The grey drizzly day began with an early morning eye check post surgery and ended with a late afternoon vaccine booster. In between, I did a few errands. One thing I noted while doing these was the concept of 'shrinkflation' is alive and well at the stores. I picked up the wrong variety of a laundry product last week. They keep changing the bottle colours so I ended up with the original version rather than the stain remover I expected. The latter was more expensive and came in a smaller bottle <sigh>. The kitchen dish soap still comes in a large bottle, but the product is much runnier so I use more. This product wasn't visually shrunken, but diluted instead -- still rather deceptive.
I've been interested in marketing and the impact it can have on consumers. At present shoppers appear to be angry with retailers and the cost of groceries in particular but everything in general. Product quality is changing to keep wholesale prices down, while other products appear in smaller packages for the same or an increased cost to consumers. The food budget has little wiggle room for many people. To pay for the increased grocery costs, many people are forced to pull from other parts of their budget to cover the inflationary costs of foods and household necessities. That elasticity of budget has been challenged by inflation in all areas of spending.
I thought of a song that speaks to disillusionment with marketing of products found in grocery outlets. The punk rock band embodied the zeitgeist of the punk movement, particularly the anticorporate and anti-marketing aspect of the lyrics. Keep safe. Enjoy!
Lost in the Supermarket -- The Clash
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