I knew 59 ounces was a weird size for my orange juice. The New York Times says
this is how we get inflation in food. It's because we're very price sensitive but not very quantity sensitive.
Ms. Stauber, 33, said she began inspecting her other purchases, aisle by aisle. Many canned vegetables dropped to 13 or 14 ounces from 16; boxes of baby wipes went to 72 from 80; and sugar was stacked in 4-pound, not 5-pound, bags, she said.
Five or so years ago, Ms. Stauber bought 16-ounce cans of corn. Then they were 15.5 ounces, then 14.5 ounces, and the size is still dropping. “The first time I’ve ever seen an 11-ounce can of corn at the store was about three weeks ago, and I was just floored,” she said. “It’s sneaky, because they figure people won’t know.
Now I have a new thing to keep my eyes peeled for.
I've been on to them.
ReplyDeleteAlso note that they make the front of boxes the same size but make them much shallower. Take Cheez Itz for instance. That box is so much smaller than it used to be because it isn't as deep. They think they trick consumers. Really I have to buy it because there aren't other choices.
Or the dip at the bottom of peanut butter jars is getting larger and larger but the part of the jar that we see is the same size... then they think we don't notice how we get less.
Red Stripe beer did it too. They decreased their bottle size from 12oz to 11.2oz.
ReplyDeletewhile the 11.2 is standard in Europe it is still the same thing. People don't notice on that beer because of the unique bottle shape...if they did that to a normal bottle you would be able to see it from a mile away.
Oh that's clever of them! I'll avoid that.
ReplyDeleteI think I remember John Stossel doing a "Give Me a Break!" on downsizing, but it might not've been him, since it was probably over a decade ago, now.
ReplyDeleteOne of the ingenious things mentioned in the report, though, was that some companies, after they get caught red-handed, try to remedy the situation by giving back a portion of the original product, and labeling it something like, "33% More, Free!"
Specifically cited were Tampax and Pringles.
I remember my grandma getting really mad about this when I was in elementary school... Something about new yogurt sizes being the most offensive to her, at the time.
ReplyDelete