If you've noticed your bar of Toblerone looking rather small and a far cry from how you remember it in your childhood, rest assured, you’re not the only one. In fact, consumers around the world are increasingly paying more for a growing range of products in ways that don’t show up on receipts.
Think of shrunk portions, thinner rolls, lighter bags, smaller cans — in this way, companies try to offset rising labor and materials costs without scaring us all off. But are they really succeeding? Also known as shrinkflation, the phenomenon has surely been noticed and well documented by people don’t find it fair to pay the same for a lesser net weight.
One such online destination, a subreddit called “Shrinkflation,” is dedicated to sharing some of the most deliberate and annoying examples of paying more for less spotted in practice. Below we wrapped up a collection of posts from there.
This post may include affiliate links.
This Is Insane
I’ve Been Bamboozled
Terry's Chocolate Orange Is Now Just "Terry's Orange" With The Word "Chocolatey" In The Description
This indicates that the quality has been reduced to the point where they cannot legally call it chocolate anymore
Shrinkflation is a form of retail camouflage in which consumers pay more for a growing range of products without actually realizing it. By shrinking usual product sizes and net weight, companies and businesses aim to cover rising labor and material costs without increasing the prices.
According to Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and lawyer who has authored a number of consumer protection laws, including the regulations under which the Massachusetts Lemon Law operates, consumers check the price every time they buy, but they don’t check the net weight. Dworsky has been tracking shrinkflation for more than 30 years, and he shares the results on his website Consumer World.
Sometimes I Like To Flip The Chips In The Store Shelves
Ah Yes ± 25ml, Thank You WD-40
You can't always get the last amount of oil out of the can before the pressure has gone. Leaving oil in the can that's thrown away. My experience has told me that the smaller cans (100ml) are the worse for this. I went through a phase of opening up the "empty" cans to see how much was left. Maybe I should have formalized the results and publicized them for widespread comparison. https://www.facebook.com/739827619/videos/3134983986753041/
The Shrinkflation Of The Old Pringles Design (165g) To The New (134g)
“When the price of raw materials, like coffee beans or paper pulp goes up, manufacturers are faced with a choice: Do we raise the price knowing consumers will see it and grumble about it? Or do we give them a little bit less and accomplish the same thing? Often it’s easier to do the latter,” Dworsky told The Washington Post.
This Shrinkflation Of Toblerone In The UK, Is Still Mind-Boggling
Not a bad thing! The most violent chocolate in the world. It tricks you! You try gnawing it down and the sweet taste starts to melt in your mouth, Then you get brave and bite down only to get the roof of your mouth punctured by the chocolate Swiss alps!
Inflation In The UK 344% Up For A Bag Of Rice From Last Year
Is It Shrinkflation When They Just Lie About The Weight? Paid For 12 Oz Of Fish, Got 10.6 Including The Wrapping
Dworsky also argues that when small bags of candy have been downsized, you are not likely to eat two bags instead. "But for orange juice, cereal, paper towels, toilet paper, peanut butter, whatever — consumers just have to buy it more often."
Although products don’t shrink by half and the changes are usually barely noticeable, these little differences add up to your pocketbook. If you're getting 10% to 12% less of a product, that's equivalent to a 10% price increase, and if you’re a regular consumer of that product, you will start feeling the difference pretty soon.
This Must Be Their Way Of Saying “We Decreased The Amount But Kept The Container Size The Same” (Oikos Yogurt, 5.3 Oz)
When I Was A Teen, These Stretched The Length Of The Package. Those Were The Days
one time my daughter had a black hole on her tongue and we rushed to the dentist ($$$) before she finally admit that she had two packs of that thing the night before... iiissshhhh...
The Top Box Is From A Well Established Reoccurring Promotion
I see what they did there. Very clever . Took me a moment to see lack of % sign.
On the other hand, we can try to see the positive side of shrinkflation and argue that we may indeed be saving some calories. In the context of the obesity pandemic, this may be a small but important step. When six-packs of bagels go from 24 oz to 22 to 20 oz, the chances are you will still be buying the same number of packages but end up eating a lesser amount of food.
These Used To Be 6 To A Pack. Same Price Of Course
Same thing happened to chicken fil a frozen lemonade..... use to come in sizes and I always got the large at 3.75........ then a bit over a year ago they made the only size a small and raised the price to 4.25..... so you get less for more than a large used to cost..... I was so mad we stopped going to chick FIL a
I Remember When The "Good Stuff" Mix-In Cup Was Full In Chobani Yogurts. Now Less Than Half
Breyers Chocolate Chip Used To Be Jammed With Chocolate, Now It’s Almost Just Plain Vanilla
I Bought A New IKEA Utensil Holder And It Kept Tipping Over. Turns Out It's The Same Dimensions And Material As The Old One I Have But It Weighs Over 50% Less
Oreo Filling Isn't Just Thinner... Now It Doesn't Even Reach The Edge
This Is Now “Double Stuffed”
Big Mac Hit With The Shrink Ray?
