Disguising Price Increases(No Politics Please)
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GoDawgs
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Disguising Price Increases(No Politics Please)
I might as well post this as shortage problems go hand in hand with price increases. This is from an article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-compan ... 1637490602
The meat of the article:
"Here are common ways companies raise prices covertly.
1. Unbundling services, lowering product quality and devaluing reward programs
My favorite pricing aphorism is, “Raise prices but keep them the same.” It sounds like a Zen koan, and it holds the key to a successful price increase. Consider this telling statistic from a recent Wall Street Journal article on airline prices: The average domestic airline ticket price is about the same today as 25 years ago, $260, versus $284 in 1996. And that’s before adjusting for inflation. How is it possible that the airline industry hasn’t increased ticket prices in over two decades?
It isn’t, really. Most of us are paying a lot more to fly today, thanks to a combination of three covert price increases. First, airlines have unbundled services so that fliers pay extra for checking luggage, boarding early, selecting a seat, having a meal and so on. The charges for these services don’t show up on the ticket price, but they are substantial. Second, the airplane seat’s quality, as measured by its pitch, width, seat material and heft, has declined considerably, meaning customers are getting far less value for the ticket price. And third, many airlines have steadily eroded the value of frequent-flier miles, increasing costs for today’s heavy fliers relative to those in 1996.
These practices are also common in other industries, whether it’s resort fees in hotels, cheaper raw materials in garments and appliances, or more-stringent restaurant and credit-card rewards programs.
2. Shrinkflation and the quantity surcharge
Most people are familiar with shrinkflation—the common practice in the grocery industry of reducing weight, quantity or volume of a package while maintaining price. It works effectively as a covert price increase, because consumers are far more likely to notice price increases than equivalent weight or quantity decreases.
Less well known is a little psychological trick companies use with larger packages. Many shoppers assume that such packages with labels like “Party Size” or “Jumbo” will be cheaper on a per-unit basis. This is often not the case. Brands routinely exploit this common consumer belief by marking up larger packages more, and earning a greater margin on them. Researchers call this a “quantity surcharge.”
At the same time, in many categories like cola and cookies, smaller packages still often cost a lot more per unit than standard-size packages, just as consumers expect.
The critical insight is that every product in a brand’s lineup has different markups and margins that aren’t always intuitive to customers. To raise prices covertly, the brand or the grocery store sells more of the higher-margin items by increasing their availability and visibility in the store, or withdrawing popular lower-margin items from circulation for a period. The prices don’t change, but customers pay more.
3. Disappearing deals and coupons
Incentives such as coupons, “buy one, get one” offers and free shipping are common in many industries. Every promotion lowers the actual price paid by customers. So it makes sense that companies can routinely raise prices covertly by reducing the incentives they offer.
Even increasing the threshold for free shipping, from $49 to $99, is tantamount to a price increase. Customers might grumble when they realize their favorite deal is no longer available, but relatively few of them change their behavior in response.
4. The sunk costs of memberships
Consider the following comparison: Which one is cheaper, a 64-ounce container of mayonnaise at a warehouse club that costs $7.99, or a 48-ounce bottle of the same brand at a supermarket for $5.94?
Most people will guess the warehouse club because of its low-price image. If you do the math, the price per ounce is roughly the same. But if you consider that the warehouse club requires a separate mandatory membership fee, the customer is actually paying more per ounce at the warehouse club.
Still, even though they pay it, most warehouse customers almost always ignore the initial fee, even if it’s recurring. They treat it as a sunk cost and fail to account for it in calculating the actual price they are paying for an item.
Known as two-part pricing, the membership fee camouflages the actual price paid by customers—and is behind the success of Costco, Amazon and likely your neighborhood gym. (A gym’s initiation fee, a landlord’s application or administrative fee, and an online ticket seller’s per-transaction processing fee all serve the same purpose.)
5. From good to better and from better to best
Another way to raise prices covertly is to introduce new, higher-quality versions at higher prices. This is called “good-better-best” pricing. Consumers like this approach because it gives them more choices. But its side effect is a stealthy price increase.
Many companies have used this method to benefit from higher consumer demand and earn higher prices during the pandemic. For example, Peloton lowered the price of its most popular basic spin bike by $350, or 16%, from $2,245 to $1,895. At the same time, it introduced a more expensive and profitable new bike for $2,495.
I believe that both moves effectively increased the average prices paid by Peloton customers, although the company won’t confirm that’s the case.
