As prices climb, some grocery items get smaller: What to know about 'shrinkflation'
Shannon Maier remembers how she figured out the number of Diet Pepsi bottles in a pack had changed. Maier, of Royal Oak, used to buy Diet Pepsi sold in packs of eight 16.9-ounce bottles.
But late last year she noticed she was getting only six bottles.
"I usually grab one of those half carts at the store," Maier said. "Four eight-packs wouldn't fit in the bottom of those half carts. But four six-pack size fits perfectly. It was the first time I noticed when they all fit down there."
What Maier also noticed was that the reduced number of bottles didn't reduce the price.
"Before they'd have sales that were four eight-packs for $10," Maier said. "Now it's (on sale) four six-packs for $12.88."
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Consumer advocates say what happened to Maier's Diet Pepsi is a sneaky way to pass a price increase on to the consumer.
It's happening with other products, and shoppers are taking notice that some of their favorites are getting smaller.
Doritos, Gatorade and Keebler cookies are just a few recent examples of the size being reduced but not price. Recently, the size of Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate was reduced, according to the BBC.
According to an email from Frito-Lay, makers of Doritos, the bag size changed in 2021. “In 2022, we have not, nor do we plan to, cut the number of Doritos — or any of our chips — in any size bag,” responded its media center in an email.
In January, Ann Arbor-based Domino's Pizza reduced its 10-piece wings to eight pieces.
It's called "shrinkflation," and it's the latest buzzword as the cost of groceries keeps rising.
Shrinkflation is the downsizing of a product while keeping its sticker price the same.
Edgar Dworsky, a lawyer and noted consumer advocate and educator, has been tracking product prices and sizes for more than 45 years. He founded Consumer World in 1995 and, in 2006, launched mouseprint.org, which tracks product packaging from its contents to sizes, among other data.
"The term is several years old at this point," Dworsky said. "Downsizing is the real name and it's been going on for decades and decades. In the last six or eight months, it's become a media buzzword."
Dworsky's website recently added a section devoted to shrinkflation. His recent findings on product shrinkage include fewer sheets per roll of Cottonelle toilet paper, now 312 sheets versus 340 sheets. Sun-Maid Raisins, he said, are now 20 ounces instead of 22.58 ounces. A package of Keebler Chips Deluxe M&M's went from 11.3 ounces to 9.75 ounces.
And it's perfectly legal, he said.
But consumers who are already seeing sticker shock up and down the grocery aisles are paying closer attention to products and noticing.
Gatorade recently redesigned and slimmed down its long-standing 32-ounce bottle. The new version is now 28 ounces. That's 4 ounces or 12.5% less product for the same money.
Stephanie Gerber immediately noticed a smaller size bottle several months ago. When a breakthrough COVID-19 case hit Gerber's household, she ran to the store to grab some Gatorade. Gerber, 41, of West Bloomfield, heard that Gatorade, along with popsicles, would help keep her three boys — ages 10, 7 and 5 — hydrated.
A savvy shopper, Gerber immediately noticed two different size Gatorade bottles, a 32-ounce and 28-ounce size, on the store shelf.
"The two sizes were right next to each other but one was 4 ounces less than the other and the same price," she said.
Gerber bought what she could of the 32-ounce bottles and grabbed a few of the newer ones with less because she needed them.
"They tried to make (the bottle) look appealing, fancy and sleeker, in an attempt to make it look smaller, but it's also the same price," Gerber said.
The Gatorade incident isn't all Gerber is noticing.
"Crackers and cereal are changing," Gerber said. "It's definitely more of the packaged, convenience foods."
When she shops, Gerber said she pays attention to shelf tags that list the unit price and cost per ounce. She uses digital coupons along with coupons she gets in the mail from stores where she shops.
"I am in tune. And I typically buy a lot of the same things. I have just found through memory what's the better value unless the price changes."
It had been more than 10 years since orange juice cartons reduced the amount of juice to 59 ounces from 64 ounces. Now, some cartons are 52 ounces.
Gerber used to buy Florida's Best brand of orange juice. When she noticed it was no longer 64 ounces, she switched to the Minute Maid brand, with cartons of juice still at 64 ounces.
