Research shows shoppers around the world are being tricked into spending more for less with a sales trick known as shrinkflation. — dpa
ALMOST half the world’s shoppers feel they are being conned by so-called shrinkflation, according to a newly-published survey by market research company Ipsos.
The market research showed 46% of people in 33 countries say they are paying the same for smaller quantities of food or other products, with 48% of them finding such “shrinkflation” to be unacceptable.
More than six out of 10 people in Britain, France and Germany said they have noticed product sizes being made smaller.
Food businesses have been reducing the size or weight of products in the wake of inflation eating into the cost of production, with raw materials getting more expensive along with inputs such as fuel, electricity and transport.
And while the rate of inflation has slowed in 2023 compared to 2022, prices remain above what they were before the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, leaving shoppers to grapple with the impact as producers pass costs on to consumers, including by selling less for as much or more money.
In turn, six out of 10 people were having trouble making ends meet and almost half said they felt their country to be in recession, even if a recession, which usually means 6 consecutive months of gross domestic product contraction, had not been formally declared.
Despite falling inflation figures, most people do not expect shop prices for day-to-day essentials to be reduced in the near future.
“Seven in 10 across the 33 markets expect the cost of their food shopping to rise over the next year,” Ipsos said, reporting similar fears over the prices of fuel and electricity.
Analysts believe consumers will remain cautious into the new year, focusing on essential items and smaller quality-of-life purchases, even amid easing inflation. – dpa
