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Have you ever noticed that the detergent you always buy somehow runs out quicker or that the cookies you love don’t even last five minutes in your household anymore?
Well, chances are that has something to do with “shrinkflation”—the process of items becoming smaller in size or lower in quality, yet maintaining the same price tag. Unsurprisingly, such changes are not usually advertised, so it might not be easy to notice when certain items have been reduced—be it in quality or quantity—but some people do notice. Not only that, they take pictures, too, and share them with the world.
On the list below, you will find a bunch of such pictures, depicting instances of shrinkflation that would make many consumers seriously annoyed. There, you will also find Bored Panda’s interview with an expert in shrinkflation, former Massachusetts assistant attorney general in consumer protection, Edgar Dworsky, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about the process.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Sewing Kits Are Now Affected By Shrinkflation :(
RELATED:
#2
When You Make The Popsicle Smaller, But Don't Adjust The Popsicle Stick Size Or How Far The Machine Dips It In Chocolate
#3
Same Package, Purchased A Month Apart
Huddo's sister 6 months ago
This is why I check the 'lowest unit price' online or on the shelf even if I've bought a product before.
Seeking to learn more about shrinkflation and what that means to us as consumers, we got in touch with a shrinkflation expert, former Massachusetts assistant attorney general in consumer protection, and founder of Consumer World, Edgar Dworsky, who explained that the goal of shrinkflation is for companies to manage their costs without having to noticeably raise prices for consumers.
“When manufacturers face increased costs for raw materials, transportation, and so on, they have to decide how and if to pass on those costs to consumers. Companies know that shoppers are very price-conscious and will likely notice any significant price hike. But they also know that if they reduce the size of a product slightly, fewer consumers will notice, so they can pass on the same price increase but in a more inconspicuous way,” he explained.
#4
New vs. Old Swiss Cake Rolls
#5
Over The Years
According to the expert, shrinkflation has been around at least since the 1950s. “I believe it will always exist because manufacturers would rather tinker with the net contents of a product rather than raise the price directly. Sometimes they actually do both,” he noted, adding that shrinkflation tends to come in waves, and that at times of high inflation, we are likely to see more examples of it.
#6
Pringles Can I Saved For An Art Project Roughly 10 Years Ago, vs. One I Bought Yesterday
#7
String Cheese I Get Every Week, Left Is Old And Right Is New (All The New Ones In The Bag Were Smaller)
#8
"Fries". $7.99. Hockey Arena. Canada
Talking about how shrinkflation affects consumers, their spending habits, and their views of certain brands, Dworsky gave a real-life example, making it pretty clear how consumers suffer from such changes:
“If you get two ounces less in each cereal box, that’s two bowls of cereal less. [That means], you will have to buy the product more often. Simply Orange just reduced their bottles of orange juice from 52 ounces to 46 ounces—that is one less glass of orange juice. Again, you will have to shop more often for that product too.”
The expert added that some shoppers who find out that their favorite brand has downsized vow to switch to a competitive brand, which means that manufacturers downsize at their own risk. And yet, even with that in mind, many of them choose that route.
#9
Open To Package See Less Biscuits Then Expected
#10
Snickers "Yard" With Hollow Cardboard Center
Shark Lady 6 months ago
These ones annoy me the most, they shouldn't be allowed to say it's a yard of Snickers when it's only 2/3.
#11
In Hungary, There Are Disclaimers Which Warn The Customers That The Product Size Has Gotten Smaller
“With all the attention the media has given to shrinkflation in the past couple of years, more and more shoppers notice it. But by no means is that anywhere close to the majority,” Dworsky said, delving deeper into how noticeable to consumers shrinkflation is.
“The changes can be so subtle that only those with a photographic memory will catch some of them. Some products may only be reduced by an ounce or two. Others, like detergents, may claim you get the same number of loads, but they have taken out, perhaps, 10 ounces from each jug.”
#12
What Happened To The Chocolate Chips?
