Jun 18, 2008 11:39 pm US/Eastern
Less For More: Groceries Slim Down As Prices Go Up
Less Chips, Smaller Cereal Boxes, Fewer Paper Towels Just A Few Of The More Obvious Liberties Taken
By Alexis Christoforous, CBS 2 HD News
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
-
-
Shoppers aren't the only ones tightening their belts because of soaring food prices. So are food companies, with the catch that consumers end up paying for it anyway.
AP
Shoppers aren't the only ones tightening their belts because of soaring food prices. So are food companies, with the catch that consumers end up paying for it anyway.
In essence, shoppers are really paying more for less at the grocery store these days.
From ice cream to paper towels, manufacturers are shrinking the package and its contents, but not the price.
Among the notable changes:
* Kelloggs recently announced several cereal boxes will be reduced by two ounces.
* Frito Lay snack bags, from Cheetos to Doritos, are filled with less chips.
* Bounty cut the number of towels on a roll from 56 to 48, saying the sheets are now thicker.
* Hellman's mayonnaise slimmed down from 32 to 30 ounces.
* In the frozen food aisle, Edy's ice cream reduced the size of its containers by 14 percent, but didn't touch the price.
"I think consumers should be made aware that they are spending the same amount of money and getting less product," one New Yorker told CBS 2 HD.
Consumers may think that shrinking content is just a sneaky way to increase prices, but manufacturers say it's necessary. In response to its recent changes, Hellman's said that "the price of our ingredients has gone up dramatically. Manufacturing and transportation costs also have increased significantly."
They're not lying either – the cost of eggs are up 45 percent, corn is up 70 percent, and at the same time, the cost to haul products to the stores has nearly doubled.
"It's just going to make me be a more conscious shopper, like look for the sales, cut coupons, you know stuff like that," one concerned New Yorker said.
No matter how you slice it, inflating prices for shrinking products are hurting cash-strapped consumers.
Even though reducing ounces per box amounts to a price increase, experts say smaller boxes have a different psychological affect than adding a few pennies to the retail prices. Food companies use this approach in the hope that most people won't notice and research suggests that's true.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments