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January 26, 2025 | Tom Ballard

Tennessee places third on list of states most impacted by inflation

The study was completed by SumUp, a financial services company that serves more than four million merchants across the globe.

A new report by fintech company SumUp reveals the U.S. states that were hit the hardest by inflation, and guess what? Tennessee ranked as the third most impacted state.

Noting the Volunteer State’s high ranking, SumUp’s analysis suggested that “83 percent of our participants said they were actively monitoring inflation, and all of our participants from Tennessee said that they’ve had to adjust their strategies because of it. Finally, 33 percent admitted that the measures they have been implementing have been unsuccessful.”

Among the other findings about Tennessee were these:

  1. 97 percent claimed having been negatively impacted by inflation in the past 24 months;
  2. 86 percent had to adjust their pricing strategy because of inflation; and
  3. 92 percent expect a negative impact on their profitability in 2025.
  4. 33 percent have seen their strategy to combat inflation fail

The most impacted areas of the business were: employee wages and benefits, distribution costs, and customer demand. The most popular step to mitigate inflation was to increase prices.

Topping the list was Maine followed by South Dakota. After Tennessee in third place, the other states in the top 10 were Mississippi (#4), Iowa (#5), Nevada (#6), Alaska (#7), Virginia (#8), Michigan (#9), and Utah (#10).

Hardest Hit Industries:

In the top spot with a score of 80.73 was the leisure and sport/entertainment and recreation industry. When asked about the specific areas impacted, 80 percent of the participants mentioned customer demand and pricing, with 60 percent commenting on operating costs.

The second industry most impacted was wholesale and distribution, totaling a score of 79.15. Eighty percent of the respondents revealed they are expecting a negative impact on profitability in the next 12  months, with 25 percent mentioning that the strategies they’ve implemented have been unsuccessful.

The real estate and property services industry placed third, with a score of 78.55. Again, 80 percent of participants highlighted the negative impacts of inflation, and a whopping 90 percent revealed that they’ve had to adjust their pricing strategy.

For the automotive industry, with a total score of 70.30, SumUp writes that it appears supply chain and distribution costs have been heavily impacted, with 100 percent of participants mentioning this. Placing fifth was the transport and storage industry, which scored 68.00. Again, 100 percent of participants mentioned the negative impact of inflation, with 60 percent also admitting they’re expecting a similar story over the next 12 months.

SumUp is a British financial technology company headquartered in London. The company’s primary product is an EMV card reader and a number of online payment and bank account systems for merchants and businesses. SumUp supports more than four million merchants in three dozen markets worldwide and operates business tools created specifically for the micro and nano segment.



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