#13
I Know Its Cold In The Refrigerated Section, But Come On Walmart
#14
So Sorry For Your Loss
Summing up our conversation about shrinkflation, Dworsky suggested that shoppers need to become more “net weight conscious,” meaning that they should pay attention to the net weight or net contents of the products they buy on a regular basis. “How else are you going to spot a downsized product if you don’t know how today’s version of the product compares to yesterday’s?”
#15
My Quart Of Milk Only Had 3 Cups Of Milk In It
#16
This Is Probably Played Out Here, But This Is Egregious (Lindor)
#17
Kellogg’s Increases The Height Of The Box, But Lowers Ounces
#18
Halloween Candy Shrinkflation Has Hit A New Low. These Are About 1/2 To 1/3 The Size A Fun Sized Bar Used To Be. They Can Only Fit One "S" On The Snickers Bar
#19
This Used To Be A Premium Ice Cream
#20
Bigger Bottle. Less Shampoo
#21
Look, I Know I Ordered A “Small” KFC Popcorn Chicken, But This Is Hilarious. It’s Almost The Same Size As The Sauce Cup With A Single-Digit Amount Of Popcorn Chicken In It
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 6 months ago (edited)
This is your fault for going to KFC. Even Colonel Sanders hated what they turned it into, and he died like, 40 years ago. He called the gravy "sludge." Edit: I have reason to believe the KFCs in Japan might actually be decent.
#22
12.6% Decrease In Size By Weight With A Price Increase Does Not Make Me Feel Good (UK)
#23
Dominos Australian Large
#24
Cheese Ball Size Comparison
#25
Does This Count 🤨 Or Are They Just Lying?
Laura Lawson 6 months ago
This is illegal. Despite shrinkflation, the product has to be the weight that is on the box, within a few grams. This is over 25% less weight than is advertised. I'd be onto that company & blast it over social media if they didn't respond.
#26
Coffee A Month Or So Apart
#27
CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion Went Down An Ounce And Is Still The Same Price
Patrick Whittington 6 months ago
it's because of the ingredients in the bottle being upgraded. like the actual bottle. There's newer stuff added that makes them anti static and UV protected so they don't degrade as fast and it raises the cost of the bottle itself. so it was either charge more or less product to make up for it.
#28
These Price Labels I Just Put On Today
#29
Pasta Sauce Getting 8% Smaller And Water Is Now First Ingredient vs. Tomatoes
#30
Here's My Large Fry Without A Single One In The Bag Or Eaten. F**k You McDonald's For Ripping Off Your Customers As A Multi Billion Dollar Corporation
Beth Wheeler 6 months ago
Somebody screwed up on that box. They were in 2 much of a hurry or just not paying attention to what they were doing.
#31
Just Opened This Pack Of Pringles It's Just Disappointing
Uncle Panda 6 months ago (edited)
So many of these are staged. The chips would be destroyed from slamming around in the can.
#32
From 72 Cookies To 40... And They Have The Audacity To Raise The Price By 50¢!
#33
Something Stinks
#34
Guess Which One Was Purchased A Year Ago
#35
Chocolate Cake At The Local Cafe
Sonia Ceacero 6 months ago
Please appreciate the extreme difficulty of cutting such a thin slice of cake. That deserves recognition—what a steady hand!
Renaissance man 6 months ago
That s**t would sit on the saucer for 100 years before I would pay more than a dollar for it
Kyra Heiker 6 months ago
The price is for the cake and the sliver is just an example of what the cake looks like.
Zelda McLink 6 months ago
That looks like Coffee Club, and this is the kind of BS I expect from them.
#36
Cinnamon Toast Crunch Old Box Was 12oz. New Is 10oz... They Were Even Nice Enough To Put The Larger Box On Clearance
#37
Target Majorly Sucks For This One. Purchased 9mo Apart
Robert Beveridge 6 months ago
Target has always been K-mart for people who wanted to feel superior to people who shopped at K-mart though.
