According to Time Magazine, “In an era of super-size and SUVs, some goods are actually getting smaller. Manufacturers are quietly trimming the content of their packaged products – from yogurt and ice-cream to laundry detergent and diapers – and often they aren’t dropping prices to match.”
This tactic is not new, but because of the sagging economy and more cost-conscious consumers, many manufacturers are now downsizing their products more aggressively to maintain their profit margin.
From about 2004 to date, there has been a drastic change in the manufacturing sector of the Nigerian economy also. Manufacturers of most household items have introduced new products and re-launched old ones to strategically position themselves for better sales. Most of these involve changes in brand logos, brand name, etc., and at times it entails a total change in marketing strategy and in the advert theme. Often, all these maneuvers are superficial in order to mislead the unguided end user.
The unfortunate thing is that most consumers do not notice that weights and measures have changed – a few grams or meters. Consequently, consumers end up spending more for less.
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A clear example can be seen from most of our brewers, who are involved in re-branding most of their existing products in the guise of repositioning to fit new market trends. In their various rebranding, what do we notice? Smaller and more attractive containers/bottles. What is the implication? The content has been automatically affected by the smallness of the containers. Some re-launch products that were practically not acceptable to the consumer when they first came out.
Apart from few manufacturers that slightly increased content, majority reduced content by systematically and attractively reducing the container. Consumers therefore have less quantity, maybe the same quality, and same price, or at times pay higher price for less quantity. What a rip-off!
There is no exception with soap and detergent manufacturers. You notice in this industry the same soap, may be also, same quality, coming in smaller form being launched and re-launched in order to deceive the final end user. The toothpaste manufacturers are also involved in this unwholesome act. Toothpaste that should have been forgotten for not being what was claimed is re-launch into the market, even at a higher price.
The juice manufacturers also share in this chicanery. Attractive fruit juices come in different attractive packs with less content. The unsuspecting end user never cares to measure or weigh it to confirm its content.
A glaring item, which most below-average consumers use often, is our regular candle. The current candlestick in the market is thinner and burns faster, and at the end you can’t even find the wax. Compare this with candlesticks of the 70s and 80s, and you will understand that this new trend is frightening.
What about the tobacco industry? Cigarette smokers can tell that a stick of cigarette burns faster than what it used to be; although, this can be pardonable because health experts often warn about the dangers of smoking.
Our electronics these days come with attractive scientific devices that most people cannot operate efficiently. A slight surge in the source of power supply burns it out. Who is at loss? The end user. Are we seeing what I am seeing?
The most annoying of this trickery is perpetrated by our motor vehicle manufacturers. New models of cars are sleekly and attractive to all. They are faster than the old models, with more electronically controlled devices, and above all, more expensive. But have you taken note that they are less safe?
In the 70s to 80s, when there was head-to-head collision, drivers and passengers could still be safe, because then cars were made of steel. Today, what do we have? A slight collision results in the car being squeezed like a can of juice, resulting in the disablement or death of the occupants. Why? Because modern vehicles are mostly made of more fibre in order to increase its speed and reduce weight; the lighter a car is, the faster it moves and burns more fuel. These cars are more expensive, but less safe, what an irony. We all know that steel is more expensive, heavier and safer than fibre. The ongoing crisis with Boeing 777 Max is a clear instance being discussed here.
At the end of the year, manufacturers declare huge profits after tax at the expense of the unprotected consumers. You then see shareholders smiling to their banks, and in turn use the supposed profits gained in buying same product at which they are short-changed. The irony in life, you may say.
For the manufacturers, it is good to boost sales and reposition your brands in the eyes of the consumers in this ever-widening competitive market, but making consumers an experimental tool to testing the viability of your products by exploiting their ignorance is criminal.
“Consumers really don’t have in their mind that they have to check the net weight or net count every time they buy something. It’s perfect consumer scam when consumers don’t know that they have been taken in,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumers Advocacy website.
Consumers today, due to the severity of the economic situation, are becoming more conscious of Shrinkflation, producers’ dubious strategy of reducing product quantity through repacking and other gimmicks while retaining price, or at times, increasing price slightly.
This increasing consumer awareness makes it vital for producers who have been short-changing their customers to have a rethink and devise cost-savings approaches that would reduce pressure on their margins and still offer end users value for money.
OSA VICTOR OBAYAGBONA
