2026 and the Cost of Living, Where iPOP Stands
The cost of living crisis didn't disappear when the year ticked over. Inflation is cooling on paper but the bills most Kiwis actually deal with, council rates, power, insurance, have kept climbing regardless. We've watched our own costs go up while trying to keep our prices where they are, and it's not always easy.
This is our honest take on where things are at, and why we've made the choices we have.
What's still biting in 2026
Groceries get most of the attention but the costs that have really hurt household budgets are the ones you can't shop around for. Council rates up nearly 9%. Electricity up over 12%. Health insurance premiums climbing 20% in a single year. These aren't discretionary, they come out regardless, and they've eaten through whatever breathing room lower food inflation was supposed to provide.
For small NZ businesses, shipping is its own ongoing problem. NZ Post's pricing has increased significantly over the past couple of years, and for a business sending parcels every day it adds up fast. We absorb what we can and charge exactly what the couriers charge us for the rest. Shipping is not a margin line for us.
Why we haven't moved our prices
It would have been easy to quietly add a few dollars to every product and blame it on the environment. A lot of retailers have done exactly that. We haven't, and we don't intend to.
Our core polarised sunglasses have sat at $25 to $26 for a while now. Keeping them there has meant working harder on everything behind the scenes, sourcing, efficiency, margins on other parts of the business. Nelson gets more sunshine than almost anywhere else in New Zealand. Eye protection here isn't a luxury purchase and we don't think it should be priced like one.
The frames we sell use polycarbonate and TR90 materials, tough enough to last more than a season. A $10 pair from a dairy that snaps within a month costs more in the long run than a $25 pair that lasts two years. That's not a complicated argument but it's one worth making when budgets are tight and every purchase feels like it needs to justify itself.
A few things we've noticed
Customers have gotten smarter about shipping, and honestly we respect it. We've seen a clear pattern of people grouping orders, teaming up with a friend or family member to get over the $100 free shipping threshold rather than paying courier fees on a single pair. It makes complete sense and we'd do the same thing.
If you're doing this, the sunglasses care guide is worth a read too, keeping your current pair in good condition with a proper microfibre cloth is the simplest way to get more life out of them before replacing.
Where to find the best value right now
If you want to stretch your budget further, the cheap sunglasses section has older styles and overstocked frames at significantly reduced prices. Same UV400 protection, same build quality, just styles we're moving on from to make room for new stock.
2026 is tight for a lot of people. We're not going to pretend otherwise or dress it up. What we can do is keep making affordable eyewear that actually does the job, and be straight about how we price it.
