e0d39d4b5b09c70dd5949.jpeg\")
Everyday essentials, discount fast food, and Macbooks have all increased in price. MATT WILLIS <\/p>\n![\"Labor](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3e04374925d9452d1fed7c54e0b35bad175fc854.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1789447096_818_1d6419be13aa9280d0a4132d991ec3d3adfaaaf85e9396b2f7a52ebb2dd15b00.png\")
Jessica Yun<\/a> is a business reporter covering retail and food for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 15, 2026 \u2014 12:00pm Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":892476,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[64,63,99],"class_list":["post-892475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=892475"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/892475\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/892476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=892475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=892475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=892475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}