They had three sizes of Mac a while ago. Big Mac, Mac and Single. Now they are back to the Big Mac. But, side note, Any burger on their menu can be altered...so you can get a regular cheeseburger, remove the ketchup and mustard and have special sauce added...all the big mac flavor without the extra calories.
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I'd be ashamed calling that a big Mac. Looks like they're using the Happy meal burger to make it.
Wendys has done the same, the tx double cheeseburger is tiny like this, and Jr bacon cheeseburger is smaller too.
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I noticed that the last time I had one as well. I go once a month out to eat and this will no longer be one I splurge on. They raised the price and halved the size. Not even worth the time. Might as well make my own. It would be healthier any how.
Had a quarter pounder the other day and while the burger patty was still the right size, the bun was smaller. Meaning I had about an inch of burger patty sticking out of the bun all the way around. So not just the big macs
The meat they use is called 10 to 1 it's small already and they use 10 to make 1 burger ,they use the same meat on 80% of their burgers and the qt pounder is made with 4 to 1 which is why they are bigger
Managed for McD between 1985 and 2013. Boxes of burger were 30 lbs. Only 117 patties in quarter pounder boxes, fewer than 300 in 10:1 boxes, to guarantee no lawsuits over marketing of burger sizes. I spot checked hundreds of cases over the years; patty counts never increased so sizes never changed. For all I know the hullabaloo about oversize buns may be true.
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I ordered a combo burger from Wendy's and it was the size of a Jr Bacon and world's sadder. For $15
More so looks like they ordered the big Mac minus A LOT of toppings. You can order light toppings. Wouldn't call this an accurate representation.
Either that guy has Andre The Giant sized hands or that "Big" Mac is a scam.
That's an European size big Mac, they're about 1/3 smaller than UK size
That's how they've always looked to me. S'why I don't go to McD for burgers.
I make a bigger burger at home, complete with the not so secret sauce. I am so over shrinkconomy …
McDonalds burgers have been shrinking since are some where in the late 1980's. i. remember when they first opened in the 1970's where i lived. everything was made fresh and you got meat you could see in your burgers.
Huh? That can’t be right. Must be a giant’s hand. I don’t go to McD’s often but sometimes I’ll get a Junior Chicken. One time I felt a little hungrier so I ordered a regular McChicken and it was so small in the box I was shocked. I could have bought two Juniors for a far less price. I was so mad.
Thats theft and I would complain to corporate. Also just straight up take the cash register cus after serving you that they owe you money.
That would go into the managers face at 1000mph if he gave that to me. What a f*****g disgrace.
Around me, that's been the same size for years, I don't eat them very often cuz if the sodium, but yup . That's the way they've been for me, except my McDonald's doesn't skimp on veggies, but they're pretty much like "finger sandwiches".
Here in the US, big Macs are still descent size and look much better than that
That typo was epic: "descent size" = as in, sizes getting smaller... 😜
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Mini Mac. I seldom eat at McDonald's, but recently I did and ended having a laugh flash when I got my Mini-Mac. Never again. Edit: oops, the picture isn’t at McD. Anyway, we are in the middle of an inflation.
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i queried this with McDonalds and they strongly deny that their burgers have shrunk. They hold their customers in complete contempt.
They Couldn't Even Wait Until The Old One Was Gone To Put Up The New Size
Yes, This Is New And Unused
Pack Of Gum
I'd love to see the stats how much they save per year on this. Must be a shitload, like that time an airline took out 1 olive from every salad and ended up saving hundreds of thousands on fuel...
Plenty Of Room To Spare
Cat Food. Was $55 For 24, 5.8 Oz Cans. Now $62 For 24, 5.1 Oz Cans. That's .7 Oz. Less Per Can, And $7 More Per Case
and strangely it is one of the most expensive pet foods, yet has the worst quality - full of c**p
Oreos Shipped With Three Cookies Face Down
Omg! This Is The Best One Yet! From The Previous Post About Bolthouse Dressing, I Called Them Out On Twitter. Lmao
$0.99 For The Top One Last Year. Just Bought The Bottom One For $1.97
Never Thought I'd Catch It So Blatantly Myself - Grocery Store In Canada
Now It's Serious... Not My Dino Nuggets Too
Nugo Bars Advertised As 50g But Coming In At 41g
Wife Bought Paper Towels From A Chain Store Brand Today. Regular Roll Core For Comparison
Same Price. Bought The Last One 3 Weeks Ago, And A New One Today For Thanksgiving
How is it toast? It is bread (with garlic) In UK we call this err... garlic bread.
Scott Toilet Paper - 2019 vs. 2021 Comparison
I Can Now Fit All Of My Groceries In A Ziplock, Yay!