The smartest companies don’t raise their prices with great fanfare, because direct price increases are often met with customer resistance. What they do instead is to employ nuanced pricing strategies to increase prices covertly, often keeping their regular or visible prices unchanged. Most customers don’t notice, and some customers may even benefit by paying less. But in the end, the company enjoys higher sales and profit margins than before.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-compan ... 1637490602
The meat of the article:
"Here are common ways companies raise prices covertly.
1. Unbundling services, lowering product quality and devaluing reward programs
My favorite pricing aphorism is, “Raise prices but keep them the same.” It sounds like a Zen koan, and it holds the key to a successful price increase. Consider this telling statistic from a recent Wall Street Journal article on airline prices: The average domestic airline ticket price is about the same today as 25 years ago, $260, versus $284 in 1996. And that’s before adjusting for inflation. How is it possible that the airline industry hasn’t increased ticket prices in over two decades?
It isn’t, really. Most of us are paying a lot more to fly today, thanks to a combination of three covert price increases. First, airlines have unbundled services so that fliers pay extra for checking luggage, boarding early, selecting a seat, having a meal and so on. The charges for these services don’t show up on the ticket price, but they are substantial. Second, the airplane seat’s quality, as measured by its pitch, width, seat material and heft, has declined considerably, meaning customers are getting far less value for the ticket price. And third, many airlines have steadily eroded the value of frequent-flier miles, increasing costs for today’s heavy fliers relative to those in 1996.
These practices are also common in other industries, whether it’s resort fees in hotels, cheaper raw materials in garments and appliances, or more-stringent restaurant and credit-card rewards programs.
2. Shrinkflation and the quantity surcharge
Most people are familiar with shrinkflation—the common practice in the grocery industry of reducing weight, quantity or volume of a package while maintaining price. It works effectively as a covert price increase, because consumers are far more likely to notice price increases than equivalent weight or quantity decreases.
Less well known is a little psychological trick companies use with larger packages. Many shoppers assume that such packages with labels like “Party Size” or “Jumbo” will be cheaper on a per-unit basis. This is often not the case. Brands routinely exploit this common consumer belief by marking up larger packages more, and earning a greater margin on them. Researchers call this a “quantity surcharge.”
At the same time, in many categories like cola and cookies, smaller packages still often cost a lot more per unit than standard-size packages, just as consumers expect.
The critical insight is that every product in a brand’s lineup has different markups and margins that aren’t always intuitive to customers. To raise prices covertly, the brand or the grocery store sells more of the higher-margin items by increasing their availability and visibility in the store, or withdrawing popular lower-margin items from circulation for a period. The prices don’t change, but customers pay more.
3. Disappearing deals and coupons
Incentives such as coupons, “buy one, get one” offers and free shipping are common in many industries. Every promotion lowers the actual price paid by customers. So it makes sense that companies can routinely raise prices covertly by reducing the incentives they offer.
Even increasing the threshold for free shipping, from $49 to $99, is tantamount to a price increase. Customers might grumble when they realize their favorite deal is no longer available, but relatively few of them change their behavior in response.
4. The sunk costs of memberships
Consider the following comparison: Which one is cheaper, a 64-ounce container of mayonnaise at a warehouse club that costs $7.99, or a 48-ounce bottle of the same brand at a supermarket for $5.94?
Most people will guess the warehouse club because of its low-price image. If you do the math, the price per ounce is roughly the same. But if you consider that the warehouse club requires a separate mandatory membership fee, the customer is actually paying more per ounce at the warehouse club.
Still, even though they pay it, most warehouse customers almost always ignore the initial fee, even if it’s recurring. They treat it as a sunk cost and fail to account for it in calculating the actual price they are paying for an item.
Known as two-part pricing, the membership fee camouflages the actual price paid by customers—and is behind the success of Costco, Amazon and likely your neighborhood gym. (A gym’s initiation fee, a landlord’s application or administrative fee, and an online ticket seller’s per-transaction processing fee all serve the same purpose.)
5. From good to better and from better to best
Another way to raise prices covertly is to introduce new, higher-quality versions at higher prices. This is called “good-better-best” pricing. Consumers like this approach because it gives them more choices. But its side effect is a stealthy price increase.
Many companies have used this method to benefit from higher consumer demand and earn higher prices during the pandemic. For example, Peloton lowered the price of its most popular basic spin bike by $350, or 16%, from $2,245 to $1,895. At the same time, it introduced a more expensive and profitable new bike for $2,495.
I believe that both moves effectively increased the average prices paid by Peloton customers, although the company won’t confirm that’s the case.
