Spending and Inflation, Procurement Expenses, Impatience with AI Service Bots

THRIVE, a Paychex Business Podcast · Jul 2, 2026 · 10m

Americans seem undeterred by inflation hovering at 3.4%, as the personal consumption expenditures index rose 0.7% in May and is up 4.1% year over year. This could trigger raising interest rates, although host Gene Marks says a rate increase would be manageable. Gene also looks at Walmart Business uncovering the hidden costs of procurement, and what 60% of people dealing with AI-powered customer service bots say they do when faced with that situation. Listen to the podcast.

Topics:

00:00 – Introduction

00:19 – Consumer Spending and Inflation

04:15 – Hidden Costs of Procurement

06:07 – Response…