Shrinkflation Affecting More and More Grocery Product Sizes

EDITOR NOTE: There are plenty of people who want you to think that inflation isn’t happening. There are even numbers and reports that back this narrative up. When you look deeper, though, you’ll see that the reason inflation isn’t noticeable everywhere is that companies are using “shrinkflation” tricks to make increasing prices less noticeable. Shrinkflation is when prices stay the same, but product sizes decrease. This is currently happening all across a wide range of products, from toilet paper to freezer bags to cereal. If you’re looking for signs of inflation, don’t just look at the price. Check out the quantity as well, and that will tell an unavoidable story.

COLUMBUS (WCMH) — One of the hottest words in 2021 is “shrinkflation.”

That’s where consumer companies cut product sizes instead of raising prices.

But in either case, you pay more.

Now we have even more examples, according to consumer guru Ed Dworsky of MousePrint.org.

Remember all the warnings earlier this year that paper towels were supposed to go up in price this summer?

In many cases it didn’t happen, and prices stayed relatively the same.

Instead, producers shrunk their products, in the latest wave of shrinkflation, according to MousePrint.

Among them:

• Bounty paper towels: The triple back has shrunk from 165 sheets to just 147.
• Costco’s toilet paper: A large pack was 425 sheets last year, but now is just 380.
• Dial Body Wash: Reduced from 21 ounces to 16 ounces, a 25 percent reduction.
• Ziploc freezer bags: 54 bags last year, but just 50 bags this year.
• And Quaker Instant Oatmeal: 10 packs last year, but just 8 this year for some varieties.

And from the “doesn’t that stink” file, sneaky shrinkflation that makes you think you are getting more, when you are really getting less.

Have you noticed that Cheerios is pushing giant family-size boxes these days?

But like a good magician’s trick, MousePrint says that big family box has shrunk from 20 ounces to19, the equivalent of a 27 cent price hike.

And that stinks.

Bottom line: Don’t just look at prices of your favorite brands, but sizes as well, So you don’t waste your money.

Original post from NBC 4i