HOUSTON — Grocery shopping is a monthly — or even weekly — task for many.
If you feel like you’re paying more but getting less, you’re not alone.
Lexi Giannetto is a mother of four. Her kids are 20, 15, 10 and 6. Over the last few years, she’s noticed big differences when it comes to the grocery store bill.
“I’m spending more right now with only three kids at home for our groceries here at our house than I was having four kids at home,” Giannetto said.
Giannetto said right now she spends about $1,500 a month on groceries, but in 2019, she was spending about $900 a month.
“I was able to sit back and compare an exact purchase that I purchased in 2019 to an exact purchase if I were to buy it today, and it was $75 more,” Giannetto said.
Giannetto also noticed some items have higher prices but less actual product.
“These are the pita chips down here from $5.99 to $8.99 and it went from an 18-ounce bag to a 15-ounce bag,” Gianetto said.
Since 1995, consumer expert Edgar Dworsky has kept a close eye on the products we often throw in our grocery carts.
“There are just so many categories of goods that are shrinking,” Dworsky said.
Dworsky said manufacturers have packaging tricks that can lead people to believe they’re getting more product.
“Special K, you know, the red berry variety, you look at the new box which is 15.6 oz. — the old one was 16.9 and it actually is slightly taller than the old box,” Dworsky said. “So if you saw them on the shelf, gee, you’d think maybe you’re getting more and in fact, you’re getting maybe a full bowl of cereal less in every box.”
It’s not just cereal.
“DiGiorno rising crust pepperoni pizza was 27.5 oz. for the pretty large size, it was reduced by 10% — 24.7 oz. is the new one,” Dworsky said.
Dworsky said we can see two things when shopping: One is shrinkflation which means the size of a product is reduced, but the price is the same. The other is product shrinkage which means exactly what it says, less product and sometimes with a higher price tag.
Leading people like Giannetto to change the way they shop, like going to different stores.
“When I’ve got my really long grocery list, I look at, OK, this is how much it is at H-E-B, this is how much it is at Kroger, this is how much it is at Walmart and choose which store I’m going to buy what item from,” Giannetto said.
She also buys in bulk more than she did before.
“Buy it and store it in the freezer,” Giannetto said. “We had to buy a freezer to put in the garage. So, when I buy stuff in bulk I actually have somewhere to put things.”
Dworsky advises shoppers to keep a close eye before buying.
“Don’t be an automatic shopper,” Dworsky said. “By that, I mean don’t just grab that jar of mayonnaise that you always grab because it looks to be about the same size. Don’t always grab that box of cereal. Don’t buy by size name.”
