Shrinkflation: Are you paying the same amount for less product at the grocery store?

What is "shrinkflation" and how does it impact your grocery bill?

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Inflation has jumped 7.9% in one year and is at a 40 year high. There is no question that Americans are paying more for everything, including food. It's not just higher prices consumers should watch out for.

Shrinkflation is when a company puts fewer products, like chips or crackers, in its packages and charges the same price.

Shrinkflation is nothing new. This practice has been going on for decades. Edgar Dworsky, a consumer rights lawyer, told Quartz, “Downsizing comes in waves, and it tends to happen during times of increased inflation. Bottom lines are being pinched and there’s three basic options: raise the price directly, take a little bit out of the product, or reformulate the product with cheaper ingredients.”

What products are experiencing shrinkflation?

According to Food & Wine, Quartz, and the consumer advocacy site, MousePrint.org, the following products have all gotten smaller recently.

• Doritos contain about five fewer chips. Frito-Lay confirmed they dropped the weight of the 9.75-ounce bag to 9.25 ounces.
• Wheat Thins have 28 fewer crackers per box now that the package weight has dropped from 16 ounces to 14 ounces.
• A 4.1-ounce tube of Crest 3D White is now 3.8 ounces.
• Keebler Chips Deluxe cookie packages have shrunk from 11.3 ounces to 9.75 ounces, while the family size is down from 17.2 ounces to 14.6 ounces.
• Gatorade bottles have added an indention in the middle, and the weight has shrunk from 32 ounces to 28 ounces.
• Charmin's Mega Roll lost 20 sheets. The package shows 264 2-ply sheets are now down to 244 2-ply sheets.

There is a subreddit for shrinkflation

There is even a subreddit dedicated to keeping up with the latest downsizing discoveries. For example, a recent post shows that Dollar Tree Teddy Grahams have gone from a package of ten to six.

Find the unit price to get the best deal on your groceries

Don't be fooled by marketing tactics. Calculate unit prices for items by dividing the cost of the product by its weight or unit amount to compare prices. Sometimes grocery stores will do this for you, and you can see the unit price labeled below the product on the shelf.

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