Evan Lucas<\/a>, told news.com.au that this disconnect between price and fabric actually has a name.<\/p>\n\u201c\u2018Skimpflation\u2019 is the new version of \u2018shrinkflation\u2019, which means you\u2019re basically getting lower quality for higher prices,\u201d Mr Lucas explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf these fast fashion brands are charging $100 for garments with synthetic fabrics, shoppers will begin wondering if it\u2019s worth paying say $150 for quality that will actually last for several seasons rather than one,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"Cotton](\"https:\/\/content.api.news\/v3\/images\/bin\/f3928a75794364d8af022d0eb998eb5e\")
<\/p>\n
\u2018Boomer pricing\u2019: Consumers weigh in<\/p>\n
The customer\u2019s viral video struck a nerve with hundreds of cash-strapped young Aussies who flocked to the comment section to share their similar frustrations.<\/p>\n
\u201c$45 for a kids \u2018knit\u2019 cardigan [that\u2019s] 100 per cent polyester,\u201d one frustrated user shared.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Cotton On first opened, it was so much cheaper. I went in recently and the quality was the same but they\u2019ve jacked the prices up,\u201d a second commented.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s meant to be for younger folks, but it\u2019s now boomer pricing,\u201d they continued.<\/p>\n
A third added: \u201cHaven\u2019t shopped at Cotton On for a couple years now. I don\u2019t want to spend $90 for jeans which will ruin after a few washes!\u201d
But Cotton On wasn\u2019t the only retailer in the firing line, with many commenters also calling out other fast fashion outlets for the same issue.<\/p>\n
A few shoppers jumped to the brand\u2019s defence, arguing that certain items were still a bargain.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love Cotton On activewear though. It\u2019s half the price and better quality than some brands out there,\u201d one person noted.<\/p>\n
The real reason you\u2019re paying more<\/p>\n
So why are shoppers suddenly paying premium prices for \u201ccheap\u201d fabrics?<\/p>\n
Mr Lucas explained that physical retailers are facing the \u201cperfect storm\u201d of behind-the-scenes financial pressures.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you look at the overheads on physical outlets, the rents since the end of Covid to now have increased by between 25 and 50 per cent,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith insurance and labour costs also skyrocketing, brands are being forced to make up the difference by making clothes cheaper to produce.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also warned that the ongoing conflict in the Middle East is triggering a massive supply chain crisis for the fashion industry.<\/p>\n
Because synthetic fabrics like polyester rely heavily on materials from the region, war-related shipping disruptions are causing major material shortages in Asian factories.<\/p>\n
With brands now fighting over these limited materials, Mr Lucas said shoppers should brace for \u201canother level of inflation\u201d at the checkout.<\/p>\n
Despite this, he notes that other \u2018fast fashion\u2019 brands like Zara and Uniqlo are actually managing to keep their quality relatively fair.<\/p>\n
According to Mr Lucas, it all comes down to their massive global footprint, which means they can absorb these financial hits much easier than local brands.<\/p>\n
A move away from physical stores<\/p>\n
Because Aussie brands simply can\u2019t compete with these global giants, the high prices are forcing young consumers to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Instead of going to the mall, Gen Z shoppers are hunting for cheaper deals online.<\/p>\n
This is causing a massive drop in foot traffic for physical stores.<\/p>\n
Mr Lucas warned the shift toward online shopping is \u201conly going one way and that is up,\u201d while traditional shopping strips are \u201conly going one way, and that is down\u201d.<\/p>\n
He pointed to famous retail strips like Melbourne\u2019s Chapel Street, describing it as a \u201ctumbleweed ghost town\u201d because fashion labels can no longer afford the rent.<\/p>\n
For Aussies fed up with the fast-fashion squeeze, Mr Lucas says the power remains in the hands of the buyer.<\/p>\n
He urged frustrated shoppers to vote with their wallets.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese brands will have to change their behaviour if you walk,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A young shopper has sparked a fierce online debate after calling out \u201cinsane\u201d price hikes at a major…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":522599,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[181661,181655,181651,181642,84,181667,181660,1294,181665,181656,55540,181663,120371,181641,181662,181650,181657,72427,181647,181648,133536,63287,181649,181643,181652,181640,181664,181666,181654,181646,56,54,55,181644,181653,181658,181645,181659,83599],"class_list":{"0":"post-522598","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-asian-factories","9":"tag-behind-the-scenes-financial-pressures","10":"tag-boomer-pricing","11":"tag-brand-cops","12":"tag-business","13":"tag-cloth-shortages","14":"tag-comment-section","15":"tag-economy","16":"tag-evan-lucas","17":"tag-famous-retail-strips","18":"tag-fashion-industry","19":"tag-fashion-labels","20":"tag-fast-fashion","21":"tag-fast-fashion-brands","22":"tag-fast-fashion-squeeze","23":"tag-fed-up-customers","24":"tag-go-to-staple","25":"tag-labour-costs","26":"tag-naomi-kaplan","27":"tag-physical-stores","28":"tag-price-hikes","29":"tag-price-points","30":"tag-real-reason","31":"tag-rising-price-tags","32":"tag-stunsthe-price","33":"tag-synthetic-fabrics","34":"tag-synthetic-materials","35":"tag-traditional-shopping-strips","36":"tag-trendy-pieces","37":"tag-tumbleweed-ghost-town","38":"tag-uk","39":"tag-united-kingdom","40":"tag-unitedkingdom","41":"tag-viral-parenting-hack","42":"tag-war-related-shipping-disruptions","43":"tag-worth-paying","44":"tag-young-consumers","45":"tag-young-shopper","46":"tag-young-woman"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=522598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/522598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/522599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=522598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=522598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=522598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}