Consumers Creamed As Cream Of Chicken Cost Rises

WSJ reports “Surging Prices Turn Shoppers Into Bargain Hunters” who seek refuge from inflation by buying “in bulk” or even resorting to “generics” BUT some retailers & manufacturers seem to cleverly offset those strategies by jacking up prices, shrinking boxes or cutting doses.

At least, this is the conclusion of the latest unofficial “Soul Shelf Survey” of 3 major grocery chains with pharmacies in Falls Church, Va. For instance, 4 small boxes of sugary cereal can now be had for $10, whereas weeks ago 4 bigger boxes of the same could be had for $8. And, while one could get 5 eight-packs of Coke or Pepsi for the price of 2 before the New Year, it’s now more common to get 1 six-pack “free” if you buy 2. As for dog food, today’s buyers are dog meat for the manufacturers who are asking (& getting) $18 a bag that weeks ago cost $14. Winner of the “Cleverest Houdini Price” ploy is the generic Vitamin C supplier now selling a 500 mg bottle of the stuff at only a slightly reduced price from the brand name’s 1000 mg Vitamin C bottle … so you have to buy almost TWICE as much of the generic to match the brand version.

And, things may go from bad to worse for consumers, the WSJ warns as “more price increases are coming” thanks to recent announcements by major food suppliers like Mondelez, International Inc., General Mills & Campbell Soup. “Hopefully, this vocabulary of ‘transitory inflation’ has left people’s vocabulary,” said Stuart Aitken, chief merchant & marketing officer at Kroger. Challenge accepted.

Davd Soul