WHEN IS THE PRICE RIGHT?

When is time is the price right?

I’m really asking for your advice because grocery shopping has become quite a challenge these days.

We were talking about profiling prices, but it seems the phenomenon of variable pricing has a thousand facets.

It all started with Autan.

As you well know, this is the realm of fog and mosquitoes,  so in some cases, the famous insect repellent being a prime example of brand generalization, becomes indispensable.

We grabbed it on the spot at the supermarket where we usually do our weekly shopping, even though the listed price was truly exorbitant.

Since we weren’t convinced, a few days later, we started paying attention to the price of this product and realized it fluctuated more wildly than stock market prices.

Algorithms. 

Again.

ESL: Electronic Shelf Labels—tags that allow prices to be updated in real time via a wireless network.

What might initially seem like a convenience, like so many other technologies that have turned out to be less beneficial and more harmful than we thought, becomes a tool for getting rich at the expense of consumers.

That’s why as soon as there’s the slightest hint of trouble regarding issues like oil and energy, product prices have already gone up.

The official reason is supposedly to offer promotions during specific time slots when stores are most frequented by retirees, but in reality, prices have been rising faster than gnocchi cooking in a pot lately.

In January, AGCOM in January launched a fact-finding investigation following evidence of a 24.9% increase between October 2021 and October 2025.

So far, there’s been no update.

Now that it’s October 2026, where will we end up?

What’s your strategy for navigating these wild price hikes?