Finally a a barrier to the phenomenon of “sgrammatura,” or “riportzionamento,” two neologisms that have to do with the dear-life. Yes because when calculating inflation, the weight of the so-called shopping cart is not marginal, on the contrary. And the latest further confirmation comes from theIstat, which certifies that in November the growth rate of the shopping cart rose to +2,6%. And in this the "re-portioning” (or grammatical errors, if you like) has its role. What is it? It's easy to say: it's the reduction of the quantity of product contained in a package keeping the same selling price previous (the so-called Shrinkflation phenomenon).
A hidden price increase
The consumer does not realize it, but in reality he is faced with a hidden price increase, which often goes well beyond the inflation index. A trivial example: if the content of a package goes from 100 grams to 80 grams, even if the selling price of the package remains the same, in fact there is a “hidden” increase of 20%, well above the inflation rate indicated by Istat. A deceptive strategy but legal used by companies for camouflage the price increase, fight inflation, do not discourage the purchase of "that" product and put into practice counting on a hasty or careless consumer. A strategy applied to every type of product: from dish soap to snacks, from shower gel to canned tomatoes, from pre-packaged cold cuts to biscuits, to bottles of water and so on. Just pop into any supermarket.
A warning arrives for the unaware consumer
But now a barrier is coming for the consumer, a notice contained in the annual law for the market and competition 2023 that goes to the Chamber for the final vote. One specific article (art. 23) is addressed to "producers who place on the market, also through distributors operating in Italy, a consumer product which, while maintaining the previous packaging unchanged, has undergone a reduction in the nominal quantity and a related increase in the price per unit of measurement dependent on them". Well, these "inform the consumer of the reduction in quantity, by affixing, in the main field of vision of the sales package or on an adhesive label, the following wording: This package contains a product less than X (unit of measurement) compared to the previous quantity".
THEinformation obligation applies for a six month period starting from the date of placing on the market of the product concerned. In short, the consumer is finally informed. However, it must be pointed out that these provisions will apply effective from 1 April 2025.
A annotation. In the original text (the one now being examined by the chamber is the result of the filings, corrections, adjustments, additions made by the various commissions that examined and discussed it) producers were required to inform consumers also of the percentage increase in price as a consequence of the reduction in the content of the package. A reference that no longer appears in the text now before the MEPs. It will therefore be the consumer having to do the calculations how much more that product costs. Best wishes.
