Some states require that grocery stores have unit pricing on the shelf sticker. What they don’t say is what the unit has to be. For example: a 16 oz box of macaroni is priced at $1.25 with a unit price of $1.25 per pound. A 12 ounce box right next to it is $1.00 with a unit price of 8 cents per once.
The average consumer will look at the 12 ounce as being cheaper because the sale price is 25 cents less. Then maybe they look at the unit price. They see it is 8 cents versus $1.25 unit price.
What they do not do is calculate in common terms using either ounces or pounds.
12 once box 8 cents per once = $1.28 a pound
16 once box 7 cents per ounce = $1.25 a pound
Pay attention to shelf pricing and unit pricing and be aware that larger may not be the best value. This gets even more confusing when dealing with double/triple/mega rolls of toilet paper. A double roll may have twice the number of sheets but each sheet is a little smaller in the double roll. A 1/10 reduction in each sheet can save a manufacturer $$ and the consumer is going to say but I have double the amount. When you really have 1 9/10 the amount.
Just my 2 cents. Jim @ ChangeJarSavings.com
© 2009 ChangeJarSavings.com
© 2011 ChangeJarSavings.com
This is a very sneaky way that the stores try to confuse you and prevent you from comparing prices. I always bring my calculator shopping so that I can convert the per-unit pricing to a common measure and then calculate the price of each brand.