The smartest companies don’t raise their prices with great fanfare, because direct price increases are often met with customer resistance. What they do instead is to employ nuanced pricing strategies to increase prices covertly, often keeping their regular or visible prices unchanged. Most customers don’t notice, and some customers may even benefit by paying less. But in the end, the company enjoys higher sales and profit margins than before.
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slugworth
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
easy pour 52 oz OJ.
I would rather have difficult pour 64oz OJ.
I am old enough to remember 1 lb coffee cans that came with a scoop inside.
Getting back to the pound cake- they call it loaf cake now,11.5oz
I would rather have difficult pour 64oz OJ.
I am old enough to remember 1 lb coffee cans that came with a scoop inside.
Getting back to the pound cake- they call it loaf cake now,11.5oz
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island" 
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brownrexx
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Although I agree about the shrinking product sizes, pound cake actually gets its name from having a pound of butter in the mix. Theoretically you can buy a "pound " cake in any size or weight.
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slugworth
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
bacon is down to 12oz packages for the same old price of 16oz.
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island"
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worth1
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
I can verify the airline prices.
Flew considerably in the 70's and from 2005 to 2015 or so.
The quality the people the food and everything has gone down hill big time.
The very best airline I flew on was Alaska airline based in Seattle Washington.
The flight crew actually remembered me as well as many of the people at the counters and gates.
Not because I acted up but because I was always nice to them.
I could get an upgrade or a flight change with no charge all the time.
I even figured out ways around things in the system they didn't know about.
Flew considerably in the 70's and from 2005 to 2015 or so.
The quality the people the food and everything has gone down hill big time.
The very best airline I flew on was Alaska airline based in Seattle Washington.
The flight crew actually remembered me as well as many of the people at the counters and gates.
Not because I acted up but because I was always nice to them.
I could get an upgrade or a flight change with no charge all the time.
I even figured out ways around things in the system they didn't know about.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
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bower
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
I don't find this particularly shocking, and I don't really see it as illegitimate in the context of the pandemic recession.
Major changes in costs put a manufacturing business in a pickle. In order to stay afloat or maintain the bottom line, the costs have to be passed on to the consumer. There are several ways of doing that, one is to do a direct price hike, the other is to keep your price point but downsize the item and its associated cost, as in examples here.
It isn't cost-free to make changes eg to the size of your mayo jar. Redesigning your package and equipment, if required, can make this a difficult step to take. And yet it may be necessary to do so. I have seen this happen before, and when jar sizes change instead of price points, the price change will be permanent even if economic conditions improve.
Compare a direct price hike, where the "sticker shock" reaction can put your business under. People may change brands, permanently. Or just forego the item which no longer fits their budget. The risk of hiking prices is pretty serious, if your costs have increased a lot. You may lose a large chunk of market share and make things worse. That is the reason that more complicated restructuring of the product offer, even changing your package size to keep a certain price point, becomes a good strategy to stay afloat in spite of additional costs.
No one is happy to see prices go up or reduced value for your dollar. Everyone (or most everyone) is suffering the same problem as the companies, that is that cost of living is going up without a raise in your income. But I do not fault them for the so called 'disguise' of price increase, if it allows them to continue offering a product that I like.
I don't really believe this is happening in order to reap increased profits, not in the present economic context.
Companies are just trying to stay in business.
Major changes in costs put a manufacturing business in a pickle. In order to stay afloat or maintain the bottom line, the costs have to be passed on to the consumer. There are several ways of doing that, one is to do a direct price hike, the other is to keep your price point but downsize the item and its associated cost, as in examples here.
It isn't cost-free to make changes eg to the size of your mayo jar. Redesigning your package and equipment, if required, can make this a difficult step to take. And yet it may be necessary to do so. I have seen this happen before, and when jar sizes change instead of price points, the price change will be permanent even if economic conditions improve.
Compare a direct price hike, where the "sticker shock" reaction can put your business under. People may change brands, permanently. Or just forego the item which no longer fits their budget. The risk of hiking prices is pretty serious, if your costs have increased a lot. You may lose a large chunk of market share and make things worse. That is the reason that more complicated restructuring of the product offer, even changing your package size to keep a certain price point, becomes a good strategy to stay afloat in spite of additional costs.
No one is happy to see prices go up or reduced value for your dollar. Everyone (or most everyone) is suffering the same problem as the companies, that is that cost of living is going up without a raise in your income. But I do not fault them for the so called 'disguise' of price increase, if it allows them to continue offering a product that I like.
I don't really believe this is happening in order to reap increased profits, not in the present economic context.
