The phenomenon of "shrinkflation" is back, i.e. lhidden inflation on supermarket shelves. To cope with price increases, companies reduce the quantities of product with smaller packs while maintaining substantially the same price so as not to give the consumer a feeling of impoverishment such as to block spending and, therefore, consumption.
The leap in inflation (in February, in the Eurozone, it was 5,9% and in March it reached 7,5%) and the very strong energy boosts e of raw materials they are also unloaded on production, transport and packaging costs. The producers, therefore, find themselves in a situation of significant difficulty, which is why they are trying to hide the price increase with this strategy which, however, this time has not gone unnoticed in the eyes of consumers, already very tried by the average increases per family.
Smaller packs for the same price: what is shrinkflation?
The expression "shrinkflation" comes from the merger of two English terms, namely "shrinkage” (“contraction”) and “inflation” (“increase”). It suffices to pay a minimum of attention to the products that are on sale on supermarket shelves to realize that what we buy is getting smaller and smaller with each passing year: this applies both to the packaging and, above all, to the weight of what is contained inside. 'internal. For example, the size of the chocolate squares, the number of sweets or chips, the size and pieces of the biscuits, the number of tissues in the packages are reduced (many brands have reduced from ten to nine). And again: the quantity of detergent in the bottles, of the yoghurt in the jars, snacks, the grams of pasta, drinks but also the ever lighter rolls of toilet paper
How to find out the actual price to pay?
The variety of packs, which are also an element of commercial policy and differentiation between companies, often makes it difficult to compare the price of the pack. Unless you always have a calculator at hand. However, not everyone knows that, for many years now, the law has required that the price per unit of measure also be shown on the package price tag. For example, the price per kilo or the price per litre. So even two packs of 375 grams and 350 grams become comparable. This rule - applied in all supermarkets but also in shops - also makes it easier to check whether the price per unit of measure - for example per kilo or per liter - has increased or not.
