The rising cost of living is not only seen in the price of vegetables, the number of chips in each bag or the recipe for so-called chocolate cookies. We also see it in the opening hours of restaurants, in the services offered by airlines or in the competence of salespeople in stores… when you manage to find one. A brief portrait of the many other faces of “reduflation” and “dequaliflation”.
The sharp increase in the price of goods, labor and other inputs has placed businesses in a delicate position: having to find ways to pass the bill on to their customers without alienating them too much. Rather than simply pass it all off in the form of a simple increase in their prices, many have taken the gamble of also reducing the quantity of goods or services offered at the same price (reduflation) or of reducing the quality of these goods and services (dequalification).
As food prices have particularly increased and grocery expenses are frequent, tangible and easy to compare, it is especially in this area that we have noticed, for example, that the old 2 liter box of orange juice now contains only 1.65, that there suddenly seems to be more air in the bags of chips or that the box of cookies no longer has 12, but 10 today , and all this without prices having decreased.
But the said biscuits – to keep this example – were not only the subject of a re-production, we could have learned if we had carefully read the ingredients. The milk chocolate that made them so delicious has been replaced by a “chocolate coating” made from palm oil, surely cheaper to produce, but also probably less good in taste or for health (dequalification).
These practices are not limited to products, but also affect services, explains Maryse Côté-Hamel, professor of consumer sciences at Laval University. Indeed, the disappearance of checkout packers means that customers are getting less service for their money. The replacement of several cashiers with self-service checkouts also results in a decline in the quality of service, because, whatever they think, customers are always less skilled and slower in carrying out these tasks than professionals.
Such strategies are not limited to the grocery store either, notes the expert. “It’s also done a lot elsewhere. And perhaps even more pronounced in sectors like travel, which are generally considered less essential and where people are less likely to complain. »
Other than the grocery store
The problem, when we are interested in this kind of phenomenon, is that it is very difficult to go beyond the anecdote. Indeed, although the measurement of inflation in Canada “takes into account price variations caused by reflation, data relating to this subject is not currently available” to estimate its importance and describe trends, a explained in an email to Duty a spokesperson for Statistics Canada.
In the most recent version of its Trust barometer published this week, Option consommateurs indicates that the phenomenon is mainly found in food, but not only in this sector. Based on a survey carried out by the firm Léger Marketing among 2,500 Canadians in February, the consumer support and rights organization reports that more than three-quarters of respondents say they “always or often” see them in grocery stores. that “the size, quantity or quality of certain products has decreased while the price has remained the same”. This proportion is lower, but no less significant and generally increasing for at least two years in all other sectors analyzed, notably retail (46%), real estate (42%), car sales (37%). %), travel (34%) and telecommunications (34%).
As for the quality of service received in stores in this era of labor scarcity and sharp increase in its cost for businesses, another survey, carried out among 1000 Quebecers by the firm Orama Marketing for the account of the Quebec Retail Council, reported, a year ago, that more than a quarter of consumers believed that it had deteriorated since the end of the pandemic. Complaints included, among other things, the difficulty of obtaining help from an advisor (61%), the lack of product knowledge among advisors (57%) and too many of them being left to their own devices. (54%).
In the hardware world, free delivery, once common, is increasingly rare, according to the president of the Quebec Hardware and Building Materials Association, Richard Darveau. “There’s been a lot of advice to retailers saying: if you’re going to charge for delivery, try to add value, like taking the merchandise inside and unpacking it, so the customer gets value for their money. money,” he says, asserting that profit margins have narrowed in his sector.
According to Mr. Darveau, the boxes of nails and cans of paint are no less full than before. However, he promises to keep an eye on the phenomenon of reduflation, since there is “a common culture between the world of grocery stores, that of pharmacies and that of hardware stores”.
“Essential luxury”
Sectors often mentioned when it comes to getting less for your money are accommodation, catering and travel. We are talking about the cleaning of hotel rooms which is no longer done every day and the included lunches which are no longer what they used to be. It’s about these restaurants that are now closed on certain days of the week and the slow service. We inevitably cite the sharp increase in the price of plane tickets despite the increasingly limited space in the cabins and the additional fees now required for checked baggage, for choosing your seat or for the simple fact of having a meals during certain flights.
Already in the summer of 2022, almost half of tourists in Quebec were complaining about the reduction in services offered, the reduction in opening hours, long waits or low quality of service, reported last year the Transat Chair of Tourism at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
But two-thirds of Quebec travelers said last year that their getaways play an important role in their mental health, to the point where half of them qualify travel as a priority expense in their budget even in inflationary times. “For people, travel has become an essential luxury,” summarizes professor and Chair holder, Marc-Antoine Vachon. So we make a brave face against bad luck and adapt by cutting back on other expenses, choosing more affordable accommodation and restaurants, spending more time shopping for good deals and reducing paid attractions. visited.
Some customers will also feel like they are getting less for their money from their banks and other financial institutions, notes Sylvie De Bellefeuille, lawyer at Option consommateurs. The deployment of new digital services in parallel with a reduction in the number of ATMs and branches that offer counter services undoubtedly results, at least in part, from changes in customer demand, she readily admits. “It nevertheless represents a reduction in the service offered, particularly in the regions and to customers who are not skilled with technology, or who do not have access to it. »
And what about these new Internet or mobile phone service packages that are more expensive, but also supposed to be more efficient? said Maryse Côté-Hamel. “5G may indeed be better than 4G, but do we need it? And if 4G is no longer offered, we find ourselves forced to take more expensive services. »
What limits?
Generally speaking, it is said that it is better for the reflation “not to exceed 10%, and even 5%” at once, so that it is not too noticeable or, at least, so that it does not shock not too much, explains the marketing professor. “It’s the first company that moves that runs the greatest risks. But once this is done, its competitors say to themselves that they have permission to do it in turn. »
Nothing in the law prevents reduflation or desqualification, says Sylvie De Bellefeuille. “It is not forbidden to offer worse service. As there is no obligation to maintain the quantity or quality of products offered at a given price, as long as we are not faced with false or misleading information. »
All this “is part of business,” says the lawyer with a sigh, and the balancing act that companies engage in to improve their profitability in the hope of not losing their customers to the competition. “But there still needs to be real competition, and not just a few big players. »
With Roxane Léouzon