WASHINGTON — Women pay more than men for shampoo, razors, shaving cream and other products, consumer retail experts say. Experts refer to it as a “pink tax.”
The women’s version of many everyday products is often more expensive than the men’s version from the same company, consisting of the same ingredients. The price difference can vary between products and is often a matter of cents, but experts say these small differences add up to an average of $1,400 a year.
“Brands know that women will pay more to look good and feel good,” Andrea Woroch, a consumer retail expert, told the TODAY show.
So how to they get away with it? Stores separate the products on the shelves, making the difference harder to detect.
The trend is not just limited to bathroom products. Dry cleaners often charge women more than men for the same services. Pressing a women’s button-down shirt can be double the price of pressing a men’s shirt made from the same material.
Below is the Today Show report, which compares the products side-by-side.
To avoid the ‘tax’, Woroch buys the male version of products, which she says work just as well.
