Are you as fed up as I am with shrinkflation? That is the term economists have coined for “the practice of reducing the size or quantity of a product while keeping the price the same.”
For example, I recently opened boxes of Panko and macaroni and was staring at this. These contents did not “settle during shipping.” They packed their bags and left.
Currently, we consumers are experiencing a tidal wave of shrinkflation, and it comes via multiple scams. Here are two types from the many that pack the grocery shelves.
All this attempted deception almost makes one nostalgic for the old general stores. They did have advantages. (But sanitation was not one of them. Germs were not recognized as troublemakers until the late 1800s.)
Most of the foodstuffs in general stores were in barrels or hanging from a hook. The shopkeeper was behind the counter and the customer was served. Imagine that…customer service!
Packaging of orders was minimal, usually a piece of butcher paper. And for me, the best part would have been getting exactly the amount I wanted. What could go wrong, except a shopkeeper’s thumb on the scale? In this case, I’m sure word of that cheating would have spread quickly to the detriment of the cheater.
We, on the other hand, have no recourse against multinational food corporations. All we can do is vent. Like this.
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I was in Office Max not long ago and I felt the urge to have a candy bar.The candy bar weighted 3 oz and
cost $3. Only $1 per oz!!!!
Yes, candy prices and packaging are also experiencing inflation and shrinkflation. Fans of the Cadbury chocolate company have rebelled.
Yes–but it’s not the first time. I remember when coffee came in one-pound bags.
. . . I loved the general store comments–and I remember a certain clerk wrapping meat
in butcher paper–with a very crowded piece of fly paper hanging just above the cash register . . .
Coffee weights have shrunk radically. No such thing as a pound of coffee anymore, unless you buy it from the big bins which the grocery stores seem to be phasing out.
Plenty of room to vent when there’s so much room in the containers, hey?
Yes, lots of air space!