It isn’t just the prices. It’s the dwindling quantities as well.
The UK papers, with their typical cutting humor, call it the ‘supermarket shrink ray.’
Products are being reduced in weight/volume - almost imperceptibly - while the price remains the same or increases.
Boxed items are the most frequent culprits as the box can be made thinner, wider and taller (e.g. breakfast cereal) while the bag inside is made smaller. Our minds fool us into thinking the box is the same size and when we pick it up it still feels ‘full’ but we are paying dearly for a lot of air.
One of the few drawbacks to our market-driven economy is the lack of any watchdogs beyond the leftist-dominated Consumer Reports. Local and national media are, of course, hopelessly dependent on advertising by both producers and retailers and will avoid the issue whenever possible.
Half gallons of ice cream suddenly became 1.75 quarts, now 1.5 quarts. Pretty soon a half-gallon of ice cream will be one quart.