small business owners like john decicco in eastchester, new york, are facing tough choices too. >> wess on the least amount as we possibly can, to help out the consumer. but it's almost impossible. things are going up every week. >> reporter: seeing their own costs rising, dealing with labor shortages, and even shrink flation. >> i just got a list of probably 1,000 items. the sizes are smaller and smaller and smaller to make up. so the consumer isn't feeling the pinch in a way. they have all kinds of gimmicks, but unfortunately, they have to do these things because everything's going up for them also. the fuel, the labor, everything. like you can't hide from it, this inflation. >> reporter: and everyday necessities like medications are not immune. in the heart of lower manhattan, hudson square pharmacy is your quintessential neighborhood drugstore, and alan solman is your convince associate neighborhood pharmacist. >> i've been in this business since the late '70s when i was a stock boy at a local neighborhood pharmacy. ended up going to pharmacy school, graduated in '81, and i've bee