Shrinkflation

[Don M.]

Over the past couple of years, we've noticed a lot of items at the grocery stores that have increased in price while putting less in the package....thus resulting in an almost doubling of the price. Breakfast cereals are one of the worst....what used to cost $2 for 18 oz., now costs $3 for 15 oz. We keep some dog treats on hand for the neighbors dog when she comes to visit. A 8 oz. bag of those used to cost $1, but yesterday we bought some more....now, a 4.5oz pack is $1.35. It seems that more and more items come in smaller packages, to "mask" the substantial increase in overall price.

 

[Jules]

When I see a popular item on the grocery shelves isn’t available, I now start to suspect they’re getting ready to replace it with a smaller size. Often that’s what’s happening.

 

[Jules]

Even more obvious is watching staff remove all of one brand of frozen vegetables. I asked the stocker why and he said ‘new packaging’ was arriving. My comment was smaller sizes and he nodded that’s what‘s happening.

 

[chic]

Over the past couple of years, we've noticed a lot of items at the grocery stores that have increased in price while putting less in the package....thus resulting in an almost doubling of the price. Breakfast cereals are one of the worst....what used to cost $2 for 18 oz., now costs $3 for 15 oz. We keep some dog treats on hand for the neighbors dog when she comes to visit. A 8 oz. bag of those used to cost $1, but yesterday we bought some more....now, a 4.5oz pack is $1.35. It seems that more and more items come in smaller packages, to "mask" the substantial increase in overall price.

Yup. It's annoying for sure. I didn't know there was a special name for, but now I do.

 

[CallMeKate]

I've noticed this with quite a few things, sadly. Most noticeable has been the brand of bread I buy. The price went up about a dollar and there are now 18 slices. 18 slices of bread for three people in the house for a whole week. So far I've totally refused to buy more than one loaf of bread a week... that's ridiculous. We don't even eat a lot of bread, just toast for breakfast and lunch sandwiches once in a while.