In the last twenty years of low inflation, we've seen the rise of super discounters like Poundland and Dollar Tree, where most of the items in the store are priced at £1 or $1.
They achieved this low pricing in two ways - one was buying cheap goods from Eastern Europe or China, and the other was buying end-of-line surplus goods from manufacturers at a discount.
For example you could go into Poundland and buy Colgate toothpaste for £1 - it was definitely Colgate, but the ingredients on the box were written in Hungarian or some such foreign language. It had clearly been produced for some foreign market, who had sold their surplus stock to Poundland at a discount.
But what happens when inflation rears it's ugly head, not just here but everywhere on earth, making discounted goods hard to source?
Dollar Tree in the United States has thrown in the towel and raised prices from $1 to $1.25.
Poundland in the UK is still sticking to £1, but report being in some pain. They say shipping costs have risen ten-fold, but are absorbing the costs for now. They're hoping costs come down next year.
If central banks don't get a grip over inflation, these cheap and cheerful shops that helped the poorest in society (plus those who loved a bargain), will be consigned to the dustbin of history.
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A growing number of items in Poundland are now £2 or £3. They may need to change their name.