If you’re the person responsible for planning meals and buying groceries for yourself or your household, there’s no chance you’ve failed to notice how expensive things are getting out there.
I don’t know about you, but total at checkout has taken my breath away a time or two – with inflation at a 40-year high and prices up around 13% at the supermarket, it’s really starting to hurt.
What’s more, you might think to yourself that the products, though more expensive, actually seem smaller, too – and you wouldn’t be wrong.
These Act fluoride mouthwashes look alike but for bottle size, but they are really different strengths with different dosing instructions. You may be getting too much fluoride or too little if you switch sizes! Better check the label! #ProtectConsumers https://t.co/Mx2IFAieRn pic.twitter.com/GXTe68R8Tv
— Consumer World (@consumerworld) December 6, 2022
The Bureau of Labor Statistics registers shrinkflation as a type of price increase, too, and refuse to let companies get away with it, according to economist Steve Reed.
“When pricing a 64-ounce container of orange juice, but we try to price it and it’s only 59 ounces. Maybe it’s the same price, but for 59 ounces instead of 64 ounces, that’ll be computed as a price increase.”
Now a consumer advocate website called Mouse Print is joining the fray, calling out the companies online who they consider to be the worst offenders.
The website, ran by Edgar Dworsky, was named because the fine print on the packaging is so small that “only a mouse could read it.”
They’ve uncovered several fairly egregious examples, from dog food that shrank 6 whole pounds and bottles of detergent that look identical but don’t contain the amount they did previously.
They recently called out “Tricky Cereal Box Names,” discussing the whole “giant” and “family” size labels and how they have changed over time.
This week we reveal a new trick by breakfast cereal makers — They're playing games on which boxes "Family Size" and "Giant Size" are placed. "Family" is moving to 18 oz boxes from 23/24 oz , and "Giant" is now on the old family size. #ProtectConsumers https://t.co/L3PxvsPbpL pic.twitter.com/M59TSMFuNJ
— Consumer World (@consumerworld) September 19, 2022
“More and more companies are adding size names to breakfast cereal boxes, cookies, and chips. ‘Large Size,’ ‘Party Size,’ ‘Family Size,’ ‘Giant Size,’ and even ‘Mega Size’ are now adorning product packages. In a sense, this is a very clever ploy by manufacturers to teach shoppers to buy a size name rather than by net weight.
There are so many name brands engaging in these types of practices it’s impossible to name them all, but here are a few:
- Scott’s paper towels is giving you 20% less paper
- Hungry Man Chicken Dinners contains 15% less protein
- Smart Balance butter substitute spread now contains 40% less vegetable oil, substituting water instead.
After watering down the oil content of Smart Balance, its premium buttery spread, and generating 1000s of one-star reviews, @ConagraBrands is quietly re-introducing the "original" recipe on store shelves now. #shrinkflation #skimpflation #ProtectConsumers https://t.co/yFZA7m0kMu pic.twitter.com/9xynWX1ghv
— Consumer World (@consumerworld) January 2, 2023
It’s literally everywhere, and honestly, even though knowledge is power and all of that, I’m not sure what we can actually do about it.
If you figure it out, please let the rest of us in on the secret.
