What Is Shrinkflation? Why Your Groceries Don’t Last as Long as They Used To
Learn more about this sneaky tactic before your next trip to the store.
Have you noticed that you have been spending your hard-earned money on air lately? You purchase a large-looking bag of chips and excitedly open them for a treat for your family. As you open the bag, a large poof of air escapes and you are left with about a serving size of chips. Huh? There has to be a mistake. Was there a malfunction at the chip factory? The cost was the same as they always have been, so something must have gone wrong. Right? Those bags of chips that used to last you for a few days, or more, now only get you through a day. This is not a mistake. It's called shrinkflation.
And, it's not just potato chips. All kinds of products are getting smaller. The size of the bag may be the same or the product package maybe has a change of shape. It can be hard to tell just by looking at the package. As consumers, we need to be educated on buying decisions. Even though in an inflationary period, it's hard to get good prices on anything, we don't want to be fooled into thinking we are getting a deal.
What is happening is known as shrinkflation. We'll explain what shrinkflation means and what causes it so that it doesn't take you by surprise.
Related: Ask Carrie: Should I Worry About Inflation?
What Is Shrinkflation?
We all know that when inflation is on the rise, prices for everything go up. Shrinkflation is similar, but a little more sneaky. Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing a product's size but continuing to offer it at the same price. It's a tricky way of making a product look like it's selling at a good price when in actuality, we are getting less. This means we are paying more because we have to buy more to fulfill our needs.
Sometimes consumers may notice a size difference in their favorite products. However, most of the time, the size changes go unnoticed. When companies reduce the size by only a small amount, they still boost their profits with more sales and less production cost per volume. A little more air in a bag or a slightly smaller package will typically be glossed over.
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Related: Here Are the Groceries You Might Be Missing On Store Shelves Due to Food Shortages In 2022
What Is the Cause of Shrinkflation?
Like inflation, when there are issues with supply chain shortages, higher production costs or higher customer demand, prices go up. Essentially, with shrinkflation, prices are also going up—but in a hidden way. Companies that don't want to appear like they are raising prices due to inflation, shrink product volume instead.
It may seem like a smart move for companies to use shrinkflation instead of obvious price inflation. However, they run the risk of losing customers after that first airy bag of potato chips.
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Is Shrinkflation Legal?
Shrinkflation is legal, but packages have to be clearly marked. Companies have to display the accurate net volume in a package that is monitored by the Division of Standards (DOS).
What this means for the consumer is that you need to be checking the volume of the package. It's safe to say that most of us don't take the time to do that. Plus, who remembers what the actual volume was previously? Going forward though, this is probably a good thing to pay attention to. If a price seems too good to be true, it may be an indicator to check out more of the details.
So, even though shrinkflation is legal, we still have the power to make wise buying decisions. Calculating the price per volume is the best way to do comparison shopping.
Ways Companies Shrink Product Sizes
You would think that a smaller amount would mean a smaller package that would be noticed. However, there are plenty of trickier ways to make consumers overlook a reduced size. Here are things to watch out for:
How far does the top of a bag pinch flat? - This is a sure sign of more air being added to the bag.
Is there a redesign of the product package? - When you are used to seeing a certain design of a package, you may not notice volume decreases in a package that looks completely different.
Look at piece quantity. - A popular way companies shrink the size is to include fewer pieces.
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Examples of Shrinkflation
Here are just a few examples of some products that have shrunk in size over the past year.
At first glance, while shopping, you may not notice that your favorite bagels contain one less for the same price. This type of shrinkflation reduces the cost of the producer significantly.
This package of cheese is even harder to tell that the size has shrunk by looking at it.
Not only has the volume changed for this coffee but the packaging also looks different, making it even harder to tell.
With these tissues, the smaller box would barely be noticed if it wasn't side by side with the old one. It contains 16 fewer tissues for the same price.