2 Twix Short Of A Yard
Not the Twix- anything but the Twix- take the Reese’s pieces instead-
Softsoap Made Their Bottle Smaller. This Was Their Response
Shrinkflation Has Been Hitting Everything
Even LEGO Can't Escape!
To be fair, the 2010 model was an ultimate collector's set that retailed for $260 and the 2021 set retails for about $70. So not really shrinkflation.
In Response To The Post About Folger's Coffee, I Call Them Out On Twitter. This Was Their Response. But Wait, There's More!
This Is Getting Serious
Yup. BW3 changed that a long time ago. You used to get a dozen wings for a certain price. Now you only get 10 wings, unless you pay quite a bit more, and then you get 15. You cannot buy a dozen wings anymore. So, I no longer patronize BW3. Those with a local business have much better deals and I prefer to see them succeed. Not my job to fund the stock payers of large corporate-owned businesses.
Seen This While Stocking Cookies
I Fill Canisters With Our Dry Goods, The Past Year Things Have Gone From Filled To Nearly Spilling, To This
Maybe it's time to make your own mashed potatoes? Normal potatoes, not cardboard.
Can Of Great Value “Pringles” Is A Third Empty When Opened
Can anyone make a projection, in how many years will they be selling only one potato chip in a can?
Monster Coming In With Some Scary 25% Shrinkflation
I Knew Something Was Fishy When I Bought My Creamer Yesterday
The Slices Of This Chocolate Orange Have Hollows Now
New Take On Shrinkflation: Exact Same Product Miraculously “65% More”
Half A Pickle
This Used To Be Completely Full
Wood Flooring, Now With Less Hardwood!
It’s quite normal that there are sold different qualities. You have to compare (and pay more) to get the thick ones.
Note: this post originally had 124 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Don't forget: while this shrinkflation is happening, corporate profits and CEO pay are going way up. We're not all suffering together.
Oh, wholeheartedly agree with this. Late stage capitalism is an absolute criminal enterprise. Consumers only exist to support shareholders.
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Came here to say the same. This is my biggest problem with it. "Now with 50% more landfill waste!"
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This entire article is depressing. Prices of EVERYTHING are going up (fuel, rent, groceries) and wages aren't budging. Corporations are no longer hiding their greed and people are being crushed.
The problem with using the term "shrinkflation" is that it sounds like a kind of economic phenomenon that we have no control over, so people will "normalize" it in their minds as something that can't be helped. The real term we need to use is "GREED". Because that's exactly what this is.
Remember: The GOP says we can't raise the minimum wage, because if we do it will cause the prices of things to go up. But here we are, prices have been going up but our wages haven't been raised to even keep up with it. It's like the boiling frog metaphor, but we're slowly being made into a poorer, lower class
You realize Democrats are in the pockets of corporations too, right? They can give all the lip service they want because they know they'll never have to follow through. Stop pretending any politician cares about you.
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Anyone notice that loo roll used to come in paper packaging but for years now it's in plastic? By the way , I'm only 42!
I think the onesies you get in the convenience stores may still have paper packaging. The gigantic mega packs wouldn't hold together under paper, tho.
Load More Replies... Not quite the same but regarding sneaky advertising, I saw a commercial recently where two neighbors were comparing their cat food. Guy says "but Blue Buffalo is more expensive, right?" Woman says "Actually I did the math and it's LESS! ... than 20 cents more per day." I actually didn't catch the quiet and dismissive way she said the second part of the sentence until I watched it a second time! lol
All this "oz" stuff is doin' my head in. Common practice I see is bags/containers that you'd expect to be 1kg upon closer inspection are 950g or 900g.
You should go see The Wizard... The Wizard of Oz. I'll just see myself out, now.
Load More Replies... What really bothers me is ice cream over the years. Smaller and smaller. Cheaper and cheaper ingredients so that now most of it tastes bad to an adult palate. One Canadian company called Chapman’s advertises that there packages are still 2 litres. That’s decent of them to keep things the same.
What I don’t understand about this, and rising fuel prices etc, is that surely this will eventually lead to economic collapse or disaster?? If I have to spend 1/4 of my wages a month on fuel, I can’t afford to spend money on leisure, like cinema, theatre. no more eating out in restaurants or takeaways. Coffee shops and cafes. Supermarkets would suffer as people would be buying less food and only staples. Holiday and travel firms as families scrap these plans. Electricity is so expensive you’d cut down on watching tv and maybe streaming services. ( I did that when I lost my job in the pandemic and just watched old dvds on a little old travel player, didn’t watch much tv but used things like catch up on my phone, and read tonnes of books.) cosmetics brands would suffer as people would buy fewer products and less expensive brands, hair salons would start having fewer customers as people go longer between cuts and stop having highlights etc.
So much people complaining about about inflation and his r******d cousin but no one figures out it's been always cheaper to do stuff by yourself. Last year bought a manual potato slicer machine and now I do my own Pringles at 1/4 the price. Same with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes and other things we usually eat at home Just stop buying s**t and let the business world burn in his own stupidity.