#38
Sometimes Shrinkflation Isn’t Content Weight Or Size Shrinking
#39
Kellogg's Cereal Weight Doesn't Match The Contents
#40
The Audacity Of These Doughnuts
#41
Expectations vs. Reality
#42
Donut Shop Pods Now 80 To A Box Instead Of 100 And Price Increased By $6
Scott Rackley 6 months ago
I use a metal reusable K cup and my own ground coffee. You should try it.
#44
I Always Buy The $20 Tide Detergent. I Had My Last Three Still In The Laundry Room And Noticed Each Time I Bought One, The Quantity Went Down
#45
Because Of Shrinkflation My Drinks Don't Fit In My Can Coozie Anymore
#46
Mcdonald’s Pnw Edition
#47
Now With 5 Bars!
#48
Wish I Had A Before Pic, But The Granola In Chobani Flips Used To Be So Full That I’d Get Nervous Tipping It Into The Yogurt 😭
PeepPeep the duck 6 months ago
I find them to be either this or over filled, but I buy a lot of these and it happens.
#49
Change The Name From Dino Nuggets To Megadino Nuggets, Keep Nearly Identical Packaging And Decrease The Amount Of Food By 30%
#50
Behold, A Saviour
#51
Subway Finally Getting Hurt By Their $15 Footlongs
Petra Peitsch 6 months ago
Subway isn't a thing in Germany. You'll find them usually at train stations, and in some bigger cities 1-2 units in the downtowns - for tourists, I guess. The trick is, we have here good-quality bakeries, what are selling different kind of sandwiches too, for like a half of their price. And even in grocery store chains, the sandwiches are daily, freshly made, and cost less, than the Subway's s****y overprocessed "baquettes".
#52
Brand New Out Of The Box “Full” Sensodyne Toothpaste
Elwood Schwartz (it/that) 6 months ago
But does it have the stated quantity inside? If so, you got what you paid for.
#54
At This Point Why Not Save Even More Money And Make The Bags Smaller?
#56
This Is My Least Favourite Yet, Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Biscuits Used To Be In A Plastic Tray But They’ve Changed It To Paper And Taken One Of The Biscuits Out
Huddo's sister 6 months ago
Personally I would be willing to forgo one biscuit for no plastic packaging.
#57
$5 Is Now $6
#58
New Hershey's Bottle Just Dropped
Huddo's sister 6 months ago
That is usually how it goes when there are two options, the larger is less per unit price. Unless they have replaced it with only the small bottle, but that seems unlikely if the big one is still on the shelf. Usually they wouldn't stock the smaller one until the other runs out.
#59
Every Time Lunchables Does A Box Redesign They Cut Another Gram Of Protein From It
#60
Taco Bell's Large Size Shrank This Year
#61
Popcorn Buckets Bought From The Same Cinema For The Same Price Months Apart
#62
How Is This Allowed 😂
PeepPeep the duck 6 months ago (edited)
I’ve explained this one before as an ex lindor ball rep for Lindt - they settle badly if not sorted well (not the case here) and they need extra wiggle room for transport depending on what country/state of the world you’re in as they don’t have the ingredients that stop rapid melting like Aussie chocolate for example. They are annoyingly fragile and I’m grateful everyday not to have to deal with those balls anymore 😂 if you love their chocolate i recommend trying to work for them as they give you so much of their product for free to the point it’s been nearly 20yrs and I still can’t eat Lindt
#63
Carvel’s “8 Inch” Round Ice Cream Cake
#64
That New Tropicana Just Dropped
Huddo's sister 6 months ago (edited)
At least there seems to be less plastic and a type that is more recyclable. There is an Aussie show called War on Waste, pretty self explanatory. Anyway, in the first season they reported that Cottee's (a favourite Australian brand with an iconic jingle) cordial bottles weren't recyclable because of the type of plastic used. Cottee's listened and by season 2 (which was about 5 years after) they had changed the bottles so they were made of a recyclable plastic, even though it meant they had to change the iconic bottle shape because the plastic couldn't be moulded the same way.