Companies are just trying to stay in business.
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temperate marine climate
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slugworth
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Even a large white egg is puny compared to the old days.
I know they are sold by weight not by volume but Ii gave up and buy jumbo eggs.
A large egg now is like a medium egg in the old days.
I know they are sold by weight not by volume but Ii gave up and buy jumbo eggs.
A large egg now is like a medium egg in the old days.
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island"
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worth1
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
I buy JUMBO TEXAS sized eggs.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
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GoDawgs
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
While looking for something about Bower's "99 cents" pricing comment I found this article on "7 Pricing Tricks That Make You Spend More".
https://www.cbsnews.com/media/7-pricing ... pend-more/
I wonder who actually studies all this stuff?
And of course all the shrinkage etc to disguise price increases is an effort to deflect customer sticker shock. It doesn't work on me though as I go by cost per ounce. If it's a product I really like and want no substitutions I'll shrug my shoulders and keep buying it. But if there's a viable substitution available I sure will contemplate a change in brands.
https://www.cbsnews.com/media/7-pricing ... pend-more/
I wonder who actually studies all this stuff?
And of course all the shrinkage etc to disguise price increases is an effort to deflect customer sticker shock. It doesn't work on me though as I go by cost per ounce. If it's a product I really like and want no substitutions I'll shrug my shoulders and keep buying it. But if there's a viable substitution available I sure will contemplate a change in brands.
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brownrexx
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Remember discussing how the minimum wage should be $15 / hr. ? This is not the total reason for increased prices but it definitely plays a part. The extra money for increased wages has to come from somewhere.
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Cole_Robbie
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Publicly traded companies report earnings quarterly, and the ceo will usually do a conference call for investors. The message delivered is typically quite different from their advertising. The ads will talk about what a great value they offer to consumers. Then on the earnings call to investors, the message will switch to something like "we're making a killing sticking it to these suckers!"
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worth1
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Like moving companies out of the US and not going down on the price.
Removing one pickle from each hamburger.
Removing one pickle from each hamburger.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
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Seven Bends
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
The federal minimum wage is still $7.25/hour, and it has been that same amount since 2009, so that has played no role in recent higher prices. Only one "state," Washington, DC, has a minimum wage of at least $15, and that rate was phased in over 7 years from $8.25 in 2014. DC's increase from 2020 to 2021 was $.20/hour, so again, not the reason for the current higher prices. I suspect not many states pushed through a big minimum wage increase this year, in the face of the economic troubles of Covid.
To the extent wages are going up now, they're going up not because of the minimum wage, but because companies are finding it hard to entice workers to come back to poorly paid jobs with lots of risky public contact.
I don't at all mind paying higher prices to support higher wages for the lowest-paid employees. I figure it basically evens out, because if we don't pay those employees a livable wage, we have to pay it to them in food stamps(SNAP), housing subsidies, free school lunches, Medicaid, all of which come out of taxes we pay, so we're paying it anyway. I'd rather the companies just pay people decently in the first place, so they can have some dignity and feel proud about their jobs and self-sufficiency. It's also economically more efficient, because the employment cost is reflected in the cost of the company's goods and services, instead of being "socialized" out to the General Treasury. I'm tired of corporations privatizing profit and socializing cost.
If you cut one high-level person's compensation from $500K to $200K (still a lot of money), you can raise the salaries of 27 employees from $10 up to $15/hour. If you bring Jeff Bezos back down to earth, you can pay a decent wage to a lot of Amazon warehouse workers, so they can get off food stamps.
The federal minimum wage of $7.25/hour equals $15,080 per year. Virginia's minimum wage is $9.50/hour, which is $19,760 per year. The average monthly rent of an average apartment (936 sq. ft.) in my county is $2,054/month, or $24,648 per year. I think you can see the problem with those numbers.
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GoDawgs
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Yes, a lot of the price increases are due to higher wages paid. It's not necessary for a state to mandate it via legislation. It is competition in the open market that is driving wages up as companies compete for willing labor. I would submit that the doling out of free money during the pandemic got a lot of people to sit on the sidelines and started the ball rolling. More are returning to work now that the cash faucet has been turned off and wages offered are increasing. However one must recognize that many jobs are merely entry level and not meant to be a career unless a restaurant dishwasher, for example, wants to do that the rest of their life. One is expected to have the initiative to ask for more responsibilities to become more skilled, receive more money for that and move up.
I am very much against taking income from one person and giving it to another. But the subject of redistribution is not one I'd like to debate in this thread.