That's a great idea for people who have the time.
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Surprised there is nothing about oil products here. My funace oil is up 50% since January. My gasoline is up 80%. ☹
Stop buying those things. None of the food shown here is real food. Except the pastas maybe.
do i make fun of the most important thing in YOUR life? no so stop dissin my pringles
Load More Replies... I have been able to recreate most every fast food items, with their “secret” ingredients well as restaurants entire menus with leftovers to spare. It’s more economical, and sometimes a whole lot more fun with room for creativity. (Also a wonderful way to interest kids in the culinary arts) . My biggest expenditures are a few difficult to replace items. If you have cool neighbors and they are willing, you can share recipes, and food items.
I've done that too haha. I don't eat much fast food so I used to buy these frozen cheeseburger things that kinda resembled McDonald's cheeseburgers when I wanted one, but they were still a poor facsimile. So I started making my own by copying their recipe, I make the patties myself from ground beef once a week and freeze them. I looked into burger cheese and found a really good brand that tastes the same, ketchup, buns and mustard are easy. It tastes a lot like it but actually better. I'm going to try making big mac sauce next.
Load More Replies... I would say that generously, maybe half of these actually showed shrinkflation. Some of them showed deceptive packaging, some of them showed inflation, and some of them just showed things that annoyed the person who posted it.
Some also showed flat out theft! Like the one with the fish.
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Tbh for most of this stuff I agree - it's theft, but for some items I'm not really disturbed. ••• If the quality is increasing & you need less (detergentpacks, given that the useable quantity didn't change), but the production costs stays the same - the price also may stay. •• If the useable volume/mass is decreasing (TP/Ziplock-bags), so are the production costs (most likely) - the price should'nt increase ••• given that everyone is affected by inflation - including companies - an increasement of costs should at least be justifiable & communicated. ••• The money s/o has vs. the actual money s/o needs ... that's another can of worms to be opened. •• ps I know that the production costs involves much more than the amount of produced products
I have noticed portion, weight, quality and quantity reductions in processed, packaged foods and essentials like butt wipe and papertowels.....my concern is that none of the shown products are real/unprocessed food and people are focused on these items - perhaps because they are comfort foods? The cost of whole chickens, sides of beef, bulk tempeh or whatever your protien source of choice is, is skyrocketing. Imported produce prices are astronomical and locally grown prices are up but not as steeply. Perhaps it's time to clean up the diet and focus on supporting our neighbours food production endeavours. I'm not into supporting companies in general, or companies that are notoriously short on human rights or product recalls due to toxic contamination (J&J)...I don't know how to make my own butt wipe but rest assured, if I do, that'll be the next item to exit my shopping list!
Watch the price per ounce. Especially right now as companies introduce "big" sizes that are smaller than previously and the older, smaller containers are still on the shelves. Bought 3 "regular" size bags of store brand chips because the per oz. price was lower than the family or party size packages.
p.s. If you use recipes that have a prepackaged ingredient, like a cake mix, please note the smaller size of boxed cake mixes will mess up your recipe badly. I now bake cakes in an 8x11 cake pan instead of the 9x13 of old. There's that much difference in package size. Watch the net weight/fluid ounce amounts of anything boxed, canned, jarred, or plastic container of everything before you mix your ingredients. Can no longer just open the can and dump it in. Might need 1.5 cans to equal the old recipe.
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One thing to watch out for is, "New shape Same Amount!"... Once you're used to the new shape, they lower the amount... Totino's Pizza did that.
The question is what we can do? If they selves make the inflation and rise of prices and then do this because "inflation and rise of prices"
Honestly there's nothing we can do except lobby. There needs to be consumer protection laws against deceitful stuff like this, like how there is for false advertising etc.
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There are some seriously mean responses on this post! Do better, pandas!
This is mostly publicly traded companies having to GROW each year or be penalized by the market. Hell, with just being profitable. I think we will see a rash of them going private in the next year or two. Continental Resources just announced going private this week.
This has been going on alot longer than most people think. I'm 64 and I remember when a regular candy bar was the same size the king sized bars are now.
Yeah just increase the price. Except dont, cause the cost of production went up 1c but you raised the price $1
Shrinkflation is real and it's really the fault of inflation. Companies like people have costs from suppliers and when they rise they have 2 choices, raise prices or offer less product for the same price. I'm not saying it's right or wrong just how it is. On the positive side, most of this food is absolute garbage and your body will thank you for consuming less of it. You're welcome
Lunchables now have one less cracker. Not less meat or cheese, but one less cracker. I thought it was weird when two times in a row I was missing a cracker, but after the 3rd time I knew it was shrinkflation.
So many of these are noticeably fake. I have not noticed any of this from what I buy.
