I stopped into a local grocer this past weekend to pick up some ice cream for my wife and I as a treat to help fight the heat and humidity we were having. The local store had a sale on Breyers Ice Cream – Buy One Get One Free. We typically buy generic ice cream brands but felt like splurging a little as my wife enjoys the Oreo brand of Cookies and Cream that Breyers offers. I myself enjoy the French Vanilla flavor that they offer, so I picked up one of each. When I got home and started scooping the ice cream for us, I realized that the packages looked a little funny – they looked small?
After we finished eating, I decided to look at the carton again and realized the size of the containers had been reduced from 1.75 Quarts when we purchased Breyers Ice Cream last year to 1.5 Quarts now offered this year. That is over a 15% reduction in the size of the same product that we were buying less than one year ago! To make matters worse, the grocer had the same sale as they typically ran last year on Breyers Ice Cream every couple of weeks – Buy One Get One Free – But they also raised the price of the item from last year by 20%!
Compared to the same purchases last year -
- Spent 20% more for the same sale – Buy One Get One Free of Breyers Ice Cream
- Product was 15% smaller than last year.
Unfortunately I didn’t follow one of the points (#4 – Shop Slowly) that Ralph at Enginero.com laid out in his post – Food Budget Tight? Stretch-It-Out (Part 1). Instead, I was in a hurry and assumed that I was paying the same price for the same items we did less than one year ago.
I have also recently been monitoring the price of some items we typically buy as snacks between grocery stores compared to last year. For example, I have noticed that a normal package of Oreo Double stuff cookies we buy as snacks for our son have gone from $2.24 a package at the local Wal-Mart to $2.84 at the same store. I almost fell over when I saw the same package at a different grocer for $4.99. I thought $4 gas was bad, but $5 Oreo’s? Come On!
We have also noticed some tricks that Wal-Mart and other stores have been playing with the “rollback” advertisements. We buy a lot of soy milk to drink and usually would buy the 2-pack of Silk soy milk from Wal-Mart for $4.86. Then all of a sudden, they put up a sign on the product saying they rolled it back to $4.86 from $5.89. I had never seen it priced at $5.89 before, even though we purchased this item at least every two weeks.
The products listed above are only a few examples of what I have been monitoring going on with grocery items. I assume they are tactics taken by the businesses to offset rising gas prices while trying not to let on too much to the customers. I have learned my lesson from this past weekend’s events with the Ice Cream purchase and will be keeping a much closer eye on both prices and the size of items now to prevent another meltdown!
Have you noticed items you typically purchase become smaller in size? What about higher prices? What actions are you taking to offset these higher prices?
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Not really. Being single now I buy such small quantities that I don’t really see the difference. However, I have noticed that olive oil has been going up and up – now I buy it at my favorite hole-in-the-wall Middle Eastern Market. It is so much more flavorful, and about half the price.
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Breyers made that change in size awhile ago and some other brands have followed suit. It’s a pretty typical tactic used for them to increase their margins without forcing a price increase. Lower quantity, same price, more margin. It’s great that you spotted it.
BOGOs are a common sale type and an even more common way for stores to move twice as much of an item that isn’t really on sale. Paying twice as much as usual to get 1 “free” is no discount. It pays to watch prices as you have quickly found out.
FYI, I’m loving the new layout for PFI. Looks great!!!!
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Yup, I noticed the smaller ice cream containers just this week. (I saw a sale and thought I’d splurge.) When I picked it up, I knew it was smaller than before. I put it back.
We have found that the cases of Kirkland Organic Vanilla Soy milk at Costco are the best deal and we like the taste. The individual cartons last forever unrefrigerated until they are opened.
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