I am very much against taking income from one person and giving it to another. But the subject of redistribution is not one I'd like to debate in this thread.
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slugworth
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
The changing workforce has a lot to do with it.
When I was a kid,high school kids would break their necks trying to get a job at McD to flip burgers.
Then there was a mix of kids and really old people.
Now you pay $10 for a microwaved big mac and fries.
When I was a kid,high school kids would break their necks trying to get a job at McD to flip burgers.
Then there was a mix of kids and really old people.
Now you pay $10 for a microwaved big mac and fries.
"A chiseled face,Just like Easter Island"
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bower
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
Well I read an interesting article recently about the Justinianic pandemic of the plague. Historians had previously argued that it wasn't a significant pandemic because the culture continued intact, society didn't fail. The documentation OTOH shows exactly what was going on and clearly parallels the current situation. Price and wage controls were imposed, and some acerbic remarks about the workers who were demanding higher wages or refusing to work in the circumstances. Coins were minted at much reduced weights for the same face value. They did make it through without the 'empire' failing, but the impact of a pandemic on the economy is clearly not trivial.
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-justinian ... gland.html
We should also remember our economic history around the great recession of 1935, what worked and what didn't work to pull us out of it.
It's a bumpy road, no doubt.
I feel the same as you GoDawgs - if I really like the product I'll take the loss, if not, walk away and find alternatives.
I was in the grocery store today. One of the things I really don't want to be without is Hellman's mayo. Yup.
I always buy a couple when they are on special and never or rarely forced to buy at full price. That's how our grocery store works. Regular prices suck. Specials are worth waiting for, if you can. I could hardly believe my eyes today, they are asking $7.99 for a jar of mayo which I have been buying on special for $4.99 or less. I think the regular price might have been $5.99 which I walked away from a thousand times... Then again, it's the .99's - do I really remember what I paid? 
https://phys.org/news/2021-11-justinian ... gland.html
We should also remember our economic history around the great recession of 1935, what worked and what didn't work to pull us out of it.
It's a bumpy road, no doubt.
I feel the same as you GoDawgs - if I really like the product I'll take the loss, if not, walk away and find alternatives.
I was in the grocery store today. One of the things I really don't want to be without is Hellman's mayo. Yup.
I always buy a couple when they are on special and never or rarely forced to buy at full price. That's how our grocery store works. Regular prices suck. Specials are worth waiting for, if you can. I could hardly believe my eyes today, they are asking $7.99 for a jar of mayo which I have been buying on special for $4.99 or less. I think the regular price might have been $5.99 which I walked away from a thousand times... Then again, it's the .99's - do I really remember what I paid? AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
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Cole_Robbie
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
I know a guy who is raising four young kids by himself because their mother ran off to go be a drug addict. A fast food job is all he could get. But because of obamacare, they don't let anyone work more than 30 hours a week, or else they have to offer health insurance. So he got two 30 hour jobs. He mops floors and empties the garbage bins. He and his kids were living in a single room that was a garage. Last I heard, he had moved them into a single wide trailer. They obviously aren't rich, but they are making it, because he refuses to let them fail. Just because someone has a low paying job, doesn't mean they don't have initiative in life.
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worth1
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
You probably already know my story.Cole_Robbie wrote: ↑Tue Nov 23, 2021 4:50 pm I know a guy who is raising four young kids by himself because their mother ran off to go be a drug addict. A fast food job is all he could get. But because of obamacare, they don't let anyone work more than 30 hours a week, or else they have to offer health insurance. So he got two 30 hour jobs. He mops floors and empties the garbage bins. He and his kids were living in a single room that was a garage. Last I heard, he had moved them into a single wide trailer. They obviously aren't rich, but they are making it, because he refuses to let them fail. Just because someone has a low paying job, doesn't mean they don't have initiative in life.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
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worth1
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
There is a thread in the controversial section on wages.
I would be happy to discuss wages there not here.
@Bower
You don't wanna know what I pay for premium brand mayonnaise.
I would be happy to discuss wages there not here.
@Bower
You don't wanna know what I pay for premium brand mayonnaise.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.
You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.
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Tormahto
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Re: Disguising Price Increases
I noticed more package shrinkage today. Slivered almonds were the same price as last year, but the weight went from 10 oz to 8.5 oz. And, I bought the bulk roll of GV aluminum foil. The old roll was 285 ft, the new one 225 feet. I can't recall what I paid for the old one a few years ago. There's no way that I'm buying the uber expensive Reynolds brand. I'm perfectly fine wearing my generic tinfoil hat.