Going back decades. McDonald's Fish Filet used to have about 1/2" of fish. Now the breading is twice as thick as the fish and whole filet is about 1/2". No longer taste the fish.
Missed the bagged ice (as in Reddy Ice) going from 10lb bags to 7lb bags but pricing the same.
Walmart Plastic Hangers Are Hollow On The Inside...You Get Less...Pay More And They Break Much ..Much Easier..
Even The Plastic Hangers....Their Hollow On The Inside...You Get Less Of Them...They Cost More And Break Much...Much Easier...
I buy Visine dry eye and they cost about $7 give or take $1. They now have a NEW Visine dry eye: all day comfort. Same product same exact active ingredient in the same percentage now costs $14.99.
Hey if shrinkflation is going to be a thing. And no they're not fooling anyone it is a thing. Why not do us a favor and shrink the packaging size to match? At least then I wouldn't be quite so mad at the packaging waste. It's maddening enough to be ripped off on the quantity/price aspect. Even more infuriating that they are still using the same amount of packaging in most cases. I might hate them just a little less if they reduced the waste.
So many reasons why I refuse to shop for name brand. I put so many groceries back today especially cereal. I'd rather do without and boycott the product than give in. This is not about inflation its about corporate GREED. I have noticed Kroger stuff has kept the same.
Prices go up - that is not unusual. You cannot produce somethign for the same price as before? Ok, I'll pay more (within reason) But opening a packet and finding a third of it empty makes me so angry, I am never buying that product again. And I hold a grudge against that company for a very long time.
I’ve eaten Nabisco Graham Crackers all my life. It’s my favorite snack with morning tea and at bedtime. We still go through two boxes a week. But the crackers have got smaller. And years ago, there were 12 crackers in a packet. Three packets in a box. Now there are nine much smaller crackers in each packet. But the box is the same size!! That means there’s a lot of empty space in each Box. Which means there’s a lot of breakage during shipping. It’s a totally disingenuous was of deceiving the consumer by shrinking the product and still raising the price.
How about dog food. Pedigree does away with 50lb bag at. $21, New 40lb bag with free 4 bonus pounds for $28. I don't think that's a bonus. But maybe consumers are that stupid.
Aluminum cans have gotten thinner too. Noticed it months ago when I grabbed my soda can and it pretty much collapsed on itself and the soda shot out of the open top.
Fight back: Stop buying c**p, make almost everything from scratch and meal prep so you'll have more food. Grow your veggies. Want to be more badass for the planet and your wallet? Go vegan.
Sure let me just save up for my 1 acre farm where I can be rich and grow my own veges? If I had room and time to do that then I'd be rich enough to not care about shrinkflation. It's a sick system.
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In New York state grocery stores can't carry plastic bags at checkout and they now charge 5 cents per bag. One grocery store chain's regular bag is smaller than a "standard" bag and they charge 6 cents for it. (And when you put one on the self checkout it tells you to take it off and rescan. You have to scan your first item, put it in the bag in the air, and put the whole thing on the scale.)
Im from LI now live in MD both places I've paid 10cents for bags. It's insane. Plus In NY I lived on the border of Nassau and Suffolk Id always forget to bring my bags with me when I was in Suffolk. Id forget them in the car or house bc in Nassau we didnt have to pay for them but they changed that now too.
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I am shocked that no NY or CA trial lawyers have jumped on this. The trial lawyer industry used to be way sharper than this when spotting lawsuit opportunities.
I get irritated by brands claiming a product is new and improved (looking at you pedigree dentastix) but my biggest annoyance is when they pretend it's big until you realise the packaging is hiding a massive void behind the branding. If I'm going out my way to be unhealthy and eat a bag of crisps, I don't want 3/4's to be missing!
What blows my mind is while Democratic party left wanted to start passing out free money, us with intelligence cried out we don't want inflation. I asked common folks if they knew about what would happen and they like sucks for our children but I want handout now. And now the snowball only grows bigger and it never our own fault. Watching the world reject upright and righteous thoughts, and as they doom their children, they say foolish things. Turn to Jesus if you want to escape the coming justice.
Pretty sure Trump gave everyone free money in 2020 dude. He signed a stimulus package. He also gave a bunch of corporations 'free money'. I'm not sure why right wing people seem to have selective amnesia and attribute all the 'free money' to the dems. Okay. But by your reasoning, then Trump started inflation with his 'handouts' -- I remember people I know in the US getting Trump money. Sorry not sorry.
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People will accept a smaller size they will not accept a price increase. Also stop voting Democrat or labor.
Yeah definitely vote anti-union, anti-people, pro-corporations, pro rich people-- right wingers. All the years of right wing governments in the US and Australia have really fixed economic inequality, right? Oh wait, it's worse than ever before? Well sh1t.