#65
Home Depot Plumbers Strap Is Half As Thick As It Was Just 4 Years Ago
#66
Yes, Even The Girl Scouts Are Shrinkflating 😢🤬
#67
Mcdonalds No Longer Offering Free Refills
Huddo's sister 6 months ago
Never have in Australia. There was one Hungry Jacks (Burger King) that I know did when I was young (90s/00s) but it was a novelty 50s themed place that stopped doing it mid 2010s.
#68
A “Roll” Of Wrapping Paper At Target
#69
Where’s The Rest Of My Cookies????
nottheactualphoto 6 months ago
It says 40% right on the label. It looks like 40% of the box is air, so there's your answer.
#70
McDonald's Breakfast Slider Apparently
#71
Even Youtube Has Shrinkflation
#72
Smaller Can, Same Price
#73
No More Middle Sausage?
#75
I Don't Know What This Is But It's Insane. The Top One Is 660g And Was Always £3. The Bottom One Is 350g And Was £1.75 Last Week
#76
I’ve Been Pissed About This For Weeks. 75% Air. My Hands Are Small As F**k And I Could Hold All Of It In My Palm What Do You Mean “Share Size”
nottheactualphoto 6 months ago
"Share" with your friends about the meager "size" of this package.
#77
Looks Like Ice Cream Is More Expensive Than Ice
#78
These Eight Pieces Of Cream Cheese Used To Fill Out The Whole Box
#79
Not The Timtams!!
PeepPeep the duck 6 months ago (edited)
The specialty editions always have a couple less than the standard pack though, it’s been this way forever
#80
Daytona Racetrack Hot Dogs: 2021 vs. 2024 (Same Counter)
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Robert Beveridge 6 months ago
I really hope, in a lot of these cases, people just stop buying the products en masse. There's absolutely nothing else that will stop the problem from getting worse (and doing so faster and faster).
Rick Murray 6 months ago
My weakness is Mars bars. Two years ago I could get a 12 pack for €3,27. It's currently a 10 pack for €4,42. 😡 If only our wages went up at the same rate as the stuff we spend on.
N.C. O'Brien 6 months ago
I found with the bigger packs the bars shrunk so much and get 2 bites and it’s gone. They said at the time that it was to get people to cut down on sugar without effecting the persons enjoyment. Now, instead of the previous size I eat 2 or 3 bars from the packs to get the same satisfaction. I’m not the only one. The single sales are still the normal size(for now)
Load More Replies...
Uncle Schmickle 6 months ago
Come on people ! We're all getting ripped off, which started during the COVID pandemic and continues now. It's about time we boycotted a lot of these products and wrote to the manufacturer stating why. If sales drop, they'll pick up their game.
Ned Evans 6 months ago
It was happening way before Covid. You only noticed it then as you had time on your hands so could pay attention. It's a marketing/advertising trick - and been around ever since marketing and advertising have been around. Start big and cheap, grow your market and get brand loyalty, gradually reduce the size and increase the price - squeeze as much money out of the market as possible. It's just one of the many ways capitalism exploits consumerism.
Load More Replies...
Baba Caine 6 months ago
Some were fake/staged , some were due to sugar taxes (uk) and some were misleading packaging the rest were been ripped off, best advice can say, boycott them cuz if keep paying they will keep doing. And try home cooking and baking, grow your own food take the control out the mega companies hand and regain power
Jeremy James 6 months ago
I noticed the order of ingredients changed on Philadelphia cream cheese recently. It seems they've reduced the amount of cheese culture and replaced it with extra gum and salt.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 months ago
I worked in the beer and wine industry for 15 years and one of the breweries I worked for decided to switch from half barrel kegs, 15.5 gallons, to 50L kegs 13.2 gallons. Pardon my freedom units but that's how we do it here. That meant selling off tens of thousands of dollars of kegs while buying tens of thousands of brand new kegs. A used keg goes for about $80 and a new keg is about $150. So we are talking about tens of thousands of dollars for the changeover and me and the rest of teh brewery staff who actually made the product were earning $17.50/hr. I quit five years ago and never looked back.
