"There will be another rush of price increases in April"
The outlook is grim now that prices are still rising.

Meanwhile, students who are starting a new life are reducing their expenses by "hand-me-downs," and new "sharing" services are spreading among shoppers.

How long will this high price increase continue? We will tell you in detail along with the expert Q&A.

Welcoming new students is... Home appliances!?

At the Japan Institute of Technology in Saitama Prefecture, home appliances and furniture were being collected for April.

Students volunteer to collect home appliances and furniture that they no longer need from graduates and give them to new students.

About 140 items such as refrigerators and washing machines were collected. Volunteer students cleaned each piece with cloths and cotton swabs.

Due to the impact of high prices, the cost of starting a new life is expected to be higher than before, and the needs of new students are expected to be higher than usual.

graduate

"When I was a first-year student, I was given a free electric fan, which helped me a lot, so when I graduated, I thought I would give it to myself."

Committee Leader Hayashi Akazawa

"Every year, I hear from not only new students but also their parents that this is a very grateful initiative, and I hope that we can make the new students happy and reduce the financial burden as much as possible."

【April: New life is in a rush of price increases】

The university's efforts to reduce the burden on new students. However, in April, when the new students enter the school, there will be a rush of price increases again.

According to a survey by Teikoku Databank, in April, in addition to wiener products, there were a series of price increases for milk, butter, yogurt products, etc., and the number of items reached 4,4.

The number of items will be the highest after the "price increase rush" in October last year and last month, and it is said that the price increase rush will be again.

In addition, the pace of price increases has accelerated from last year, with a cumulative total of 10,1 items for food and beverages that have already been raised or scheduled to be raised, including "real price increases" that reduce the amount of content without re-raising prices or changing prices.

Credit bureaus have analyzed that many firms have not been able to sufficiently pass on the cost increase to prices, and that the burden on households will increase further because price increases will continue for the time being.

【Prices and wages】

Consumer Price Index Growth Remains High

The consumer price index is a measure of price movements of goods and services consumed at home. The index, excluding fresh food, which is highly variable due to weather, rose 2.3% in February last month and February from the same month last year.

The rate of increase slowed for the first time in one year and one month, as the government's measures to reduce the burden on electricity bills were contained.

However, due to a series of price increases in food products, "food excluding fresh food" rose 1.1%, continuing the highest level in 1 years and 7 months since July 8.

Real wages continue to decline

On the other hand, it is real wages. January was down 1.4% compared to the same month last year, marking the 1th consecutive month of negative growth.

This is the largest rate of decline in eight years and eight months since May 10, immediately after the consumption tax rate was raised from 5 percent to 8 percent.

In this year's spring negotiations, wage increases in line with price increases have become a major focus, and the momentum for wage increases is higher than usual, with a series of full responses as demanded by labor unions, mainly from major companies.

However, private think tanks have analyzed that it will be difficult for wage growth to exceed inflation, and that real wages will remain negative for the time being.

[New saving service "Share buying"]

Against the backdrop of severe price rises with an uncertain future, new services are being created.

The use of a service called "share buying" that invites acquaintances to make group purchases of groceries and daily necessities at low prices is increasing.

An event on the theme of saving money was held in Tokyo and about 40 people, including housewives, participated.

Participants visited the booths of companies that offer services called "share buying" and were briefed on how to save money.

How "Share Buying" works

"Share buying" is a service that allows you to purchase food and daily necessities listed on the app at a lower price than the list price if you call on acquaintances on SNS and a set number of people gather.

Since product information spreads through the call for group purchases, companies that list products on the app can provide them at a lower price because they do not have to spend advertising costs.

In many cases, you can buy it about 10% cheaper than the list price.

According to the company, the use of the service is increasing against the backdrop of rising prices and a growing awareness of savings, and the number of app downloads until last month was 138.1 million, more than doubling in the past year.

"Kauche" COO Kota Maemoto

"The number of people who want to buy daily necessities at a lower price is increasing, and as prices continue to rise, we would like to continue to provide services that will save as much as possible."

【Ask an Expert】

We asked Mr. Saisuke Sakai, Chief Economist of Mizuho Research & Technologies, about the future outlook.

Q.The rate of increase in the CPI has slowed this time, what do you think?

A.This time, the government's measures to address high prices pushed the growth rate down by about 1 percentage point.

Excluding this effect, the rate of increase will be almost the same as that in January, so the actual trend of inflation has not weakened.

Moves to pass on price increases, especially for food products, are continuing.

Q.How will the rate of increase change in the future?

A.Although the price hike will slow down from the peak in January, it is already clear that the price increase in food products will continue to be visible after March, and the rate of increase is expected to remain around 1% until the first half of this year.

Since prices of daily necessities will continue to rise, it is unlikely that the burden on households will be relieved for the time being.

Q.What is required now?

A. There is concern that the rise in prices will make consumers more inclined to save money, and that the pace of recovery in private consumption will slow downward the pace of recovery in economic activity as a whole.

It will be necessary to further promote wage increases to boost private consumption.

This year's spring negotiations are expected to result in higher wage increases than previously anticipated, and it is important to see if this momentum can be continued next year and beyond.

We are now at an important stage where prices, wages, and consumption are both rising, and we are being tested to see if we can lead to a virtuous economic cycle.