West Michigan consumers are ‘maxed out and worried,' expert tells business leaders

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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Business leaders were encouraged to be resilient during the annual Grand Rapids Chamber West Michigan CEO Summit Tuesday as an economic expert walked them through a worried consumer base.
Hundreds of business leaders gathered at the JW Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids for the event, which was headlined by former Michigan State University football coach Mark D'Antonio. Speakers talked about resilience in business and what to expect in the current economy.
'If we can help our business leaders become better leaders, they're going to create stronger teams that create stronger companies that create a stronger and growing West Michigan,' Grand Rapids Chamber Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Andy Johnston said. 'Learning from each other — things that work, things that aren't working, challenges, opportunities — is going to help people develop that leadership skill and tie into our theme of having a resilient edge.'
'Being able to bring together CEOs here in West Michigan and beyond together to share ideas, build relationships, find that resilient edge and ultimately create opportunities — thrilled to be part of that,' Acrisure President John Tuttle, one of the speakers, told News 8.
For speaker Andrew Havemeier, the owner and operating partner of Hall Street Bakery and Wealthy Street Bakery, resilience is powering through. He shared his story of battling addiction before turning to Guiding Light in Grand Rapids.
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'Guiding Light saved my life,' he told the audience.
'In my life I've battled with homelessness and addiction and came out on the other side,' he later told News 8. 'So now is when the real work is going on. The real resilience is when you're trusting that this new way of life is going to yield results and is the best way.'
Former MSU football coach D'Antonio shared the values he aimed to instill in his players: communication, commitment, trust, effort, toughness and knowledge.
Alongside stories of resilience, economic expert Paul Isely, associate dean at Grand Valley State University's Seidman College of Business, walked the audience through the current economic conditions while cautioning business leaders not to freeze in this period of uncertainty.
He said consumers 'are maxed out and … worried.' The number of people between the ages of 30 to 49 who are 90 or more days late on their car payments is near what it was in 2008 during the recession, he noted.
'This is a little scary,' he told the audience.
Republicans are less worried than Democrats, he noted — 'Red' areas will be more willing to make riskier investments — and independents are more worried now than they were prior to the election.
Food prices and restaurant prices are increasing at a higher rate than the median household income, and consequently many food chains saw decreases in their first quarter sales. Isely said that chains that did see first quarter increases are focused and marketing on low prices. He said the same story is apparent when looking at retailers.
As West Michigan deals with a housing crisis, he noted the area's new housing builds are outpacing population growth. As a result, rent increases are weakening in Kent and Ottawa counties.
He noted that some 'disruptors' are impacting businesses in West Michigan, including interest rates, AI and tariffs. Businesses should not expect interest rates to lower, he said, as there has been a lot of foreign capital outflow while outsiders stop saving funds in the U.S. Those higher interest rates — which he said will be similar to those in Europe — are bearable for local businesses if leaders plan for it, he said.
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AI is changing the types of jobs people are doing and there will be a 'short period of pain' as people in their 50s lose their jobs to AI, Isely said. But overall, he encouraged businesses to 'lean in' on AI as West Michigan is short on workers.
Tariffs are causing a lot of uncertainty for local businesses, Isely said, and he expects they will begin to cause disruption this month. He said realistically, the tariffs will remain in place should President Donald Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' pass, as it proposes a total of $380 billion in tax cuts. The tariffs will be needed to pay for those cuts, he said.
He expects a third quarter slowdown and encouraged businesses to be strategic to take advantage of that slowdown.
*Correction: A previous version of this article included an incorrect first name for coach D'Antonio. We regret the error, which has been fixed.
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