If you've noticed you're getting less while your bill at the till stays the same, it's not just you. Products are getting smaller, and you're paying the same. The problem won't go away, even if the economy rebounds and inflation abates.
'Shrinkflation' isn't a trend – it's a permanent hit to your wallet.
'Shrinkflation' – reducing a product's size or quantity while keeping its price stable – is rampant. As the global economy grapples with issues including rising raw material costs, supply chain backlogs and higher post-pandemic labourer wages, consumers are bearing the brunt of spiking production expenses.
Whether it's toilet roll or a bag of crisps, the practice, which mostly happens during times of inflation, is showing up in shops around the world. Last week, French supermarket Carrefour put stickers on products to warn consumers when a packet's contents have gotten smaller without a corresponding price decrease.
Consumers are taking note of the shift to smaller packaging and – and, naturally, they aren't happy, especially as their purchasing power is already falling amid inflation. Yet as uncomfortable as the sticker shock is now, a longer-term problem looms large: past manifestations of the phenomenon show the story of shrinkflation doesn't end when inflation does.
In terms of consumer frustrations, "they notice price increases more than they notice size decreases", says US-based Mark Stiving, the chief pricing educator at Impact Pricing, an organisation that educates companies on pricing. As a result, he says, companies use shrinkflation to raise prices "less painfully".
Shrinkflation: How food giants try to trick you
Cammy Crolic, an associate professor at University of Oxford's Saïd Business School, who focuses on consumer behaviour, agrees. Because consumers are so focused on how their purchases are affecting their wallets, she says, they are "more likely to notice the increase in price than the amount of product 'lost' when packages shrink".
Consumers do not always see the changes right away; often, they are incremental. For instance, a favourite drink that may have come in a 12oz (340g) bottle a year earlier may now be offered for the same price, yet downsized to 10oz (283g) now.
And experts say that once the new sizes are on the shelf, they are likely to stay that way. Phil Lempert, food industry analyst and editor of SupermarketGuru adds that, since shoppers don't have a choice, they have to adapt to the changes.
In some cases, they can switch to products with better value – US-based Lempert says brand loyalty plummets amid shrinkflation, with people often transitioning to house brands. But with essentials, consumers may not have as much choice. For instance, if you depend on baby formula, and a store only stocks one option, you're stuck paying the price on the sticker, and getting whatever is in the tin; at Carrefour, Nestlé's Guigoz infant milk formula had gone from a pack size of 900g to 830g (31.7oz to 29oz), for example.
Yet even as shrinkflation largely corresponds with inflation, Crolic says consumers usually don't see product sizes rebound even after economic challenges abate. There are rare exceptions, but companies generally seize the opportunity to use less product and make the same amount – or more.
French supermarket Carrefour has put signage up to alert customer when a product size has gone down but its price has not .
Instead, a new phenomenon often takes hold. "After products are repeatedly reduced in size, the manufacturer will come out with a new, larger version of it – sometimes with a fanciful new name," agrees Edgar Dworsky, a former US consumer rights lawyer and founder of resource guide Consumer World. And with it, shoppers pay a higher cost for the upgrade.
Potato crisps, for example, have continued to downsize amid shrinkflation, says Dworsky. In past instances, snack company Lay's, a division of PepsiCo, responded to this change by ultimately re-releasing its large bag size, but with a new name – "Party Size" – that they could sell at a higher price.
Dworsky also points to toilet roll, which he says has been shrinking for decades. He explains that when the rolls started to get small enough that consumers noticed, manufacturers began introducing larger sizes back to the market again. As bigger packages made their way onto shelves, companies including Charmin shifted their marketing, naming them "double", "triple" and even "mega" rolls. (And now, amid this period of shrinkflation, even Charmin's Ultra Soft "super mega" rolls are getting smaller.)
Whether grocers use stickers to warn shoppers or not, it's a tough pill to swallow – and a tough hit to the bottom line – especially because the price of products generally doesn't fall as inflation does. Consumers may need to continue to be highly budget conscious as they shop, and make sure they don't fall into the trap of that Ultra Mega Super-Duper size on the shelf.
France's Carrefour puts up 'shrinkflation' warning signs
"Ce produit a vu son volume baisser et le prix effectif pratiqué par le fournisseur augmenter"
The sign says: "This product has seen its volume fall and the effective price charged by the supplier rise"
French supermarket Carrefour has put stickers on its shelves this week warning shoppers of "shrinkflation" - where packet contents are getting smaller while prices are not.
Lipton Ice Tea, Lindt chocolate and Viennetta ice cream are among the products being named and shamed.
Shoppers are being told if bottles are smaller or pack contents lighter.
Carrefour said it wanted to put pressure on the firms making the products to keep prices down.
"Obviously, the aim in stigmatising these products is to be able to tell manufacturers to rethink their pricing policy," said Stefen Bompais, director of client communications at Carrefour.
Carrefour has identified 26 products that have shrunk, without a price reduction to match, made by food giants including Nestle, PepsiCo and Unilever.
Carrefour said Guigoz infant milk formula produced by Nestle had gone from a pack size of 900g to 830g, for example.
A bottle of sugar-free peach-flavoured Lipton Ice Tea, produced by PepsiCo, shrank to 1.25 litres from 1.5 litres, the supermarket said.
Viennetta, made by Unilever, has shrunk from 350g to 320g.
Carrefour, France's second-biggest grocer, is highlighting the products in question with signs on the shelves reading: "This product has seen its volume/weight fall and the effective price charged by the supplier rise."
Unilever, Pepsico and Nestle have not commented on Carrefour's move.
French retailers and food manufacturers have come under pressure to reduce prices, just as in the UK, as shoppers struggle with sharply rising prices.
In June, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire summoned 75 retailers and consumer groups to a meeting about prices, and has accused manufacturers of not toeing the line on inflation.
British consumer groups have also warned of "shrinkflation" affecting the value of common items from cat food to chocolate biscuits.
But it is unlikely that UK supermarkets would follow in Carrefour's footsteps, according to retail expert Ged Futter, because the strategy risks "poisoning" relationships between retailers and food firms.
"This is a very blunt way of of trying to compete," he said. "To do that with your manufacturers, it won't help."
Supermarkets use the same "shrinkflation" tactic with their own-label products, he added, to keep to a certain price point, for example £1, by introducing cheaper ingredients, or making portions smaller to manage rising costs.
Given that, calling out brands for doing the same thing would be "people in glass houses throwing stones", he said, and would risk accusations of hypocrisy.
A spokesperson for Lindt & Sprüngli, another brand identified by Carrefour for shrinking its products, said its prices had gone up on average by about 9.3% in line with rising raw material costs.
But information about product size was always made clear, the spokesperson said.
"We always comply with the labelling laws and regulations requiring objective information about how much product is in the package, including a net weight statement, a serving size, and a servings-per-container statement.
"Consumers can use this information to make accurate and informed purchasing decisions about the amount of product they are buying."
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