What Is Shrinkflation—and How Does It Affect Your Grocery Budget?

[mystery-ak]

What Is Shrinkflation—and How Does It Affect Your Grocery Budget?
Amy Fontinelle - Thursday

We all know it by now—the pandemic has caused things to get more expensive. Producers are paying more for energy, labor and transportation, and they're passing the cost on to consumers. Rising gas prices are obvious, but at the grocery store, shrinkflation can look like products with suspiciously smaller amounts selling for the same price as before. Or, the products themselves might be changing—the milk, cream and sugar in your favorite ice cream might be replaced with cost-saving bulking agents like corn syrup solids and whey protein.

The Consumer Price Index may not even reflect all these shifts: It doesn't adjust food prices for changes in quality the way it does for some other items, such as clothing, appliances and phones. The CPI does normally account for changes in product size, but Bureau of Labor Statistics economist Jonathan Church admitted to the Washington Post in 2021 that pandemic restrictions had impacted the bureau's ability to track changing weights. That means it's become harder than ever to save money on groceries.


Why do companies use shrinkflation?

Shrinkflation is nothing new: Companies have used the practice for decades to offset rising production costs, but it didn't always have such a catchy name. Pippa Malmgren, PhD, economist, author and former White House advisor, is credited with coining the term as we use it today. She uses it in her 2015 book, Signals: How Everyday Signs Can Help Us Navigate the World's Turbulent Economy, and in interviews in 2014.

Malmgren has said shrinkflation (formerly known as downsizing) can be a precursor to rising prices—which certainly feels like the case in 2022, when the term has been used to incite curiosity and alarm in headline after headline. Consumers have noticed thinner toilet paper rolls, shorter deodorant sticks and airier chip bags. Seemingly, no product is immune, not even pet food.

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https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestylebuzz/what-is-shrinkflation-and-how-does-it-affect-your-grocery-budget/ar-AAZynwI

[libertybele]

Shrinkflation is watching your wallet shrink before your very eyes.

[mountaineer]

I occasionally buy Powerade (cheaper than Gatorade) for Mr. M, who likes it after a long run on a hot day. I noticed the "special" price this week at Kroger for the Powerade was $1.25 instead of the usual special deal of .88 or $1.00. Then I took a closer look - both manufacturers have replaced their 32 oz. bottles with 28 oz. 

[Smokin Joe]

Dawn dish soap downsized their bottle...it looks the same but is skinnier...and a recent can of Vienna sausages revealed they no longer come to the top of the can--about 20% shorter than they used to be. Bacon in 12 oz packages instead of pounds (takes 4 to get 3 pounds).

But I remember when toilet paper was a half inch wider and a roll was a roll, and tunafish came in 6 ounce cans, not 5.

This has been going on for a while, but is ramped up as of late.

[Gefn]

Dunno If anyone has a Keurig, but most coffee boxes went from 12 pods in a box to 10, for the same price.

Eggs and bread here are both $4.99.

Don’t get me started on shampoo, deodorant, tooth paste and mouthwash. I never thought I would pay $6.99 for deodorant or toothpaste.

[mountaineer]

But I remember when toilet paper was a half inch wider and a roll was a roll, and tunafish came in 6 ounce cans, not 5.

A few months ago I bought a different brand of toilet paper from my usual Sam's Club brand (I think it was Northern). Just opened the package and the rolls are so skinny, they're barely wider than adding machine tape! 

[GtHawk]

Dawn dish soap downsized their bottle...it looks the same but is skinnier...and a recent can of Vienna sausages revealed they no longer come to the top of the can--about 20% shorter than they used to be. Bacon in 12 oz packages instead of pounds (takes 4 to get 3 pounds).

But I remember when toilet paper was a half inch wider and a roll was a roll, and tunafish came in 6 ounce cans, not 5.

This has been going on for a while, but is ramped up as of late.

Yes like ice cream used to be packed into half gallon containers, then 1.75 quart and for now 1.5 quart. Of course the price  never went down. As you say this practice has been going on for many years and it's just with inflation so high people who never paid attention before are looking much closer at what they buy.

[libertybele]

A few months ago I bought a different brand of toilet paper from my usual Sam's Club brand (I think it was Northern). Just opened the package and the rolls are so skinny, they're barely wider than adding machine tape! 

Yikes!  That's not going to do the job.

[catfish1957]

So why aren't the socialist enviro-whackos squawking about this?

Case in point, say you consume 20 pounds of a product a month, and the container for this product just shrunk from 1 pound to 0.8.

In that period orignially you would have consumed 20 containers that month, and 20 disposed pieces of plastic, bottle, wrappers, etc.

At 0.8 per container that means you consumed 25.  5 extra pieces of "climate change (/s)" driving garbage

[DefiantMassRINO]

Shrinkflation is the increase in per unit costs for products.

Manufacturer's will put less product (by weight or volume) in the same size packaging - less (product) is more (money).