Shopping and purchasing goods and services has become increasingly economically challenging, but to be honest, perhaps it’s not all inflation’s fault. Making the task of making ends meet for Italian families more complicated are some phenomena with a rather “exotic” name compared to the simpler term “rip-off”: they are shrinkflation, skimpflation and greedflation. These are not tongue twisters but real marketing strategies that lead us to spend more thanks to less obvious mechanisms than the increase in shelf prices. Here’s how they work and why you haven’t noticed yet.
You pay more for less
Some large brands in the food sector, but not only, have long since begun to hide the price increases of their products by modifying the product packaging: in fact, for a year now there has been talk of “shrinkflation”.
This is an unfair commercial practice whereby the quantity or quality of a commodity is reduced without changing the selling price. Customers generally don’t notice because the price has remained the same: the “perception” is therefore that nothing has changed compared to the past.
In fact, to notice it would be necessary not so much to wear glasses, but rather to check the grams of product contained in the package and carefully read the label. However, it is almost never possible to carry out the comparison “in real time”, because that particular product, in its previous version, is no longer found on the shelves of large-scale retail trade.
Consumer associations have collected several examples of this type: in particular, the National Consumers Union (UNC) has reported that among the most striking cases is that of the 400 gram packets of pasta appearing instead of the 500 gram ones. price parity. Literally, in this case, the manufacturers have removed an entire plate of pasta from your pantry!
The same mechanism has been used for various products, from food to household products: generally the “classic format”, i.e. the usual format in which a certain product is sold, or the number of products sold in a package, is reduced while the price remains the same. Just think of packaged snacks, ice cream, the number of biscuits per package but also the format of soap bars and detergents in bottles.
Skimpflation, identical product but different quality
To be honest, there were several producers who instead increased prices in a transparent way by publicly reporting the increase in the cost of energy and some raw materials as a result of the ongoing conflicts.
However, some would have increased the prices of the final product regardless of the increase in production costs incurred: in this case we are talking about real “greedflation”. The name comes from the English words “inflation” and “greed”.
Greed inflation would be due to a particular tendency on the part of some companies, both in the world of production and retail distribution, to take advantage of the confusion caused by a phase of market instability to unjustifiably increase the price of their products. products.
However, there were other companies that preferred to reduce the quality offered to the consumer while leaving the selling price unchanged.
This is the so-called “skimpflation” (from “to skimp”: to save). In practice, some manufacturers have decided to replace one or more ingredients with lower quality components. In the supermarket, skimpflation can often be hidden behind the words “new recipe” or other similar expressions: what happens in most cases is that some ingredients are replaced with others characterized by a lower cost. It is usually very common to replace butter with margarine, seed oil (rapeseed or sunflower) instead of extra virgin olive oil, fresh eggs with some derivatives already treated industrially.
Consumer advised, savings guaranteed
Although it is very difficult to notice these “tweaks”, knowing that they exist can be of great help and can push you to adopt some forms of defense.
The key rule to “dribble” these phenomena is to always compare prices per kilo/per litre of the products. The comparison based on weight makes it possible to have a clear and precise idea of the convenience of a product compared to another similar one and above all allows you to be more aware of the quantity and quality of what you are buying.
After taking note of the price shown on the product label, it is therefore always necessary to check the price per grams or per kg or per litre.
The second rule that allows you to avoid “mistakes” is that of observe the cost of the products placed on the lower shelves: the most expensive products in supermarkets are generally placed “in the middle”, at eye level, while the cheapest products are those placed further down (because in this way you will have to bend down specifically to see the price). Furthermore, unfortunately, the rush with which people usually go shopping (often at the end of the working day) means that some shelves are systematically ignored.
The ideal is to take the time necessary to evaluate multiple alternatives of the same product. Obviously, it will not be possible for you to do this for every product you place in your cart, but much more reasonably for some types: such as, for example, your favorite pasta shape, jams, breakfast products, oil and puree. tomato.
If you have any doubts about the quality of the product it is advisable to check the labels: in the list of ingredients those present in higher quantities are indicated at the beginning. This is the case, for example, of industrial pesto: the quantity of basil and extra virgin oil used or alternatively sunflower seeds will indicate the quality of the final product. The same rule applies to many preparations: in jams, for example, the percentage of fruit used on the total will indicate the quality level of the product.
Furthermore, as always, it is appropriate make a list of basic products to always have in the pantry: with this list you can move from one supermarket to another in search of greater convenience. Leafing through leaflets without knowing what you really need to prepare your meals will only make you more confused.
Don’t always shop in the same place: supermarket prices are different from each other and often the price of the same product can vary greatly with or without special offers.
Take advantage of promotions with common sense: buying a product just because it is on offer is not always a good idea. Calculate the number of meals to prepare and try to do not overstock especially fresh products. The only exception to this rule is whether or not it can be frozen: if the product, raw or cooked, can be frozen then stocking up will really allow you to save money.
To reduce the scope of speculative phenomena is always better to buy seasonal fruit and vegetables And buy directly, when possible, from manufacturers able to always show an updated price list upon your request.
Tags: shopping avoiding rips idealistanews
