Invisable inflation (free market, buy, sell, companies)

[jimhcom]

Your favorite products - now 20% smaller - Ivory dish detergent (1) - CNNMoney.com

This article shows some of the products which have reduced their quantity instead of raising their prices.
Raising prices would probably affect people’s decision to purchase the product, but most probably did not even notice they had stealthily lowered the quantity. The bottom line is that it is still inflation any way you look at it.

[slackjaw]

They've been doing that for a long time, there used to be a regular feature in Consumer Reports I used to love that listed things like this, where the box of Capt Crunch was same size but 2 less ounces etc.

The other thing is replacing ingredients with cheaper versions, or reducing the amount of a costly "featured" ingredient.

[gardener34]

Oh yeah, like putting 6 less cookies in a package, etc. Very sneaky. It is getting kind of ridiculous. The private label brands and the ethnic food aisles, this is not happening as much. You are paying for packaging and advertising budgets on a lot of name brand stuff.

[mizdezigner]

This could explain why I have to go to the grocery store every single week to shop. There isn't enough food to last me anymore.

[user_id]

Calling this "invisible inflation" makes no sense, this sort of thing is rigorously tracked by the consumer price index (CPI). They also track things that your typical consumer can't easily track like quality and shifts in ingredients.

Businesses have to do this because people are anchored in previous prices and don't understand inflation well, its just an example of money illusion not some big conspiracy.

[Mircea]

Originally Posted by user_id

Calling this "invisible inflation" makes no sense,

Of course it doesn't, but it sells books and makes people rich and idiots visit those sites and generate ad revenues.

This is just garden-variety Cost Inflation caused by increasing demand and stagnant or declining supply for certain commodities.

[Willy702]

There probably is some inflation in these ways, but the lower-end consumer has responded by buying more store brands and shopping at discounters. For those cutting more they are dropping down in cuts of meat or eating less of it. Sure if you want to say dammit I deserve the life I had at the price I had you'll be disappointed, but a developed free market economy is really all about product and input substitution.

[Nick99]

Not invisible inflation, as much as sneaky price increases. I always wondered how Doritos could possibly cost $2.99/bag every year for the last 15 years.

Another tactic is geared at selling more. Toothpaste companies widening the opening of the tube. People gauge how much they toothpaste they apply to their tube by the length of the bead. Same length + wider diameter = more volume.

As far as cheaper ingredients: how about the poison that is high-fructose corn syrup prominent in virtually every packaged food, which has all but replaced sugar, which is much more wholesome, but more costly to the producers.

[rural lady]

Everything is getting smaller, over the holidays I went into Big Lots they have some cakes & cookies from France etc that are cheaper and taste better.

I brought it home and then realized the packing was just the old type cello we used about 15-20 yrs ago and it had that wax paper type liner like cupcake liners. (Remember how bread was packaged about 35-40 yrs ago) no plastic bag or twist tie or plastic thingy.

All of our products are in the plastic snap clear containers, cookies anymore have to keep improving on how you open them, why can't they leave them alone? Most canned goods anymore have the easy open pull tab, I like them but I never minded much about using a can opener.

Coffee just kills me, they made a handle so they could sell less and make you think they did something great.

Shampoo anymore...a few times I just used some bar soap, I never liked Suave that much.

I like to use plain old ammonia to clean or if I can find the lemon scented one I'll buy that.

Just ranting.

[Lincolnian]

Originally Posted by Nick99

Not invisible inflation, as much as sneaky price increases. I always wondered how Doritos could possibly cost $2.99/bag every year for the last 15 years.

Another tactic is geared at selling more. Toothpaste companies widening the opening of the tube. People gauge how much they toothpaste they apply to their tube by the length of the bead. Same length + wider diameter = more volume.

As far as cheaper ingredients: how about the poison that is high-fructose corn syrup prominent in virtually every packaged food, which has all but replaced sugar, which is much more wholesome, but more costly to the producers.

It's funny you mentioned high-fructose corn syrup. I recently was listening to the CEO of, I believe, Pepsi talking about costs. He mentioned that sugar is more expensive in the US than anywhere else in the world and that is why they use high-frutose corn syrup. He also said that most other countries will not allow it in their products and that sugar in those countries is actually cheaper than high-frutose corn syrup. I believe he said our sugar prices are much higher due to tariffs/subsidies.