Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Getting So Many Search Results Makes Shopping Harder

Have you ever noticed how bad some retailers’ online search results are? You are searching for a pretty specific thing, but the search results you get show you tons of irrelevant products. Other sites provide you with exactly what you were searching for, but display so many results that you could never review all of them.

For example, having just bought a blood pressure monitor from Amazon, MrConsumer decided to check Wayfair during their Way Day sale. So he entered “blood pressure monitor” in quotes in their search field.

Look at the results.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Wayfair search results

It spit back a 200-page list containing 9,868 results! How many were actually blood pressure monitors? It appears to be four! And when I double-checked to see if they had the brand I bought, Omron… I got 45,861 results only one of which appeared to be an Omron brand product!

More recently, Wayfair improved. Now searching for “blood pressure monitor” provides “only” 4,410 results, 10 of which were actually those devices.

By comparison, Target provided 59 results, all of which were blood pressure monitors.

Amazon and Walmart had a different problem. Amazon offered about 450 relevant results. And Walmart provided about 1,250 results, virtually all of which were blood pressure monitors. How can any human deal with whittling down so many choices?

The abundance of relevant search results at Walmart is even prevalent when searching for grocery items making shopping online far more difficult.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart Search Results

This whole concept of having too many choices has a name – the paradox of choice.

It is hard to say which is worse — too many irrelevant search results or too many relevant ones. What do you thnk and what has been your search and shopping experience?

Share this story:

 

ADV
Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Can Dove Deodorant Grow Back Lost Skin?

Since April, Dove has been running a deodorant commercial claiming that when women shave their armpits, one third of what they remove is skin. But if they use new Dove deodorant, it helps repair it.

The company posed a problem — lost skin, and proposed a solution — spray it with Dove. “Shave it? Dove it,” the ad says repeatedly.

The commercial concludes by saying “replenish your skin after every shave.” That almost sounds like there is human skin in each can because “replenish” means to fill back up or build back up.

*MOUSE PRINT:

After the announcer says one-third of what is lost is skin and “Dove helps repair it,” this one-second fine print footnote comes on the screen.

repair barrier disclaimer

That is the only time the company says in the ad that what they are really talking about is repairing the skin’s barrier.

The website for Dove Cool Essentials explains a bit further:

Did you know that when you shave, 1/3 of what you remove is skin? That’s why our Advanced Care Cool Essentials Antiperspirant Dry Spray is infused with Pro-Ceramide Technology, which helps strengthen your skin’s barrier by helping boost ceramide levels (that naturally deplete when you shave).

That is apparently a true statement. The sunflower oil in the spray’s ingredients could perform a protective function if it was applied in sufficient quantity to help the skin stay moist and may help protect against infections. But that is not the same as suggesting that the ceramides in the deodorant can repair lost skin or build it back up — the very problem the commercial seems to be alerting viewers about.

We asked a dermatologist if this product could possibly repair lost skin or replenish it. She said she was not aware of any evidence-based science to support those claims. A second dermatologist said that ceramides are an ingredient in popular lotions and creams to add moisture to treat dry skin, but he did not know if the company’s claims were true or just theoretical.

So we asked Unilever, the manufacturer of Dove deodorant, if they had studies that demonstrate that use of this Dove deodorant can replenish lost skin. They did not reply to multiple inquiries.

As a result, we have asked the National Advertising Division of Better Business Bureau National Programs to open a case about this advertisement.

Share this story:

 

ADV
Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Here We Shrink Again – Summer 2024 – Part 2

We conclude our two-part series this week about products that have recently been downsized (shrinkflation).

Brawny Paper Towels

Paper towel manufacturers seem to always be reducing the number of paper towels on each roll and sometimes even the dimensions of each sheet. This time, the tear-a-square variety went from 120 sheets on a roll to just 100, but each sheet on the new one is 4/10th of an inch longer.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Brawny paper towels

Maxwell House 100% Columbian Coffee

Remember when cans of ground coffee were a full pound? Over the decades, the contents have been continually whittled down to the point where you don’t even have 10 ounces of coffee in them, like this variety that was just downsized. And the big canisters lost almost an ounce and a half.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Maxwell House 100% Columbian

Maxwell House Columbian

Gillette Custom Plus 3

Nick B. buys his razor blades at Costco and he sent us this picture showing that their 36 packs of Gillette Custom Plus 3 razors now only have 30 of them — a 17-percent reduction. And the price stayed the same at $31.99.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Gillette blades

Kellogg’s Special K Red Berries Cereal

Kellogg’s has been busy this year reducing the contents of various of its cereal varieties. This one is particularly surprising because the new box is actually taller than the old box! How is that possible? They made the new box more narrow.

The contents went from 16.9 ounces down to 15.6 — the equivalent of losing one bowl of cereal in every package.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Special K Red Berry

Tom’s of Maine Toothpaste

Like so many brands, Tom’s of Maine is shrinking their tubes of toothpaste. This time, the already small 4.7-ounce size went down to just four ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tom's of Maine

DiGiorno Rising Crust Pizza

Consumers lost almost three ounces of pepperoni pizza in these boxes. At least the new one no longer says “33% more.” Thanks to our ace shrinkflation spotter, Richard G., for finding this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

DiGiorno pizza

Mission Carb Balance Whole Wheat Tortillas

If you didn’t check the number of Mission tortillas you were getting in the package, you might not have realized the old eight-count pack now only has six tortillas — a 25-percent reduction. Thanks to Devin B. for this submission.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Mission tortillas

Kellogg’s Raisin Bran Crunch

In another downsizing where Kellogg’s has made the new package taller but narrower, almost two ounces was removed from Raisin Bran Crunch boxes, and the price stayed the same. Thanks, Richard G., for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kellogg's Raisin Bran Crunch

Lesser Evil Popcorn

Andie S. told us about Lesser Evil popcorn which has been reduced in size by almost 10 percent. The five-ounce bag is now 4.6 ounces. Popcorn kernels are so cheap, it is hard to imagine why any company has to skimp on them.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Lesser Evil Popcorn

Green Mount K-Cups

Steven C. alerted us to a change in the number of k-cup pods that are in Green Mountain boxes. Their smallest box just went from 12 cups to 10… and the price stayed the same.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Green Mountain K-Cups

If you spot a product that has been recently downsized, please take a picture of the old version and the new version, showing the net weight or net count, and email it to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks.

Share this story:

 

ADV