Consumers in the United States are bearing the brunt of sweeping developments in the business landscape, according to experts who say decades of mergers and market power have left customers paying more for less. A Delta Airlines customer recently chose a dangerous overnight bus ride across the Mexico border rather than pay $1,200 to change a flight, illustrating growing consumer frustration.
Marie Duggan, an economic historian, was charged $1,200 by Delta to change a scheduled flight from Oaxaca, Mexico, to Phoenix instead of San Francisco. She cancelled and took a $250 Aeromexico flight to Hermosillo, then a $59 bus across the border, despite Sonora being on the US State Department's 'reconsider travel' list due to terrorism and crime. 'I thought, Ha! You think I have no choice, but I know that there is a bus,' Duggan said. A Delta spokesman said the airline uses 'dynamic ticket prices' with 'clear rules that determine pricing based on objective details.'
Record Profits, Record Complaints
US corporate profits after tax hit a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $3.7 trillion by the end of 2024, about double the 2012 level, and rose to $3.9 trillion in the first quarter of 2026 despite tariff impacts. As a percentage of GDP, corporate profits reached a post-World War II high of 15.8% in the fourth quarter of 2025, while employee compensation dropped to less than 10%. KPMG chief economist Diane C Swonk noted the gap between profits and compensation is 'a measure of inequality, which creates social and economic instability.'
Consumer sentiment hit a new low in the University of Michigan's 60-year survey, while complaints about goods and services surged 16% in the first quarter of 2026, according to the American Consumer Satisfaction Index. Yet customer retention has increased, said founder Claes Fornell, because consumers often have no other options.
Market Consolidation Limits Choices
Decades of mergers have reduced competition across industries. Four airlines control nearly 70% of the US market, up from over 20 airlines in the 1970s. Four giant food-producing companies dominate at least 50% of the market for popular groceries. Telecom mergers have created one-stop giants for mobile, internet, and entertainment.
Michael Mooney, a retired small business owner in Holland, Michigan, struggled to cancel his Spectrum cable package, facing long wait times and price hikes. 'I would jump to another company in a heartbeat, but as with many people I’m sure, there is no alternative company where I live,' Mooney said. 'I thought regional monopolies were illegal.'
Consumer Rage and Potential Fixes
Consumers are becoming 'reactive' and viewing brands as 'rivals or adversaries,' said Northeastern University marketing professor Alexander DePaoli. Author Cory Doctorow, who wrote 'Enshitification: Why everything suddenly got worse and what to do about it,' compared the situation to airport water pricing: 'It’s not because they’re evil, it’s because you can’t go anywhere else to buy your water.'
Bipartisan lawmakers have introduced 40 bills in 24 states in 2026 to curb 'surveillance pricing,' where companies use personal data to set individual prices. New class action lawsuits target JetBlue and others. 'The incredible exponential growth in efforts to contain dynamic pricing suggests we may be reaching a tipping point,' said Lindsay Owens of the Groundwork Collaborative.
States and cities are passing rules on junk fees and surveillance pricing. Susan Weinstock of the Consumer Federation of America said, 'Once California and New York pass the laws, industry has to listen because that’s a lot of customers.'
