Paying more to eat less? More than an impression, it is a reality for many consumers when they do their shopping. Behind the general price increase that impacts purchasing power, a deceptive commercial practice has been quietly raging on the shelves for several months and is fooling consumers: “Shrinkflation”, or “reduction”, in French. This practice by manufacturers consists of voluntarily reducing the quantity of a product in the packet without lowering its price, or sometimes even increasing it. This concerns foodstuffs (rice, frozen products, cereals, etc.), the drinks (soda cans…) or hygiene (laundry, in particular) and it is almost impossible to realize it.
In September 2023, the NGO Foodwatch had accused 6 brands (Lindt, Danone, Kiri, etc.) that had reduced the size of the package, but increased the price. Carrefour had also been criticized by the association 60 million consumers for having removed one salad out of the 3 contained in a bag of sucrines, without lowering its price. Good news, however, is that from July 1, these practices orchestrated by the brands themselves will have to be displayed very clearly.
Shrinkflation, what will change on July 1st
On April 16, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, and Olivia Grégoire, Minister Delegate in charge of Business, Tourism and Consumption, issued a decree to regulate this practice.a scam”, according to the minister, which misleads consumers. He will enter in force from July 1 in large and medium-sized stores, date on which it will be obligatory to inform the consumer “ for consumer products which have undergone a downward change in weight or volume resulting in an increase in unit price, a specific obligation to inform consumers about these changes”.
This information in the form of a poster must be visible near the products concerned during the two months following the marketing date of the products concerned, whether they are national brands or distributor brands. Batteries and chewing gum are also included. Prepackaged preparations whose quantity may vary (in the deli section, for example) or bulk are not affected.
The consumer is then free to compare the brands, looking closely at the price per kilo, and to make an informed choice before slipping the product into their shopping cart. Next step for the future government? Tackle the new business scam, the “stretchflation” (“strech”, to stretch, in English). The trick? The manufacturers increase the quantity but… to increase the price but in an exaggerated way.