The price we pay for groceries is up nearly 9% year-over-year through February, and prices in all six categories tracked by the labor department for its monthly Consumer Price Index report rose again in February.
Add in shrinkflation, and consumers are getting less for their money.
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What can consumers do?
The biggest thing consumers can do is pay attention to net count or net weight on packages, experts say.
"Don't just know the price of the items," Dworsky said. "(Consumers) can spot an increase or a good sale. But if you don't pay attention to how many rolls, how many sheets on your toilet paper rolls or paper rolls, how are you going to notice if the company is giving you less?"
For the most part, packages still look the same on the outside.
"You know you buy the 12-roll pack or 18-roll pack or 2-roll pack of paper towels, but if you're not paying attention to the net count or count, how do you know (whether) you may be getting snookered?" Dworsky said.
Dworsky also recommends looking at unit pricing. For example, the price per measure, like ounces, or the price per 100 count that you see on supermarket shelves.
"That's kind of the great equalizer," he said. "You can compare different size products to one another or different brands to one another to see which is the best value per ounce or per count."
Phil Lempert, a California-based food and grocery industry analyst, believes "shrinkflation" is happening more and more.
"It's more prevalent because we've never seen grocery inflation at the level it is at," said Lempert, also known as the "Supermarket Guru,"
Companies have three options when it comes to price increases, he said:
- Absorb the difference, which companies can't do and be able to stay in business.
- Pass on the price increase and keep the products the same, but retailers are pushing back on that.
- Shrink the product.
Lempert pointed out that one of the most prevalent cases of product downsizing is pint-size ice cream
"Pint-size ice cream is 14 ounces now, with the exception of Ben & Jerry's, which is still 16 ounces," Lempert said. "The packages are identical and so from a consumer's standpoint it's hard to tell."
Lempert said consumers need to be smarter shoppers, pay more attention to packaging and read labels.
"We need to look at the ingredients, nutritional information, price, package size and the net weight that's on that product."
But the problem, Lempert said, is that it’s harder to do because so many containers, from juice to coffee to cans of soup, are standard.
"People get in (stores) and get out (just) as quickly," he said. "When you get home, maybe you're going to notice there's a difference between the old package and the new package. The average container that is sitting on a shelf, maybe we give it a tenth of a second as we pick it up. That's not a lot of time."
Lempert also said downsizing can address food waste. It’s estimated that 30%-40% of food produced in the U.S. goes to waste, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
"I wouldn't be surprised if we see (product downsizing) as a way to make people more aware. The reality is, we do waste an enormous amount of food."
Business as usual
Daniil Manaenkov, a forecaster in the department of economics at the University of Michigan, said shrinkflation has been happening and is a "fairly standard way to hide your price increases and avoid annoying your buyer directly."
"It's largely psychological because people obviously hate to see price increases and the hope is that they will see the same price and not realize that they are buying less. "
On Reddit, Manaenkov said there's an entire thread dedicated to shrinkflation that's a "spectacular" and "annoying thing."
There are examples of not as much cookie filling, a decrease in ounce sizes and the number of items in a food package.
People are posting everything from the reduced size of Tide laundry soap to pointing out yogurt containers that are the same size and list “room for toppings” under its ingredients.
Manaenkov also says the current situation is dire for those tightening their belts.
"They get annoyed when prices go up or get annoyed later when they realize the quantity is less," he said.
But Manaenkov, like Lempert, also pointed out that product waste can be a factor.
"Historically, there has been plenty of waste as people buy more and don't consume it," Manaenkov said.
Manaenkov made an example of buying a gallon of milk a week, but not using it before it spoils. "You probably wouldn't notice that it may contain 5 ounces less of milk because it's just 5 ounces less to go bad. But if you were buying just enough, you are going to notice that. So, the (manufacturer's) hope is that some people were overbuying and they're not going to pay enough attention."
"There are limits to human attention. You cannot possibly pay attention to every price and every quantity you buy, every time. People have routines and buy particular products without paying attention."
The Free Press reached out to Pepsico, General Mills and Chobani Yogurt for comment. Phone calls and emails were not returned.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article misspelled Daniil Manaenkov's name.
Contact Detroit Free Press food writer Susan Selasky and send food and restaurant news to: sselasky@freepress.com. Follow @SusanMariecooks on Twitter.
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