they shrank the packets of food

The humble American consumer, already dogged by soaring petrol prices and declining wages, now has something more sinister to contend with: downsized groceries.

‘There is a grocery shrink ray that has been unleashed on supermarkets across America,’ said Ben Popken, editor of consumerist.com, a popular consumer affairs website.

Facing higher prices for ingredients and a tumbling dollar, American food manufacturers have been forced to tackle the issue of price inflation. But rather than increase the prices of packets of food on the shelves – which tends to steer consumers away from expensive branded goods towards cheaper varieties – many of the big food manufacturers have simply shrunk the size of their products while keeping prices steady.

Full Article
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/13/consumerspending.oil

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