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Ho Ho NO: Unplugged Shoppers Face Higher Grocery Prices

UPDATE: On January 12, a New Jersey assemblyman filled the first bill in the country requiring retailers who offer “digital coupons” to also provide paper ones of equal value to those customers who do not have internet access.

The millions of seniors who don’t use the internet (25% according to Pew Research Center) or who don’t have a smartphone (39%) are being charged substantially higher grocery prices than their more tech-savvy counterparts because they cannot clip the e-coupons necessary to be charged the advertised sale prices in the store. Unplugged lower income shoppers face the same roadblock. (See our recent story.)

Look at just the front page of this ad from a Washington, DC Safeway store right before Christmas advertising in-store prices. Note how much more an unplugged (“non-digital” in red) shopper pays versus a digital shopper:

*MOUSE PRINT:

Safeway non-digital prices

Just on those five items being purchased in-store, a non-digital shopper even if a member of the store’s loyalty program would have paid $67.03 compared to just $42.73 for a shopper who was able to clip the digital offers before going to the store. That is almost $25 more for the very same items.

Similarly, at this Star Market in Boston, an unplugged shopper would pay over $29 more for just these seven items.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Star Market non-digital prices

In November, five national consumer organizations including Consumer World called on a dozen leaders of the supermarket industry to make an offline alternative available in their stores to disconnected shoppers so everyone could have an equal opportunity to pay the same discounted prices. The response has been silence from them or a bit of misleading PR-spin.

Now it is your turn to speak up and speak out telling supermarket executives how “digital-only” sale prices unfairly discriminate against the millions of shoppers without internet access or smartphones. Urge those companies to make a new year’s resolution to find a way to offer their unplugged customers the same lower sale prices that more digitally-capable shoppers pay.

So… please consider sending an email to the CEOs of Albertsons Companies (which owns Acme, Albertsons, Carrs, Jewel Osco, Randalls, Safeway, Shaw’s, Star Market, Tom Thumb, and Vons), The Kroger Company (which owns Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Foods Co., Fred Meyer, Food 4 Less, Frys, Gerbes, King Soopers, Kroger, Marianos, Metro Market, Payless, Pick ‘n Save, QFC, Ralphs, and Smiths), and Stop & Shop.

The Albertsons Companies: Vivek.Sankaran@Albertsons.com

The Kroger Co.: Rodney.McMullen@kroger.com

Stop & Shop: Gordon.Reid@stopandshop.com

Perhaps together we can help convince stores to treat all their shoppers equally and fight inflation a little more easily.

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“Original” Smart Balance Starting to Reappear

Last fall, we spotlighted how Smart Balance sneakily reduced the oil content of its buttery spread from 64-percent fat to only 39-percent. Regular users noticed because at the time they posted more than 800 one-star reviews criticizing Conagra for watering down the recipe. That number has since swelled to over 2,200!

The company said they were trying to make the product more spreadable. No, they were trying to save money on ingredients thinking the public wouldn’t notice or care. In any event, after hearing all the complaints, they promised to bring back the “original” recipe by the beginning of 2023, and it is now starting to reappear on store shelves. Thanks to reader Mario C. for spotting it.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Smart Balance reshelved

But just as inconspicuously as the product went from 64-percent to 39-percent oil, the change back is just as opaque. The resurrected version is not emblazoned with a big “new and improved” starburst or any other obvious package modification to let you know of the change back. You have to check the tiny numbers in the bottom left hand corner to see if what you’re buying is the 39-percent version or the 64-percent version.

And don’t go by the best by date on the package. In the above example, the watered-down 39-percent oil version has a later freshness date than the 64-percent oil version just coming back on store shelves.

We asked Conagra when the transition would be complete and if they had any general comments to make. A company spokesperson said this in a statement:

We are currently producing Small [sic] Balance with the original recipe, which consumers will see on store shelves in the coming months. There will be a period of time when both Smart Balance recipes are on shelf as we make the transition.

We can only hope that the Conagra margarine debacle will make other companies think twice before quietly skimping on key ingredients in their products. But don’t count on it. We’re afraid that skimpflation is here to stay.

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Skimpflation: Cough Syrup Strength Cut in Half

NOTE: The next new Mouse Print* story will be published on January 2nd.

Shrinkflation’s evil twin is “skimpflation.” That is when a manufacturer reformulates a product using less of the expensive components and sometimes substitutes less expensive ingredients. In other words, some products actually get watered down.

Store Brand Cough Syrup

Discovering that a product’s recipe has changed is very difficult to detect. But regular reader Mark D. spotted a great example. Shopping at his local Kroger store he discovered that their store brand cough syrup had been diluted, now requiring you to take twice as much per dose.

Kroger cough syrup

We found that Kroger was not alone in doing this because various other chains are also changing the formula of their own brand of cough syrup.

Here are before and after CVS’ versions of Tussin DM (a knockoff of Robitussin):

CVS tussin dm

Only that tiny notation on the front panel that says “see new dosing” gives a clue to a change in the product. When checking the drug facts, comparing the ingredients in the old and the new product, the clever ploy is revealed.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tussin DM active ingredients

Now there is only half the amount of active ingredients in each bottle. Put another way, to get the same amount of the two active ingredients per dose, you now have to consume twice as much cough syrup – 20 ml per dose instead of the old 10 ml.

CVS tussin dm dosing

We asked CVS why it made the change, and a spokesperson responded in relevant part:

In 2021, when the national brand equivalent made changes to their formulation, including changes to flavor, a change in dosing, and removal of high fructose corn syrup, CVS also updated its formulation of CVS Health Brand Tussin-DM.

Best we can tell changes like this are occurring with other store brands including Walgreens. If there is any good news, it seems to have taken the store brands four or five years to realize that Robitussin changed its dosing around 2017. The spokesperson for Haleon, the maker of Robitussin, when asked why the formulation changed said:

Over the years the brand has launched new, innovative products and evolved to meet changing consumer needs. This includes in 2015 and thereafter, when the brand reformulated its Robitussin DM products to improve factors such as taste to allow for a better consumer experience.

None of the store brands is promoting the fact that with less medicine in every dose, the product is better tasting. But, they are benefiting financially because the product now gets used up twice as fast.

If you spot an instance where a product has been watered-down or cheaper ingredients have replaced more expensive ones, please let us know. Just send an email to Edgar (at symbol) ConsumerWorld.org . Try to include “before” and “after” pictures.

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