Wim Cossement 6 months ago
Does this mean lardasses will be getting less fat and perhaps buying less crappy 'food'? ;-) For many people, this is a win!
John Gouthro 6 months ago
I rarely go to any fast food places anymoe, but buying my own things to make meals is no better, it just tastes better
Russell Bowman 6 months ago
I feed a lot of stray cats ... would buy large wet food cans (22oz) for usd $1.08. The price now is $2.24 and in 20oz can.
Jerome Lenovo 6 months ago
enjoy capitalism, praise it, pray for it & participate by voting for it.
Robert Beveridge 6 months ago
I really hope, in a lot of these cases, people just stop buying the products en masse. There's absolutely nothing else that will stop the problem from getting worse (and doing so faster and faster).
Rick Murray 6 months ago
My weakness is Mars bars. Two years ago I could get a 12 pack for €3,27. It's currently a 10 pack for €4,42. 😡 If only our wages went up at the same rate as the stuff we spend on.
N.C. O'Brien 6 months ago
I found with the bigger packs the bars shrunk so much and get 2 bites and it’s gone. They said at the time that it was to get people to cut down on sugar without effecting the persons enjoyment. Now, instead of the previous size I eat 2 or 3 bars from the packs to get the same satisfaction. I’m not the only one. The single sales are still the normal size(for now)
Load More Replies... Uncle Schmickle 6 months ago
Come on people ! We're all getting ripped off, which started during the COVID pandemic and continues now. It's about time we boycotted a lot of these products and wrote to the manufacturer stating why. If sales drop, they'll pick up their game.
Ned Evans 6 months ago
It was happening way before Covid. You only noticed it then as you had time on your hands so could pay attention. It's a marketing/advertising trick - and been around ever since marketing and advertising have been around. Start big and cheap, grow your market and get brand loyalty, gradually reduce the size and increase the price - squeeze as much money out of the market as possible. It's just one of the many ways capitalism exploits consumerism.
Load More Replies... Baba Caine 6 months ago
Some were fake/staged , some were due to sugar taxes (uk) and some were misleading packaging the rest were been ripped off, best advice can say, boycott them cuz if keep paying they will keep doing. And try home cooking and baking, grow your own food take the control out the mega companies hand and regain power
Jeremy James 6 months ago
I noticed the order of ingredients changed on Philadelphia cream cheese recently. It seems they've reduced the amount of cheese culture and replaced it with extra gum and salt.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 6 months ago
I worked in the beer and wine industry for 15 years and one of the breweries I worked for decided to switch from half barrel kegs, 15.5 gallons, to 50L kegs 13.2 gallons. Pardon my freedom units but that's how we do it here. That meant selling off tens of thousands of dollars of kegs while buying tens of thousands of brand new kegs. A used keg goes for about $80 and a new keg is about $150. So we are talking about tens of thousands of dollars for the changeover and me and the rest of teh brewery staff who actually made the product were earning $17.50/hr. I quit five years ago and never looked back.
Wim Cossement 6 months ago
Does this mean lardasses will be getting less fat and perhaps buying less crappy 'food'? ;-) For many people, this is a win!
John Gouthro 6 months ago
I rarely go to any fast food places anymoe, but buying my own things to make meals is no better, it just tastes better
Russell Bowman 6 months ago
I feed a lot of stray cats ... would buy large wet food cans (22oz) for usd $1.08. The price now is $2.24 and in 20oz can.
Jerome Lenovo 6 months ago
enjoy capitalism, praise it, pray for it & participate by voting for it.
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