Recessions' impact on supermarket products

[OilSheikh]

Has anyone noticed how we have become so poor ?
No more BOGOFs
Shopping bags have thinned

Coke can - NOW 65p THEN 50p
2L Coke - NOW £2ish THEN £1
Tesco handwash 500ml - - NOW £1ish THEN 55p
Kelloggs Corn flakes - NOW £2 THEN £1
4 x Tuna in sunflower oil can - NOW £4 THEN £2
99p Toilet rolls - NOW Thin and 6 in a pack THEN thicker and 8 in a pack
Iceland eggs 15pk- NOW £1.75 and medium sized THEN £1 and bigger
AIRWICK sprays - NOW 200ml and doesn't spray far THEN 300ml and sprayed across the room!
SAINSBURYS Value 4pk toilet rolls - NOW scrapped THEN 25p and very good, not recycled
SAINSBURYS packeted croissants - NOW 4 for £1 THEN 12 for £1

I could go on and on about products which have ceased to exist ( e.g. Danone chocolate & hazelnut mousse ) , where prices have increased or quantity has been reduced.

Only things which have gone down in priced are 2L Milk and Free range eggs.

[HalloweenJack]

I work in a supermarket - and everything has become smaller 350g > is now 300g for the same price .


cigerretes are the big one - sovereign blue - 19 in a pack for around £6.40 , yet the 20 pack of sovereign black is £8 odd, premium brands are all over £9 a packet (Marlboro , b&h gold etc)


next year we`ll see £10 cigs - you wait.

[wasabi]

Avoid branded stuff and go to Lidl and Aldi. Better quality too. Our bills have gone down as a result.

[Jonatron]

The big supermarkets are infuriating, with their constantly changing prices and 'offers'. I do most of my shopping at Lidl now, where there isn't a baffling range of products (why are there 50 types of toothpaste?), and few annoying offers like 1 for £2.50 or 2 for £3.00, so if you want 1 of something you can buy it without getting ripped off.

[kalniel]

Sample size is too small. ONS produce the full figures and you can see food prices largely follow usual inflationary trends, with some variation for supply/demand, but in a country as small as ours, it's not a lot. We've been out of recession for a while now so it's not likely the cause of any local price/quality variation you're seeing.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Sample size is too small. ONS produce the full figures and you can see food prices largely follow usual inflationary trends, with some variation for supply/demand, but in a country as small as ours, it's not a lot. We've been out of recession for a while now so it's not likely the cause of any local price/quality variation you're seeing.

I have actually noticed the stealth decreasing in product size and quantity on dozens of food and cosmetic items in the last two years or so. So have quite a few mates too.

The tins of Tuna are a prime example. The cans are actually slightly smaller now,with less drained weight of fish. Over a multi-pack of 5 tins,it does work out a reasonable amount less.

[kalniel]

I have actually noticed the stealth decreasing in product size and quantity on dozens of food and cosmetic items in the last two years or so. So have quite a few mates too.

The tins of Tuna are a prime example. The cans are actually slightly smaller now,with less drained weight of fish. Over a multi-pack of 5 tins,it does work out a reasonable amount less.

But it's nothing new. Seems every other week on Watchdog they complain about it (interspersed with complaints about unhealthy foods coming in bigger portions..). I think the nutrition labelling is at least as much to blame for food stuff: if you reduce the nominal portion size then you get to claim fewer calories, fats, salt etc.

[grayg1]

It's just big companies being themselves (profiteering rip offs).

Prime example:
Asda linguine was 50p for 500g (made in Italy by the Di Martino family)
Now £1 for 500g and rebranded as "Cook Italian" (made in Italy by the Di Martino family)

[Jonj1611]

I do feel Tesco is turning into a £1 shop, nearly everything I used to buy was 73p,69p or 85p, well you get the idea, now most things seem to be a £1.

[kalniel]

It's just big companies being themselves (profiteering rip offs).

Prime example:
Asda linguine was 50p for 500g (made in Italy by the Di Martino family)
Now £1 for 500g and rebranded as "Cook Italian" (made in Italy by the Di Martino family)

Yet the actual data shows we've had the sharpest fall in food and drink prices for a decade..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28224082

[OilSheikh]

The tins of Tuna are a prime example. The cans are actually slightly smaller now,with less drained weight of fish. Over a multi-pack of 5 tins,it does work out a reasonable amount less.

Yeah, tell me about it. John West Tuna cans are 160g now. Princes tuna cans are half-filled with oil! Standard used to be 185g

[BobF64]

One that nearly caught me out the other day was in Sainsburys.

Packs of 3 slices of corned beef were in a "2 for £3.50" offer, along with lots of other meat products, so nearly bought 2 until I noticed the pack of 6 slices next to it was £3!

Probably saves some money if you buy the right meats though.

[HalloweenJack]

something else for you:

go to your local supermarket chilled section , and look at the 1 litre fruit juices (apple , orange , tropical etc)


now look at how much sugar is there - for 250ml


now - go and look at a can of red bull , and coke - and see how much sugar they have....

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

something else for you:

go to your local supermarket chilled section , and look at the 1 litre fruit juices (apple , orange , tropical etc)


now look at how much sugar is there - for 250ml


now - go and look at a can of red bull , and coke - and see how much sugar they have....

You mean 10G/100ML which a lot of drinks seem to have??

[Spreadie]

The big supermarkets are infuriating, with their constantly changing prices and 'offers'. I do most of my shopping at Lidl now, where there isn't a baffling range of products (why are there 50 types of toothpaste?), and few annoying offers like 1 for £2.50 or 2 for £3.00, so if you want 1 of something you can buy it without getting ripped off.

Yeah, the offers can be infuriating. If you can't do mental arithmetic, as you're walking around the store, you're gunna get fleeced. Tesco bog roll - 9 rolls for £3.50 or a BIG VALUE 18 pack for £7.50.

[jim]

I don't really consider it stealth size reductions - it's more that consumers are happier with prices staying the same and sizes going down than sizes remaining the same and prices going up.

One of the two has to happen because we live in an economy that sees inflation every year.

Besides, as kalniel pointed out, the data at the moment shows the opposite trend anyway.