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There really are some very real and very simple answers to "why" inflation and shrinkflation happen. Right now the world economy is experiencing the intersection of several extreme events that have combined to cause the worst global economic downturn in 50 years. 1. We have two years of the Covid19 pandemic that interrupted supply lines, factory production, transportation, etc. everywhere in the world. These interruptions are still ongoing in places like China where several large cities have recently gone on lockdown, again. 2. Russia's attack on Ukraine has meant a universal boycott of Russian oil. This has made oil and gas prices skyrocket, and when gas goes up the price of everything goes up.....because everything needs to be transported and the cost of that transportation gets added on to the end price. 3. President Biden put a stop to the construction of the Keystone pipeline two years ago.
Is that why the CEOs of companies like walmart, amazon, luxottica, oil companies, J&J, etc. etc. etc. are worth significantly more now than they were 2 years ago? Because of rising costs of production? No. It's because they are price gouging. S**t like this should be illegal
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Don't forget: while this shrinkflation is happening, corporate profits and CEO pay are going way up. We're not all suffering together.
Oh, wholeheartedly agree with this. Late stage capitalism is an absolute criminal enterprise. Consumers only exist to support shareholders.
Load More Replies... Came here to say the same. This is my biggest problem with it. "Now with 50% more landfill waste!"
Load More Replies... This entire article is depressing. Prices of EVERYTHING are going up (fuel, rent, groceries) and wages aren't budging. Corporations are no longer hiding their greed and people are being crushed.
The problem with using the term "shrinkflation" is that it sounds like a kind of economic phenomenon that we have no control over, so people will "normalize" it in their minds as something that can't be helped. The real term we need to use is "GREED". Because that's exactly what this is.
Remember: The GOP says we can't raise the minimum wage, because if we do it will cause the prices of things to go up. But here we are, prices have been going up but our wages haven't been raised to even keep up with it. It's like the boiling frog metaphor, but we're slowly being made into a poorer, lower class
You realize Democrats are in the pockets of corporations too, right? They can give all the lip service they want because they know they'll never have to follow through. Stop pretending any politician cares about you.
Load More Replies... Anyone notice that loo roll used to come in paper packaging but for years now it's in plastic? By the way , I'm only 42!
I think the onesies you get in the convenience stores may still have paper packaging. The gigantic mega packs wouldn't hold together under paper, tho.
Load More Replies... Not quite the same but regarding sneaky advertising, I saw a commercial recently where two neighbors were comparing their cat food. Guy says "but Blue Buffalo is more expensive, right?" Woman says "Actually I did the math and it's LESS! ... than 20 cents more per day." I actually didn't catch the quiet and dismissive way she said the second part of the sentence until I watched it a second time! lol
All this "oz" stuff is doin' my head in. Common practice I see is bags/containers that you'd expect to be 1kg upon closer inspection are 950g or 900g.
You should go see The Wizard... The Wizard of Oz. I'll just see myself out, now.
Load More Replies... What really bothers me is ice cream over the years. Smaller and smaller. Cheaper and cheaper ingredients so that now most of it tastes bad to an adult palate. One Canadian company called Chapman’s advertises that there packages are still 2 litres. That’s decent of them to keep things the same.
What I don’t understand about this, and rising fuel prices etc, is that surely this will eventually lead to economic collapse or disaster?? If I have to spend 1/4 of my wages a month on fuel, I can’t afford to spend money on leisure, like cinema, theatre. no more eating out in restaurants or takeaways. Coffee shops and cafes. Supermarkets would suffer as people would be buying less food and only staples. Holiday and travel firms as families scrap these plans. Electricity is so expensive you’d cut down on watching tv and maybe streaming services. ( I did that when I lost my job in the pandemic and just watched old dvds on a little old travel player, didn’t watch much tv but used things like catch up on my phone, and read tonnes of books.) cosmetics brands would suffer as people would buy fewer products and less expensive brands, hair salons would start having fewer customers as people go longer between cuts and stop having highlights etc.
So much people complaining about about inflation and his r******d cousin but no one figures out it's been always cheaper to do stuff by yourself. Last year bought a manual potato slicer machine and now I do my own Pringles at 1/4 the price. Same with tomato sauce, mashed potatoes and other things we usually eat at home Just stop buying s**t and let the business world burn in his own stupidity.
That's a great idea for people who have the time.
Load More Replies... Surprised there is nothing about oil products here. My funace oil is up 50% since January. My gasoline is up 80%. ☹
Stop buying those things. None of the food shown here is real food. Except the pastas maybe.
do i make fun of the most important thing in YOUR life? no so stop dissin my pringles
Load More Replies... I have been able to recreate most every fast food items, with their “secret” ingredients well as restaurants entire menus with leftovers to spare. It’s more economical, and sometimes a whole lot more fun with room for creativity. (Also a wonderful way to interest kids in the culinary arts) . My biggest expenditures are a few difficult to replace items. If you have cool neighbors and they are willing, you can share recipes, and food items.
