In our previous article, Product Life‑Cycle Assessments-Integrating Circular Economy Metrics, we showed how measuring a product’s full footprint turns hidden costs into managed ones. This edition turns to a cost that no product assessment can fix on its own: an operating environment in which inflation, interest rates and consumer demand can all move against a merchant within the same quarter. Three Diverging Scenario Paths Many SMEs set their 2026 budgets in late 2025, before