What a load of crap!
While the apocalyptic days of extreme toilet paper shortages may be behind us, the industry is still gaming sup-ply and demand, a new report reveals.
Since 2020, the nature calls necessity has been subject to wild price increases — and in subsequent years has been subject to serious shrinkflation, analysts at LendingTree stated.
Numerous brands are skimping on the number of sheets, according to the number crunchers. The analytics cited one culprit, Angel Soft, which minimized their product of twelve mega rolls from 429 sheets in 2019 to 320 this year.
Don’t be fooled by the price dipping from $9.97 to $8.44, the pros warn.
“Its price per 100 count increased from 19 cents to 22 cents, meaning consumers are paying 13.5% more per 100 sheets,” the report stated.
The industry, which Vox calls “big toilet paper,” has also mastered BSing with technicalities about sheet count, especially oversized packaging.
Companies keep the dirty details where the sun doesn’t shine and push the illusion of value — rather than showing a more transparent cost breakdown that would show increasing prices.
“The consumer wouldn’t like that, so they all keep it a bit opaque,” Neil Saunders of the consulting firm GlobalData told Vox.
Often, brands compare their size volumes to skimpy one-ply alternatives in the fine print.
Another crappy trick some stores pull is showing the price per 100 sheets vs. the whole roll — similar to how snackers will have to determine the calories of an entire bag of chips as opposed to the listed serving size.
“I really can’t think of any other category that’s as confusing as toilet paper,” Saunders added.
The market also allows the industry to flush away good customer practices, particularly with Internet shoppers.
Chuck Bell, a programs director of advocacy at Consumer Reports, said that unit pricing is “only mandated directly in nine states,” while another ten do it voluntarily.
“It’s hard to compare products online for value for money.”
A former consumer protection lawyer, Edgar Dworsky, doubled down that these toilet paper tricks are wiping away buyer trust.
“I switched to a bidet 10 years ago,” Dworsky said as he poo-poohed the “business of making you think you’re getting more.”
“It’s all a name game, it’s all a numbers game, and if you’re just oblivious to it, you’re going to get snookered.”
