Another post from a different person showed a video of a disappointed toddler receiving two pieces of fruit snack in a freshly opened pack. In the subreddit, a person posted a photo of two laundry detergent containers, noting the package boasted the same number of loads despite a 10 percent decrease in fluid ounces. The annoyance is palpable in user comments on social media documenting shrinkflation. The subreddit features photos of half-empty chip bags and time-series photos documenting shrinking bars of soap and other products most people use. In 2017, when a subreddit dedicated to instances of shrinkflation began, the discussion really took off, putting companies on the defensive. Dworsky said the best answer he ever got from a manufacturer as to why it downsized its product was, “We wanted to keep the item at ‘a familiar price.’” But despite manufacturers’ best efforts, consumers are taking notice of their products shrinking. “They know consumers are price conscious, but they’re not as net weight conscious,” Dworsky added. What manufacturers are banking on is that consumers are paying more attention to the price tag on their items than the quantity. Another cheaper route: Manufacturers keep the packaging the same and simply reduce the amount of product in it (think opening a large box of cereal only to have to reach halfway down to get to the actual bag). Though it usually costs money for manufacturers to change a product’s packaging, downsizing is about increasing profit margins So even if the new, smaller size comes with a price reduction, it won’t be proportional to the size reduction that means consumers end up paying more for what they get. “If you habituate shoppers to buying by word, by name of the size rather than the actual size, you can get away with murder,” Dworsky said. The irony, of course, is that a “super mega roll” of toilet paper has almost 300 fewer sheets per roll than the same product in the 1960s did. Eventually, the product becomes too small, so the company reintroduces a more expensive “triple” or “mega” roll. Now, the largest roll the brand sells has 366 sheets of double ply, Dworsky said. What they will do, however, is use the original size and rebrand it as “party” or “family” size.įor example, in the 1960s, a toilet paper roll had 650 single-ply sheets.

Manufacturers seldom increase product sizes, according to Edgar Dworsky, a consumer attorney and founder of Consumer World and who documents examples of shrinkflation on his website, Mouse Print. Shrinkflation isn’t a new phenomenon, Bach said, but it has become more frequent in recent years, as manufacturers look to make up losses from covid-driven facility shutdowns and supply chain issues. The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates the Consumer Price Index using per-unit prices, so size is accounted for in inflation estimates. As consumers face painful and historic inflation rates, Bach calls the simultaneous shrinkage of products a “double whammy.” Any increase in price is compounded by a smaller product, making the increase in the per-unit price even higher.

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