Shrinkflation continues to grow, and it may soon be coming to a favorite product near and dear to your heart.
The concept generally involves a manufacturer reducing the size of a product, but leaving the price unchanged. The idea is that people are more sensitive to — and react more negatively toward — a higher price than to a smaller package.
But make no mistake: When shrinkflation appears, you suddenly are paying the same for less.
Recently, The Associated Press identified a bunch of products that have fallen into the sleight of hand that is shrinkflation. They include:
- A small box of Kleenex, down from 65 tissues to 60 tissues
- Chobani Flips yogurts, down from 5.3 ounces to 4.5 ounces
- Cottonelle Ultra Clean Care toilet paper, down from 340 sheets per roll to 312 sheets
- Gatorade, down from 32-ounce bottles to 28-ounce bottles
- Pantene Pro-V Curl Perfection conditioner, down from 12 fluid ounces to 10.4 fluid ounces
- Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Day Snack Bars, down from eight bars per box to seven
- Domino’s Pizza chicken wings, down from 10 wings to eight pieces
Earlier this year, in the story “Shrinkflation: 6 Products With Smaller Packages in 2022,” we pointed out that some of the above products — and a handful of others — have been subject to shrinkflation. But the trend now appears to be spreading more widely.
For more on why some retailers turn to shrinkflation when prices are on the rise everywhere else, check out “Which Is Better: Inflation or Shrinkflation?“
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