50 Times Shrinkflation Was So Obvious It Felt Like A Scam

Have you ever noticed that the detergent you always buy somehow runs out quicker or that the cookies you love don’t even last five minutes in your household anymore?

Well, chances are that has something to do with “shrinkflation”—the process of items becoming smaller in size or lower in quality, yet maintaining the same price tag. Unsurprisingly, such changes are not usually advertised, so it might not be easy to notice when certain items have been reduced—be it in quality or quantity—but some people do notice. Not only that, they take pictures, too, and share them with the world.

On the list below, you will find a bunch of such pictures, depicting instances of shrinkflation that would make many consumers seriously annoyed. There, you will also find We’s interview with an expert in shrinkflation, former Massachusetts assistant attorney general in consumer protection, Edgar Dworsky, who was kind enough to answer a few of our questions about the process.

#1 Sewing Kits Are Now Affected By Shrinkflation 🙁

#2 When You Make The Popsicle Smaller, But Don’t Adjust The Popsicle Stick Size Or How Far The Machine Dips It In Chocolate

#3 Same Package, Purchased A Month Apart

Seeking to learn more about shrinkflation and what that means to us as consumers, we got in touch with a shrinkflation expert, former Massachusetts assistant attorney general in consumer protection, and founder of Consumer World, Edgar Dworsky, who explained that the goal of shrinkflation is for companies to manage their costs without having to noticeably raise prices for consumers.

“When manufacturers face increased costs for raw materials, transportation, and so on, they have to decide how and if to pass on those costs to consumers. Companies know that shoppers are very price-conscious and will likely notice any significant price hike. But they also know that if they reduce the size of a product slightly, fewer consumers will notice, so they can pass on the same price increase but in a more inconspicuous way,” he explained.

#4 New vs. Old Swiss Cake Rolls

#5 Over The Years

According to the expert, shrinkflation has been around at least since the 1950s. “I believe it will always exist because manufacturers would rather tinker with the net contents of a product rather than raise the price directly. Sometimes they actually do both,” he noted, adding that shrinkflation tends to come in waves, and that at times of high inflation, we are likely to see more examples of it.

#6 Pringles Can I Saved For An Art Project Roughly 10 Years Ago, vs. One I Bought Yesterday

#7 String Cheese I Get Every Week, Left Is Old And Right Is New (All The New Ones In The Bag Were Smaller)

#8 “Fries”. $7.99. Hockey Arena. Canada

Talking about how shrinkflation affects consumers, their spending habits, and their views of certain brands, Dworsky gave a real-life example, making it pretty clear how consumers suffer from such changes:

“If you get two ounces less in each cereal box, that’s two bowls of cereal less. [That means], you will have to buy the product more often. Simply Orange just reduced their bottles of orange juice from 52 ounces to 46 ounces—that is one less glass of orange juice. Again, you will have to shop more often for that product too.”

The expert added that some shoppers who find out that their favorite brand has downsized vow to switch to a competitive brand, which means that manufacturers downsize at their own risk. And yet, even with that in mind, many of them choose that route.

#9 Open To Package See Less Biscuits Then Expected

#10 Snickers “Yard” With Hollow Cardboard Center

#11 In Hungary, There Are Disclaimers Which Warn The Customers That The Product Size Has Gotten Smaller

“With all the attention the media has given to shrinkflation in the past couple of years, more and more shoppers notice it. But by no means is that anywhere close to the majority,” Dworsky said, delving deeper into how noticeable to consumers shrinkflation is.

“The changes can be so subtle that only those with a photographic memory will catch some of them. Some products may only be reduced by an ounce or two. Others, like detergents, may claim you get the same number of loads, but they have taken out, perhaps, 10 ounces from each jug.”

#12 What Happened To The Chocolate Chips?

