Recently, several companies have brought some negative practices into vogue in the United States and other parts of the world. One example is “shrinkflation,” which means finding discounted items on market shelves with their price intact.
Another trend is “skimpflation,” which refers to the loss of quality of products and services without adjusting their prices. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Director of Economic Education Scott Wolla explained these measures.
The value of raw materials increases due to inflation and companies reduce their spending on services to protect their profits. However, the losers are consumers and employees, as the “skimpflation” is also reflected in the reduction of the workforce.
Examples in different rooms
In 2021, users filed complaints with Disney over the failure to restore tram service in the parks following the coronavirus. Due to customer complaints, this company began to resume its obligations.
Joseph Balagtas, a professor of agricultural economics at Purdue University, said customers don’t easily recognize these problems. Mr Balagtas commented on grocery stores where it is now common practice for shoppers to package purchased goods.
Additionally, “skimpflation” replaces expensive, high-quality ingredients with cheaper, lower-quality ones, but maintains or increases prices. In restaurants, the lack of staff leads to delays in service.
Tourism does not know these bad habits and the prices in the hotels do not vary, but the cleaning of the rooms is limited. Specialists Wolla and Balagtas advise citizens to compare market prices to detect brands carrying out fraudulent operations.
There are companies that care about their reputation and do not minimize efforts or resources to offer people an optimal product. These options may be more expensive for consumers, but they are beneficial for competition between companies.