I've done that too haha. I don't eat much fast food so I used to buy these frozen cheeseburger things that kinda resembled McDonald's cheeseburgers when I wanted one, but they were still a poor facsimile. So I started making my own by copying their recipe, I make the patties myself from ground beef once a week and freeze them. I looked into burger cheese and found a really good brand that tastes the same, ketchup, buns and mustard are easy. It tastes a lot like it but actually better. I'm going to try making big mac sauce next.
Load More Replies... I would say that generously, maybe half of these actually showed shrinkflation. Some of them showed deceptive packaging, some of them showed inflation, and some of them just showed things that annoyed the person who posted it.
Some also showed flat out theft! Like the one with the fish.
Load More Replies... Tbh for most of this stuff I agree - it's theft, but for some items I'm not really disturbed. ••• If the quality is increasing & you need less (detergentpacks, given that the useable quantity didn't change), but the production costs stays the same - the price also may stay. •• If the useable volume/mass is decreasing (TP/Ziplock-bags), so are the production costs (most likely) - the price should'nt increase ••• given that everyone is affected by inflation - including companies - an increasement of costs should at least be justifiable & communicated. ••• The money s/o has vs. the actual money s/o needs ... that's another can of worms to be opened. •• ps I know that the production costs involves much more than the amount of produced products
I have noticed portion, weight, quality and quantity reductions in processed, packaged foods and essentials like butt wipe and papertowels.....my concern is that none of the shown products are real/unprocessed food and people are focused on these items - perhaps because they are comfort foods? The cost of whole chickens, sides of beef, bulk tempeh or whatever your protien source of choice is, is skyrocketing. Imported produce prices are astronomical and locally grown prices are up but not as steeply. Perhaps it's time to clean up the diet and focus on supporting our neighbours food production endeavours. I'm not into supporting companies in general, or companies that are notoriously short on human rights or product recalls due to toxic contamination (J&J)...I don't know how to make my own butt wipe but rest assured, if I do, that'll be the next item to exit my shopping list!
Watch the price per ounce. Especially right now as companies introduce "big" sizes that are smaller than previously and the older, smaller containers are still on the shelves. Bought 3 "regular" size bags of store brand chips because the per oz. price was lower than the family or party size packages.
p.s. If you use recipes that have a prepackaged ingredient, like a cake mix, please note the smaller size of boxed cake mixes will mess up your recipe badly. I now bake cakes in an 8x11 cake pan instead of the 9x13 of old. There's that much difference in package size. Watch the net weight/fluid ounce amounts of anything boxed, canned, jarred, or plastic container of everything before you mix your ingredients. Can no longer just open the can and dump it in. Might need 1.5 cans to equal the old recipe.
Load More Replies... One thing to watch out for is, "New shape Same Amount!"... Once you're used to the new shape, they lower the amount... Totino's Pizza did that.
The question is what we can do? If they selves make the inflation and rise of prices and then do this because "inflation and rise of prices"
Honestly there's nothing we can do except lobby. There needs to be consumer protection laws against deceitful stuff like this, like how there is for false advertising etc.
Load More Replies... There are some seriously mean responses on this post! Do better, pandas!
This is mostly publicly traded companies having to GROW each year or be penalized by the market. Hell, with just being profitable. I think we will see a rash of them going private in the next year or two. Continental Resources just announced going private this week.
This has been going on alot longer than most people think. I'm 64 and I remember when a regular candy bar was the same size the king sized bars are now.
Yeah just increase the price. Except dont, cause the cost of production went up 1c but you raised the price $1
Shrinkflation is real and it's really the fault of inflation. Companies like people have costs from suppliers and when they rise they have 2 choices, raise prices or offer less product for the same price. I'm not saying it's right or wrong just how it is. On the positive side, most of this food is absolute garbage and your body will thank you for consuming less of it. You're welcome
Lunchables now have one less cracker. Not less meat or cheese, but one less cracker. I thought it was weird when two times in a row I was missing a cracker, but after the 3rd time I knew it was shrinkflation.
So many of these are noticeably fake. I have not noticed any of this from what I buy.
Going back decades. McDonald's Fish Filet used to have about 1/2" of fish. Now the breading is twice as thick as the fish and whole filet is about 1/2". No longer taste the fish.
Missed the bagged ice (as in Reddy Ice) going from 10lb bags to 7lb bags but pricing the same.
Walmart Plastic Hangers Are Hollow On The Inside...You Get Less...Pay More And They Break Much ..Much Easier..
Even The Plastic Hangers....Their Hollow On The Inside...You Get Less Of Them...They Cost More And Break Much...Much Easier...
I buy Visine dry eye and they cost about $7 give or take $1. They now have a NEW Visine dry eye: all day comfort. Same product same exact active ingredient in the same percentage now costs $14.99.