#13 I Know Its Cold In The Refrigerated Section, But Come On Walmart

#14 So Sorry For Your Loss

Summing up our conversation about shrinkflation, Dworsky suggested that shoppers need to become more “net weight conscious,” meaning that they should pay attention to the net weight or net contents of the products they buy on a regular basis. “How else are you going to spot a downsized product if you don’t know how today’s version of the product compares to yesterday’s?”

#15 My Quart Of Milk Only Had 3 Cups Of Milk In It

#16 This Is Probably Played Out Here, But This Is Egregious (Lindor)

#17 Kellogg’s Increases The Height Of The Box, But Lowers Ounces

#18 Halloween Candy Shrinkflation Has Hit A New Low. These Are About 1/2 To 1/3 The Size A Fun Sized Bar Used To Be. They Can Only Fit One “S” On The Snickers Bar

#19 This Used To Be A Premium Ice Cream

#20 Bigger Bottle. Less Shampoo

#21 Look, I Know I Ordered A “Small” KFC Popcorn Chicken, But This Is Hilarious. It’s Almost The Same Size As The Sauce Cup With A Single-Digit Amount Of Popcorn Chicken In It

#22 12.6% Decrease In Size By Weight With A Price Increase Does Not Make Me Feel Good (UK)

#23 Dominos Australian Large

#24 Cheese Ball Size Comparison

#25 Does This Count 🤨 Or Are They Just Lying?

#26 Coffee A Month Or So Apart

#27 CeraVe Daily Moisturizing Lotion Went Down An Ounce And Is Still The Same Price

#28 These Price Labels I Just Put On Today

#29 Pasta Sauce Getting 8% Smaller And Water Is Now First Ingredient vs. Tomatoes

#30 Here’s My Large Fry Without A Single One In The Bag Or Eaten. F**k You McDonald’s For Ripping Off Your Customers As A Multi Billion Dollar Corporation

#31 Just Opened This Pack Of Pringles It’s Just Disappointing

#32 From 72 Cookies To 40… And They Have The Audacity To Raise The Price By 50¢!

#33 Something Stinks

#34 Guess Which One Was Purchased A Year Ago

#35 Chocolate Cake At The Local Cafe

#36 Cinnamon Toast Crunch Old Box Was 12oz. New Is 10oz… They Were Even Nice Enough To Put The Larger Box On Clearance

#37 Target Majorly Sucks For This One. Purchased 9mo Apart

#38 Sometimes Shrinkflation Isn’t Content Weight Or Size Shrinking

#39 Kellogg’s Cereal Weight Doesn’t Match The Contents

#40 The Audacity Of These Doughnuts

#41 Expectations vs. Reality

#42 Donut Shop Pods Now 80 To A Box Instead Of 100 And Price Increased By $6

#43 Shrinkflation On Amazon

#44 I Always Buy The $20 Tide Detergent. I Had My Last Three Still In The Laundry Room And Noticed Each Time I Bought One, The Quantity Went Down

#45 Because Of Shrinkflation My Drinks Don’t Fit In My Can Coozie Anymore

#46 Mcdonald’s Pnw Edition

#47 Now With 5 Bars!

#48 Wish I Had A Before Pic, But The Granola In Chobani Flips Used To Be So Full That I’d Get Nervous Tipping It Into The Yogurt 😭

#49 Change The Name From Dino Nuggets To Megadino Nuggets, Keep Nearly Identical Packaging And Decrease The Amount Of Food By 30%

#50 Behold, A Saviour

#51 Subway Finally Getting Hurt By Their $15 Footlongs

#52 Brand New Out Of The Box “Full” Sensodyne Toothpaste

#53 Wyler’s Italian Ices, Last Year Versus This Year. Same Price

#54 At This Point Why Not Save Even More Money And Make The Bags Smaller?

#55 I Got The Last 12 Pack. Same Price!

#56 This Is My Least Favourite Yet, Bahlsen Choco Leibniz Biscuits Used To Be In A Plastic Tray But They’ve Changed It To Paper And Taken One Of The Biscuits Out