Beginning in 2021, the United States inflation rate started to increase rapidly. In 2020, we saw an annual inflation rate of 1.4% which rose to 7% in 2021, and 8.6% in 2022. High Inflation impacts all aspects of consumption. Inflation initially impacted Walmart's food business but has since begun to impact other SBUs. Since households are spending more on food, there is less discretionary income being spent on general merchandise. High increase in fuel prices also adversely affect our business. The key question that we are trying to address is this:
What are a few short and long-term strategic initiatives Walmart could implement in order to keep prices low and maintain gross profits in the face of rampant inflation and growing economic uncertainty?