Menukust

Menukust, or menu cost, is an economics term describing the costs a firm incurs when changing its listed prices. The concept arises from practical expenses such as reprinting menus or price lists, relabeling products, updating point-of-sale and inventory software, and communicating new prices to customers. Menu costs include both tangible costs and informational frictions, as well as potential reputational effects if customers react negatively to price changes. In macroeconomics and microeconomics, menu costs are cited as a source of price rigidity: even when market conditions would justify a price change, firms may postpone adjustments because the costs exceed the benefits. This can slow transmission of shocks to inflation or real activity. The idea is often illustrated by the restaurant menu example; changing a restaurant's prices requires more than choosing different items, including reprinting menus and notifying patrons. With digital technology, some components of menu costs have diminished, but others persist in different forms such as updating online catalogs, price tags, or dynamic pricing systems. Nevertheless, the concept remains a standard explanation for why prices do not adjust instantaneously in response to demand shifts, input-cost changes, or monetary policy. Related terms include price stickiness and price adjustment costs; the concept is central in New Keynesian economics.