Kroger - shrinking grocery products! Again?
Kroger - The Srinking Cans side by side!
Kroger - The shrinking cans!
I love shopping at my local Kroger supermarket. Especially since they have updated my old store. However, I was not a happy camper when I went to Kroger on Thursday 01/26/12 and picked up my favorite pasta sauce - Hunts! I love this pasta sauce and incorporate it into almost every dish that I prepare! But, I do not appreciate being fooled or played for a fool! I just grabbed the two cans that I needed to make some homemade chilli, what to my surprise, when I unpack my groceries at home, that the cans are of two different sizes. I was shocked! I went to my pantry and compared the quantity of the newly purchased cans, with the cans that I had just purchased last week (10 for $10 sale). Well, somehow within a week I lost 2.5 oz of the product!
Hunts Pasta Sauce Can Volume
My local Kroger Store
Kroger - Shrinking Profit Margin!
I do understand that the grocery industry's average profit margin is 2% to 3%. However, they do not have to deceive their loyal customers by charging us the same price for less of the product. Moreover, If I had not purchased the two different cans at the same time, I most likely would not have discovered the difference right away. To me, that is very deceptive!
Why? because for the 24oz can I paid $0.0437 ($1.05/24) an ounce and for the 26.5oz can I paid 0.0396 ($1.05/26.5) an ounce. I know this may seem trivial, however, with the economy being as it is, can we really afford to go over our food budgets? Can we? I now put into practice the following counter measures:
- I would like the stores to give me an option. If they increase the price at least I would have an obvious choice to make. Do I really want that brand? and can I afford it anymore. However, by this deception, I feel like my choice is being made for me, Here in America, we do not take kindly to being forced into anything!
- I am being made more aware of this deception and I am now on the lookout for it. Meaning, I write down and check the ounces now! I also have stopped shopping at these stores. I know, pretty soon I will have no where to shop at this rate!
- I now shop on line-before I go into the store. If I can find a better deal buying bulk, I do.
This is by far not the only product that has shrunk. But, my question is, when will it end? or will it? What do we as consumers have to do to send Kroger, these supermarkets, and grocery chains the message that we are tired of being deceived by shrinking grocery products? Let me know how you feel about this issue and what you think we, as consumers, should do about this ever increasing practice?