Results: Consumers are paying more for essential items in ways that might not show up at the checkout — thinner rolls, lighter bags, smaller cans and even more air - to offset rising labour and other costs without reducing profits or scaring off customers.

Consumers check the price when they buy, but rarely check net weight,. When the price of raw materials, like coffee beans or grain goes up, sellers are faced with a choice: Raise the price knowing consumers will see it and grumble? Or give a little bit less to do the same thing? Usually they think it's easier to do the latter and we consumers won't notice. Are they right? Do we only focus on price? Should we take time to check the "price per" before we put it in the cart or just the price at the till?

A subsidiary of Mars Inc. said it reduced product sizes "to keep up with unprecedented demand" during the pandemic, "The packages remained the same price, as the difference in amount of product is not significant and rarely impacts the number of packages being consumed,", The company is one of many retailers unable or unwilling to absorb higher manufacturing costs. Lower production, higher distribution costs due to carbon taxes and minimum wage legislation, fewer staff available throughout the process etc all serve to increase prices. Most if not all of these increases are caused by government influence on the free market due to covid and other factors. What can you do to protect yourself from these increases?

Most people know what something should cost, but not how much is in a box. Manufacturers rely on this and have done so for years. Packages of coffee have slipped from 16 oz to about 12oz. Standard sizes for cans and bottles have gotten smaller too. Even a bar of soap has become more concave in a bid to disguise its shrinking form. The focus on cost over quantity also explains other pricing tricks. Craft beer comes in four-packs not the traditional six. Some items are priced by the 1/4 pound, instead of the pound because $9 for a 1/4 pound works when $36 per pound does not. Companies are constantly playing around with prices. Often companies pass off shrinking product sizes as "packaging innovations". How does this manipulation make you feel?