![]() (MDLZ), the maker of Wheat Thins, did not respond to request for comment.)Ĭompanies don’t often come out and say they are dropping their product sizes. A reader sent in photos to Dworsky of a family size whole grain Wheat Thins box that had dropped from a pound in April to 14 ounces in May. “For consumers seeking the best price per ounce, the most value is normally in our larger boxes of cereal.”Ĭonsumers are getting fewer snacks for their buck, too. It “has has been working to create consistency and standardization across our cereal products, making it easier for shoppers to distinguish between sizes on shelf, Kelsey Roemhildt, a General Mills Grocery stores are excited to charge you higher prices Liz Dufour/The Enquirer/USA Today Network People shop at a Kroger grocery store in Madeira, Ohio, on Tuesday, March 2, 2021. That means consumers lost a bowl of cereal when they purchased the new one. The new, smaller boxes were $3.99, the same price as the larger boxes. ![]() There is even a Reddit forum dedicated to shrinkflation, documenting everything from smaller deodorant sizes to ice tea bottles.Ī few recent examples of products that have been slimmed down, according to Dworsky: He found at a grocery last week in Massachusetts that Cocoa Puffs’ family size box had dropped from 19.3 ounces to 18.1 ounces, while Cinnamon Toast Crunch had fallen from 19.3 ounces to 18.8 ounces. Shrinkflation has a long history, according to Dworsky, and has lead to smaller toilet paper rolls, candy bars and potato chip bags over the years.ĭworsky tracks shrinkflation with the help of eagle-eye readers and posts photos of smaller packages and net weights next to previous versions of products. And that’s because consumers are not net weight conscious.” “If the manufacturer makes the carton of orange juice several ounces less in each carton, they know consumers may not catch it. They will notice if an orange juice manufacturer, for example, raises the shelf price from $2.99 to $3.19,” said Edgar Dworsky, a former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts and longtime consumer advocate who tracks product downsizing on his website. That means it’s easier for a brand to sneak in a slightly smaller box on the shelf or take a few sheets out of a toilet paper roll than it is to raise prices without consumers reacting and perhaps switching brands or not buying the product. While product quantities are printed on labels, few people actually take the time to do the math to figure out exactly what they’re paying per ounce. Why you're seeing fewer clothing sales right nowĬonsumers are sensitive to price hikes, but they pay less attention to how much a product weighs. clothing store at Westfield San Francisco Centre in San Francisco, California, U.S., on Thursday, June 18, 2020. Those increases are then passed on to shoppers via stores, who purchase products from consumer goods companies.Ī shopper wearing a protective mask walks past a sale sign at an American Eagle Outfitters Inc. In response, they usually raise prices on existing products or whittle down the sizes of their goods, thereby increasing the price per unit of what you’re getting. When costs rise, manufacturers of consumer goods look for ways to offset the increases they are paying for commodities, transportation, labor and other expenses. The phenomenon - getting less for your money because a manufacturer has reduced the size of the product- has been going on for decades, but it typically becomes more common when companies’ costs go up like the inflation surge we are seeing today. ![]() ![]() The reason? A tactic known as “shrinkflation,” deployed by consumer product brands and grocery stores. You are actually paying the same price or more these days for everyday items in your fridge and pantry but running through them more quickly because their sizes have shrunk. ![]()
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