My SO noticed A&H unscented laundry detergent just did a huge price increase. Have other companies like Procter and Gamble been doing huge price increases too? We are talking not 10% increases. She says the price has nearly doubled and she would know. It is the only laundry detergent we use.
We use the exact same detergent and I usually do the shopping. I just went to Kroger and they have a BOGO deal, so I paid $3 each for 2 of the 50 fl oz. bottles. I’m not sure what I have been paying as I always wait for a sale (Clark taught me well!). But that doesn’t sound like a lot more.
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Have you checked other stores? I think A&H is sold at Costco also. Costco is know to only mark up a product by a small amount, so that might make a difference if your store bumped the price up quite a bit. There are a few stores near me where some items are considerably higher in price than at the other stores.
When barcodes first appeared on products, stores could change prices at will. Some stores increased some prices and lower others, I am sure that people didn’t notice that things they bought all the time kept changing prices higher and lower.
I went to Walmart and bought a couple bottles of the 105 oz version and saved vs. the local grocer. I don’t know why it irked me/us so much about this issue with detergent prices. We spend money like water some days on things like going to a restaurant and paying $20 for a cheeseburger entree.
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There’s no shortage of companies and market sectors price gouging while they think they can get away with it. Don’t be loyal to a brand - be loyal to your wallet. Buy the least expensive product that still meets your needs. I’ve noticed gouging the most in sodas and salad dressings.
I think at the start of the year, I was still able to buy 2 liter bottles of soda for $1 or less. Even on the cheapest generics, those prices have increased about 50% just in the past 6 months or so. I ended up switching to drink mixes. A container of the stuff I buy costs about $6, but essentially makes the equivalent of 13 to 14 two-liter bottles of lemonade - about 1/3 the cost of soda.
A year and a half ago, I was able to buy store brand salad dressings at a variety of grocery stores for around $1. In most places now, the store brand is around $2. The one exception I’ve found is Dollar Tree. I can still buy salad dressings as well as marinades for $1.25 there. Shop wisely.
I bought a Sodastream unit to make my own carbonated beverages. The thing worked good and was quite novel at the time, but the cost of the cylinders was high. I found that here in Hawaii it was difficult to get cylinders because at the time they could not be shipped by air and had to come by boat from the mainland.
After research I found that a guy offered for sale an adapter so you could fill the tanks easily. The tanks made by Sodastream have a reverse thread. This guys adapter allowed you to take your tank to places like Sports Authority which would fill your tank just like a paintball tank. That worked fine until Sports Authority closed their store here. There are industrial places that can fill tanks, but I found another solution. I just bought cans of seltzer water when it went on sale. I would put some syrup in the glass and pour seltzer on top; instant soda.
However nothing beat my first attempt back in the 60’s at private school. I was able to buy a box of Coke syrup from the guy who delivered to the soda fountain on campus. Then I was able to get a small amount of dry ice. Putting water in a strong container, then a bit of syrup, a bit of dry ice and a cap and soon I had cold soda with extra syrup.
My local Target still has the Sodastreams and syrup but I just buy the syrup. The syrup also has another use. Have you ever tried adding root beer or cola syrup to your barbeque ribs? It is a trick that has made me internationally famous for my ribs (there was a guy from Canada who also liked them)! 
I was shocked to see Coca Cola 2 liter bottles going for $2.99 at my grocer.
I buy the True Lemon packets now and add to seltzer water now. Next hiking trip, I’ll bring these more than the Nuun tabs or Emergen C packets.
Not sure how all these products are getting inflated in price. Companies are utilizing lower headcount payrolls as far I can tell and have not increased their wages commensurate with all these quantum jumps in price.
I ate at a McDonald’s last month for the first time in a long time. Spent near $10 to get a small fries with maybe 20 fries in it and 2 pathetic double cheeseburgers and an “ice cream” cone. I kind of knew that was the last straw for ever going ever again for fast food. I really don’t think the wage pressure justifies these ridiculous price surges.
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Clearly, there a lot of companies making the deliberate decision to price gouge. Consumers need to keep a vigilant eye on the prices they pay for various goods and services, and where companies are trying to take undue advantage, consumers need to boycott and utilize cost-effective alternatives.
I use the APPS for fast food now… many have rewards or deals… I, often get Free fries at McDonald’s when I purchase a small burger; and have a credit card on app… so easy pay… and McDonald’s, ChickFilA… will bring the order out to my car!.. don’t have to go thru drive thru!
How do the apps track the user though?