Hey if shrinkflation is going to be a thing. And no they're not fooling anyone it is a thing. Why not do us a favor and shrink the packaging size to match? At least then I wouldn't be quite so mad at the packaging waste. It's maddening enough to be ripped off on the quantity/price aspect. Even more infuriating that they are still using the same amount of packaging in most cases. I might hate them just a little less if they reduced the waste.
So many reasons why I refuse to shop for name brand. I put so many groceries back today especially cereal. I'd rather do without and boycott the product than give in. This is not about inflation its about corporate GREED. I have noticed Kroger stuff has kept the same.
Prices go up - that is not unusual. You cannot produce somethign for the same price as before? Ok, I'll pay more (within reason) But opening a packet and finding a third of it empty makes me so angry, I am never buying that product again. And I hold a grudge against that company for a very long time.
I’ve eaten Nabisco Graham Crackers all my life. It’s my favorite snack with morning tea and at bedtime. We still go through two boxes a week. But the crackers have got smaller. And years ago, there were 12 crackers in a packet. Three packets in a box. Now there are nine much smaller crackers in each packet. But the box is the same size!! That means there’s a lot of empty space in each Box. Which means there’s a lot of breakage during shipping. It’s a totally disingenuous was of deceiving the consumer by shrinking the product and still raising the price.
How about dog food. Pedigree does away with 50lb bag at. $21, New 40lb bag with free 4 bonus pounds for $28. I don't think that's a bonus. But maybe consumers are that stupid.
Aluminum cans have gotten thinner too. Noticed it months ago when I grabbed my soda can and it pretty much collapsed on itself and the soda shot out of the open top.
Fight back: Stop buying c**p, make almost everything from scratch and meal prep so you'll have more food. Grow your veggies. Want to be more badass for the planet and your wallet? Go vegan.
Sure let me just save up for my 1 acre farm where I can be rich and grow my own veges? If I had room and time to do that then I'd be rich enough to not care about shrinkflation. It's a sick system.
Load More Replies... In New York state grocery stores can't carry plastic bags at checkout and they now charge 5 cents per bag. One grocery store chain's regular bag is smaller than a "standard" bag and they charge 6 cents for it. (And when you put one on the self checkout it tells you to take it off and rescan. You have to scan your first item, put it in the bag in the air, and put the whole thing on the scale.)
Im from LI now live in MD both places I've paid 10cents for bags. It's insane. Plus In NY I lived on the border of Nassau and Suffolk Id always forget to bring my bags with me when I was in Suffolk. Id forget them in the car or house bc in Nassau we didnt have to pay for them but they changed that now too.
Load More Replies... I am shocked that no NY or CA trial lawyers have jumped on this. The trial lawyer industry used to be way sharper than this when spotting lawsuit opportunities.
I get irritated by brands claiming a product is new and improved (looking at you pedigree dentastix) but my biggest annoyance is when they pretend it's big until you realise the packaging is hiding a massive void behind the branding. If I'm going out my way to be unhealthy and eat a bag of crisps, I don't want 3/4's to be missing!
What blows my mind is while Democratic party left wanted to start passing out free money, us with intelligence cried out we don't want inflation. I asked common folks if they knew about what would happen and they like sucks for our children but I want handout now. And now the snowball only grows bigger and it never our own fault. Watching the world reject upright and righteous thoughts, and as they doom their children, they say foolish things. Turn to Jesus if you want to escape the coming justice.
Pretty sure Trump gave everyone free money in 2020 dude. He signed a stimulus package. He also gave a bunch of corporations 'free money'. I'm not sure why right wing people seem to have selective amnesia and attribute all the 'free money' to the dems. Okay. But by your reasoning, then Trump started inflation with his 'handouts' -- I remember people I know in the US getting Trump money. Sorry not sorry.
Load More Replies... People will accept a smaller size they will not accept a price increase. Also stop voting Democrat or labor.
Yeah definitely vote anti-union, anti-people, pro-corporations, pro rich people-- right wingers. All the years of right wing governments in the US and Australia have really fixed economic inequality, right? Oh wait, it's worse than ever before? Well sh1t.
Load More Replies... There really are some very real and very simple answers to "why" inflation and shrinkflation happen. Right now the world economy is experiencing the intersection of several extreme events that have combined to cause the worst global economic downturn in 50 years. 1. We have two years of the Covid19 pandemic that interrupted supply lines, factory production, transportation, etc. everywhere in the world. These interruptions are still ongoing in places like China where several large cities have recently gone on lockdown, again. 2. Russia's attack on Ukraine has meant a universal boycott of Russian oil. This has made oil and gas prices skyrocket, and when gas goes up the price of everything goes up.....because everything needs to be transported and the cost of that transportation gets added on to the end price. 3. President Biden put a stop to the construction of the Keystone pipeline two years ago.
Is that why the CEOs of companies like walmart, amazon, luxottica, oil companies, J&J, etc. etc. etc. are worth significantly more now than they were 2 years ago? Because of rising costs of production? No. It's because they are price gouging. S**t like this should be illegal
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