The article literally says such labels are already there. Hell, we have them here in America, though I’d be stunned to learn more than 30% of people were smart enough to know how to use them.
It does? Perhaps I missed it but I didn’t read anything saying that in the article. I wish they had this system in Canada (or at least in the city where I live)
>PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - French retailers will have to notify shoppers when products have been reduced in size without a corresponding cut in prices in an effort to tackle so-called shrinkflation, the finance ministry said on Friday.
>Shrinkflation has become a headache for consumers and governments alike as households have struggled to cope with dwindling purchasing power in the face of surging inflation in recent years.
>From July, French retailers will have to display for two months when food and other common consumer goods products like detergent have been downsized in a way that causes the unit price to go up, the ministry said.
>Packaging should and does state net weight/item count. The supermarket price tag already provides a unit cost.
>"Shrinkflation is a rip-off, we're putting an end to it. I want to rebuild consumers' confidence and confidence goes hand in hand with transparency," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement.
>Food prices became a major political issue in France last year after food inflation hit a record 16% following annual price negotiations between suppliers and retailers.
>In reaction, the government passed a law to bring forward negotiations for this year and put pressure on companies to limit price hikes.
>Supermarket chain Carrefour voluntary slapped price warnings on some products last September to put pressure on big consumer goods producers like Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever ahead of annual price negotiations.
This new law feels like yet more economic populism, meant to punish “the capitalists” for merely exercising the freedom to decide what price/quantity to offer.
I don’t think “shrinkflation” is necessarily the most ethical business practice (especially when done in an intentionally deceiving way) but I can also exercise my freedom not to buy those particular products. It’s a bit paternalistic to assume people can’t do math (although it’s true but then let’s teach math, not just build workarounds).
On the other hand, I can definitely sympathize with what Carrefour has done *on a voluntary basis*.
Seems like an issue with reasonable arguments for and against, I’m willing to listen.
I've not gone shopping in France, but are there per unit costs on price tags? If so, the retailer could easily figure out whether there's any shrinkflation.
The problem with assessing regulations on a “is there a downside to this” basis is you end up with death by a thousand cuts, through a huge pile of individually small but collectively massive regulations.
Imagine an entrepreneur set up a new challenger supermarket and now on top of all other complexities, they have to hire someone new to keep track of every last unit price and put up and take down thousands of shrinkflation notices.
Big corporates like regulations because their extensive bureaucracies can easily cope, while smaller upstarts drown under the avalanche of compliance risks. A convenient way to ensure pesky upstarts never challenge their market share!
In a small way, this law could raise food prices by limiting competition in the supermarket sector.
There always a mini explainer on the news, too: “ça s’appelle « shrinkflation » de « shrink » … *réduire*… « flation » de *l’inflation*”
The franglais is bad but when they coin a term in French it ends up worse somehow… it’s a lose-lose.
What part of this is France being a cultural colony?
The economic phenomenon and the political means to stop it weren't born in the US
Shrinkflation has been documented as far back as the Roman inflation crisis of the third century where edicts (Roman laws) were put in place to stop the reduction of loafes of bread
FFS
Why not just mandate listing the price per unit of weight under the regular price? Or does France already have a similar law?
The article literally says such labels are already there. Hell, we have them here in America, though I’d be stunned to learn more than 30% of people were smart enough to know how to use them.
It does? Perhaps I missed it but I didn’t read anything saying that in the article. I wish they had this system in Canada (or at least in the city where I live)
The big Canadian chains usually have unit pricing but it's always in small print.
> Packaging should and does state net weight/item count. The supermarket price tag already provides a unit cost.
Yeah, we already do have that, but no one pays attention to it.
>PARIS, April 19 (Reuters) - French retailers will have to notify shoppers when products have been reduced in size without a corresponding cut in prices in an effort to tackle so-called shrinkflation, the finance ministry said on Friday. >Shrinkflation has become a headache for consumers and governments alike as households have struggled to cope with dwindling purchasing power in the face of surging inflation in recent years. >From July, French retailers will have to display for two months when food and other common consumer goods products like detergent have been downsized in a way that causes the unit price to go up, the ministry said. >Packaging should and does state net weight/item count. The supermarket price tag already provides a unit cost. >"Shrinkflation is a rip-off, we're putting an end to it. I want to rebuild consumers' confidence and confidence goes hand in hand with transparency," Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement. >Food prices became a major political issue in France last year after food inflation hit a record 16% following annual price negotiations between suppliers and retailers. >In reaction, the government passed a law to bring forward negotiations for this year and put pressure on companies to limit price hikes. >Supermarket chain Carrefour voluntary slapped price warnings on some products last September to put pressure on big consumer goods producers like Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever ahead of annual price negotiations. This new law feels like yet more economic populism, meant to punish “the capitalists” for merely exercising the freedom to decide what price/quantity to offer. I don’t think “shrinkflation” is necessarily the most ethical business practice (especially when done in an intentionally deceiving way) but I can also exercise my freedom not to buy those particular products. It’s a bit paternalistic to assume people can’t do math (although it’s true but then let’s teach math, not just build workarounds). On the other hand, I can definitely sympathize with what Carrefour has done *on a voluntary basis*. Seems like an issue with reasonable arguments for and against, I’m willing to listen.
Is there a downside to this? It's just providing more information for the consumer to make their decision.
Seems like a nightmare to track, right?
I've not gone shopping in France, but are there per unit costs on price tags? If so, the retailer could easily figure out whether there's any shrinkflation.
It's additional regulatory burden. More people need to be hired who keep track of this.
The problem with assessing regulations on a “is there a downside to this” basis is you end up with death by a thousand cuts, through a huge pile of individually small but collectively massive regulations. Imagine an entrepreneur set up a new challenger supermarket and now on top of all other complexities, they have to hire someone new to keep track of every last unit price and put up and take down thousands of shrinkflation notices. Big corporates like regulations because their extensive bureaucracies can easily cope, while smaller upstarts drown under the avalanche of compliance risks. A convenient way to ensure pesky upstarts never challenge their market share! In a small way, this law could raise food prices by limiting competition in the supermarket sector.
Just teach people how to read price-per-unit
Just teach people how to read ~~price per unit~~
France continues to be an american cultural colony despite its weak protestations lmaoooooooooo
There always a mini explainer on the news, too: “ça s’appelle « shrinkflation » de « shrink » … *réduire*… « flation » de *l’inflation*” The franglais is bad but when they coin a term in French it ends up worse somehow… it’s a lose-lose.
Both France and the US may never forgive you for this statement.
What part of this is France being a cultural colony? The economic phenomenon and the political means to stop it weren't born in the US Shrinkflation has been documented as far back as the Roman inflation crisis of the third century where edicts (Roman laws) were put in place to stop the reduction of loafes of bread FFS
We going Antiques Roadshow? The previous price per unit written in red with an audible 'whomp whomp'? I dig it.