As we watch the economy struggle to achieve some measure of equilibrium, many of us are considering appropriate adjustments in our personal lives as a precautionary tactic. While we may prepare for change and acknowledge the general consensus which, simply put, maintains that the status quo to which we had become accustomed, may never return, it seems as if businesses have anticipated our reaction to economic uncertainty. Resizing packaging is not a novel strategy employed by manufacturers; indeed, businesses have engaged in this practice throughout history as a way to control prices. Much has already been written about these changes–a pound of coffee, for example, was once a standard that has slowly diminished until it is a mere 9 ounces in the latest packaging of some brands. Just this week I realized that the brand of whole wheat tacos I regularly purchase only contained 8 tacos when a few weeks ago the quantity that the package contained was ten.
While repackaging is more obvious in consumable products, the phenomenon has been especially visible in home improvement stores lately. Recent trips to the gardening department of Lowes revealed that many items such as bagged mulches and various soil amendments have retained last season’s price while the amount in the package has been reduced by half in a number of cases and 25 per cent in others–2 cubic feet bags of compost and cow manure have been reduced in volume to 1 cubic foot bags for the same price as last year; 2 cubic feet bags of pine bark soil conditioner have been repackaged in 1.5 cubic feet bags and sold at last season’s prices; in fact, most items in this category have been similarly changed.
There is an understated element of pathos in these reductions as consumers strive to make do with less. Even if we fall short of our goal to conserve in terms of dollars spent, we may actually be successful in terms of product consumed. Ironically, one might sum up the nature of our economic collapse as the appearance of getting more for less, which, if we reflect for a moment, is the ignition point for greed.
