Coming off the July Fourth holiday, The Conversation checked in with shoppers. But instead of asking, "What’s in your cart?" HPR wondered, "What's not in your cart?" What is just too expensive to buy and why?
HPR went around town asking shoppers what they were missing from their baskets. Here's what Tim, Katie, and Kathleen had to say going into the weekend.
“I just came from the grocery store, and I literally bought two bags of beef jerky, which each bag costs like $10,” Tim said.
“I was just at Safeway, and I was shocked by the price of produce and meat. ... So we were just talking about what to grill. It's probably going to be chicken. Normally we surf and turf, shrimp and steak, but yeah, things are a bit different this year," Katie said.
“Absolutely, like across the board, like cooking is my happy place,” Kathleen said. “If I'm not at work, I want to be home making a huge family meal that we all get to come together and celebrate, and that menu has definitely changed over the last couple of years, and it's sad, but we find new ways to do it.”
HPR also learned that some items aren't in your cart because they aren't on the shelf to begin with.
The Conversation stopped by India Market at its South Beretania Street location for about 25 years. Owner Shereen Khan said he was planning on staying open all weekend.
As a small family business, he couldn't afford to close for the holiday. Between the tariffs and supply chain issues, though, some of his customers' favorite items aren't in stock.
Here is how he is maintaining the 10% updated tariff rate imposed by the Trump administration.
“It was 18% (then) 20%, and we've had stock of items prior to that, and we were kind of pre-prepared that we knew some drastic things were coming, but then again, during this process, I mean, it's a nightmare," Khan said. "Things are not coming here on time. We try to get things here. (We) order 10 cases, they only send us one case. A lot of frozen products are basically held back due to FDA requirements, but apparently we are here. We're still surviving."
He added that many of their products are from Europe. However, conflicts in other countries have affected factories causing delays in shipment.
As a business owner, Khan said he has noticed changes in customers shopping habits, though he encourages them to hang in there.
"We used to have people come in, and for one thing, and they would buy a whole bunch of stuff, but now they even come up to me and say, 'Hey, you know what, Shereen, I'm sorry, we just came in for one thing,'" he said.
"There's nothing we can do," Khan said. "It's beyond our control, you know, we live on an island where you know we are in a middle ocean supported by Matson, which is monopoly. They are the only ones that can bring in items, (we) just have to pay what they ask for."
This story aired on The Conversation on July 6, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
