Spouse and I have been doing a kind of advent little gift exchange to brighten our days. How tiny? Found some mixed flavor Yogi tea on offer. It's not bad, but it's more scent than flavor. Except when I went to check out and checked the bill the sale wasn't applied. For the amount it was too much of a hassle.
I had also found a little EDT perfume on sale with a little gift. Tried it again (the spray) but it made my eyes burn. Odd. After two hours the scent was completely gone. I'm guessing that it has been diluted with carrier alcohol.
Then looked for chocolate. Stunned. Almost everything was the same price, but the packages were much smaller. The same packages that were the same size my entire life had been rolled out for Christmas. SMALLER.
I've noticed this with all sorts of products. This has nothing to do with the current administration, but is happening globally and started twenty years ago. What needs to be preserved is capitalism. It means competition and consumer choice. What were heading into is monopolism. (Now a noun). Capitalism and competition allows people to complain.
I'm going to add more later on this or a separate post. Please watch this: (20 minutes)
https://youtube.com/watch?v=osxr7xSxsGo
That study looked at big stores and calculated that the nickel and diming makes a difference of about 1200 for a family of four excluding fresh produce. The same is happening in almost any other store. I wanted to buy something, did some comparative shopping, decided, went back online in the evening and the price had gone up. Checked the next morning, price down again.
By now we should be seeing the economy go up, inflation go down at a steady pace. The prediction for 2026 is that it'll get worse. Hard to predict unless planned.
Companies do care. If people leave they don't know why. If people complain (beyond the store level) they adjust to consumers.
To round off today's cheery post. Here's another article that explains all the acquisitions. The rest is not that accurate.
https://www.mintpressnews.com/the-seven-richest-billionaires-are-all-media-barons/290572/
Please remember not to mention politicians in your comment.
I haven't had time to check out your links, but I CONCUR regarding shrinkflation!
ReplyDeleteCodex: I laughed a few years ago when I saw what they did to Toblerone. Not laughing when they're doing it to cheapo chocolate.
DeleteWatch the first one when you get the chance. I knew they were doing it to geographic areas. I didn't think they were this specific. That's what the big data centers are for. When Xbo suggested doing this in early 2000 the gamer community stopped it. Here we are.
I had done some reading and listening about the exact topic in the video over the last couple months. It’s scary and it makes me mad. For years I have not joined store loyalty programs because I hate giving away my shopping data. The Individualized dynamic pricing model brings things to a whole new level of data and behaviour manipulation. Because I live in a small town I can’t use Instacart but I do resort to Amazon at times and do so grudgingly, knowing that online shopping isn’t supporting my local retailers where at least the some of the profit money gets recycled in my community. My only other tool to combat “the new system” is flexibility. No brand loyalty, shop in person at multiple stores, make things from scratch and be prepared to change meal or purchase plans at the last minute. With some “wants” I just decide I don’t need them at all and put the item(s) back on the shelf. I still enjoy some recreational shopping but I try to do it at thrift stores, though that’s gotten more expensive too, but if I just want to browse and explore a store it feels like a better way as most of the local thrift stores support charities.
ReplyDeleteMarly
Codex: part two dynamic pricing is no more than how desperate are you? Amazon does this. Basically you look at a vase for 100 in the morning. You think about it. You come back to the vase and decide to buy it. It's suddenly 150. It goes up and down as the software tries to figure out how much you're willing to pay for it. It's gouging and actually not permitted under consumer laws.
DeleteYou're second tool is what most people started doing ten years ago. It's inefficient. Something I really like are the surplus dollar stores. (Not the regular ones). Guilt free shopping.
I showed the initial video, because things like that are not sustainable and can destroy world economy. A lot of economics Profs are really worried. Complaining in millions is one way before it's to late.
Codex: @Marly ill split this into two. Loyalty programs aren't that bad if done by one company. Eg. Gas stations are in fierce competition. They're usually owned by individual oil companies so they want to keep you as a customer and are pretty open about that aspect. Basically fill your car at ours and if you have enough points free gas.
ReplyDeleteAnother was a grocery chain that initially freaked me out. They sent me coupons that were printed with the exact brands and items that we always buy, even the healthy stuff like broccoli. It was mostly love this yogurt here's a second tub for free. That means your info stays within that company. No issue. Had they sent me love this yogurt? Why not try another brand or buy something completely different then they're likely selling your info to third parties. Other loyalty programs of no concern are the get huge discount ones on everything. No targeting.