I confess to having questioned my sanity in the supermarket confectionery aisle – perhaps you have too.
It happens when I pick up a block of chocolate. The packaging looks the same as it has in the past. The price is the same. But it feels smaller than it did a month ago. And if the block of chocolate makes it home, it doesn’t seem to last as long.
It’s not just because my kids are at the age where they’ll eat anything and everything. And it’s not my hands magically growing a size bigger.
It’s shrinkflation. The block of chocolate has had a row chopped off the top but costs just as much as it did before.
It is, possibly, a less obvious symbol of rising cost of living than a higher price tag on an item. Nonetheless, it’s left many a chocoholic feeling like the victim of a nasty trick.
If you’re a discerning shopper, you know to look at the unit price. But it takes time to sort through competing tags and make sure that the product is in its right place on the shelf. And I don’t think people should be penalised for being time-poor.
The Albanese Government want it to be easier for Australians to see exactly what they’re paying for. So we’re cracking down on these sneaky hidden price hikes.
We’re expanding the Unit Pricing Code, so it applies to more stores – including those online. We’re standardising how prices are measured across them. Because you shouldn’t have to know a supermarket back to front to know how to read a price tag.
We’re making retailers have unit price tags that are bigger and clearer, so you don’t need to carry a magnifying glass to read them.
And we’re not afraid to name and shame sellers that do the wrong thing. We’re looking at a system to call out the companies that use these tricks, and we’re looking at civil penalties.
We’re not naïve – we know that shrinkflation partially occurs because producers make choices about the size of their products. We just think consumers deserve the information they need to make their own choices too.
If the unit price for an old faithful is routinely higher than its alternative, shoppers should know. And they should be able to make their own mind up about whether they stick with it, or whether they change to an alternative.
At this year’s election, we committed to improving supermarket pricing transparency. Consultation is currently underway to ensure that when implemented, these changes have as great of an effect as they possibly can. Pardon the pun, but we want them to have bang for their buck.
We’re also providing the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with over $30 million to address misleading conduct in the supermarket and retail sectors. We’re funding CHOICE to give shoppers supermarket pricing information too. And we’re making supermarket price gouging illegal.
The virtues of competition are that it gives consumers a choice, and prompts suppliers to entice consumers to make their choice in that supplier’s favour. Practices like price gouging and shrinkflation treat people like mugs. Rather than attracting consumers by offering a better or cheaper item, suppliers can conceal the truth.
But ultimately, these changes are just about helping you get the best deal at the checkout – and hopefully preventing those moments of confusion – and subsequent disappoint in the confectionery aisle.
Lisa Darmanin is a Senator for Victoria, Chair of the Senate Economics Committee and frequently disgruntled supermarket shopper.
