Methodology

We score price signals using simple, public rules. No hidden models. No AI in the V0 path.

Price Pressure Score

Every price check produces a score from 0 to 100. The score is the sum of points from a small set of signals, capped at 100. Three bands map to a human label.

  • 0 to 39: Normal. No signals are stacking up against this price.
  • 40 to 69: Elevated. One or two signals worth a closer look.
  • 70 to 100: High. Multiple signals are stacking up. Worth verifying or substituting.

Scoring weights

  • +30Possible shrinkflation: package size decreased while price stayed the same or rose.
  • +25Price increased more than 10% versus the previous entry.
  • +10Category is commonly volatile (eggs, beef, gas, dairy, produce, coffee, seafood).
  • +5Weak discount: discount under 10%.
  • +5Missing size: cannot compute a meaningful unit price.

Shrinkflation detection

We flag possible shrinkflation when three conditions are all true: a previous size and unit are provided, the current size is smaller than the previous size (normalized to the same base unit), and the current price is greater than or equal to the previous price. The reported size decrease is computed against the previous normalized size.

Unit price normalization

Mass units (g, kg, oz, lb) normalize to grams. Volume units (ml, L) normalize to milliliters. Count units (count, pack) stay as-is. Cross-domain comparisons are not allowed. The Compare page returns an error if you try to compare grams to milliliters.

What the score does not know

The V0 scorer works only from what you enter. It does not call third-party price APIs or any AI model. It does not know your local sales tax, your loyalty discount, or whether you used a coupon. Use it as one input, not the only input. Read the Guides for category-specific context.

Aggregate Product pages

Public Product pages combine all entries for a slug, where slug is generated from product name and store name. We show the average price, min and max, number of submissions, shrinkflation flag rate, and a price history chart pulled from the most recent 40 entries.

PriceActually provides price signals and estimates, not financial advice or guaranteed market pricing.