Shrinkflation: Difference between revisions

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==~~Shrinkflation==~~

{{Incomplete|Issue 1=Needs more examples|Issue 2=Needs more cleanup}}

'''Shrinkflation''' (from “shrink” + “inflation”; Dutch: ''krimpflatie'') is a corporate strategy where manufacturers reduce the ~~volume~~ or quantity of a product while maintaining ~~the same~~ or higher price. The packaging often remains unchanged, making the reduction nearly imperceptible to consumers.

'''Shrinkflation''' (from “shrink” + “inflation”; Dutch: ''krimpflatie''), additionally referred to as also known as '''package downsizing''', '''weight-out''',<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Milligan |first=Brian |date=Jul 24, 2017 |title=More than 2,500 products subject to shrinkflation, says ONS |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40703866 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724104410/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40703866 |archive-date=2017-07-24 |access-date=Aug 31, 2025 |website= |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> and '''price pack architecture''',<ref>{{cite web |author=J. Edward Moreno |date=2024-05-31 |title=What's a fancy name for shrinkflation? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/business/what-is-price-pack-architecture.html |access-date=Aug 31, 2025 |publisher=[[NY Times]]}}</ref> is a corporate strategy where manufacturers reduce the size or quantity of a product while maintaining an equal or higher price. The packaging often remains unchanged, making the reduction nearly imperceptible to consumers.

~~The term~~ is ~~related to~~ '''skimpflation''', where the ''quality'' of a product or service is reduced instead of its size or weight, without a corresponding drop in price. Both practices are considered forms of “hidden inflation” that affect consumer purchasing power.<ref name="NPR">{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Adrian Ma and Darian Woods |title=Skimpflation is hitting your favorite services |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1047035078/skimpflation-services-prices |work=NPR |date=19 October 2021 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

Related to shrinkflation is '''skimpflation''', where the ''quality'' of a product or service is reduced instead of its size or weight, without a corresponding drop in price. Both practices are considered forms of “hidden inflation” that affect consumer purchasing power.<ref name="NPR">{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Adrian Ma and Darian Woods |title=Skimpflation is hitting your favorite services |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1047035078/skimpflation-services-prices |work=NPR |date=19 October 2021 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

==Definition and concept==

Shrinkflation ~~occurs when~~ a ~~product’s packaging remains~~ the ~~same—or only slightly altered—but contains less product, without a corresponding drop~~ in ~~price. This makes~~ the ~~reduction less noticeable~~ to ~~consumers, effectively increasing~~ the ~~unit~~ price.<ref name="Consumentenbond2025">{{cite web |title=Krimpflatie op krimpflatie: inhoud verpakkingen stapsgewijs steeds kleiner |url=https://www.consumentenbond.nl/acties-claims/nieuws/2025/krimpflatie |website=Consumentenbond |publisher=Consumentenbond ~~|date=7 February 2025 |access-date=14 August 2025~~ |language=nl}}</ref>

Shrinkflation is defined by a rise in the general price level of goods per unit of weight or volume in proportion to the contents within a package diminishing,<ref name=":1" /> often leading to the price remaining the same.<ref name="Consumentenbond2025">{{cite web |date=7 February 2025 |title=Krimpflatie op krimpflatie: inhoud verpakkingen stapsgewijs steeds kleiner |url=https://www.consumentenbond.nl/acties-claims/nieuws/2025/krimpflatie |access-date=14 August 2025 |website=Consumentenbond |publisher=Consumentenbond |language=nl}}</ref> In many scenarios, companies will redesign the packaging to hide these flaws, such as making the bottom more concave, or giving the packaging an hourglass-like shape that can slowly get more exaggerated.<ref name=":2" /> Alternatively, the physical product can be modified to include more air,<ref name=":0" /> or in cases where the product arrives in a boxed state, may quietly reduce the amount of product inside the packaging without significantly updating the packaging.<ref name=":2" />

==Historical context==

The concept of shrinkflation predates the term itself~~. Economists~~ have documented cases as early as the 1970s, particularly during periods of high inflation when companies sought to avoid explicit price hikes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gale |first=William G. |title=The Economic Effects of Inflation |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=1975 |isbn=9780815730411}}</ref>

The concept of shrinkflation predates the term itself; economists have documented cases as early as the 1970s, particularly during periods of high inflation when companies sought to avoid explicit price hikes.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Gale |first=William G. |title=The Economic Effects of Inflation |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=1975 |isbn=9780815730411}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> However, '''shrinkflation''' as a term gained popularity in the early 2010s, attributed to British economist Pippa Malmgren, who used it to describe hidden inflation in consumer goods.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation is real – here’s why everything is getting smaller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/nov/07/shrinkflation-real-smaller-packet-prices-inflation |work=The Guardian |date=7 November 2017 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

~~The~~ term '''~~shrinkflation~~''' gained ~~popularity~~ in ~~the early 2010s, attributed~~ to ~~British economist Pippa Malmgren, who used it to describe hidden inflation in consumer goods~~.<ref~~>{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation is real – here’s why everything is getting smaller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/nov/07/shrinkflation-real-smaller-packet-prices-inflation |work~~=~~The Guardian |date=7 November 2017 |access-date=14 August 2025}}<~~/~~ref~~>

After the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rapid inflation, a sibling term known as '''Skimpflation''' gained widespread usage, as businesses were cutting back service quality and/or product standards in order to maintain prices.<ref name="NPR" />

'''Skimpflation''' is a more recent term, first gaining widespread usage in the early 2020s. It emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and inflation prompted businesses to maintain prices but cut back on service quality or product standards.<ref name="NPR" />

For both of these problems, periods of economic stress and high inflation tend to accelerate the usage of these strategies, as demonstrated during the global inflation spike between 2021 and 2024.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: How inflation is reshaping consumer value |url=https://www.oecd.org/economy/shrinkflation-and-skimpflation.htm |publisher=OECD |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

In both ~~cases~~, periods of economic stress and high inflation tend to accelerate the ~~use~~ of these strategies, as ~~seen~~ during the global inflation spike ~~of 2021–2024~~.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: How inflation is reshaping consumer value |url=https://www.oecd.org/economy/shrinkflation-and-skimpflation.htm |publisher=OECD |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

==Prevalence and examples==

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These incremental reductions (“shrink upon shrink”) often go unnoticed by consumers.

In one attempt to distract consumers from rising shrinkflation, Cadbury submitted a line which angered consumers in 2007; “Our Eggs Aren’t Smaller, You Are Bigger”, as consumers were reporting progressive shrinkage year-over-year for the eggs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Apr 8, 2007 |title=Cadbury: Our Eggs Aren't Smaller, You Are Bigger |url=https://consumerist.com/consumer/cadbury/cadbury-our-eggs-arent-smaller-you-are-bigger-250559.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510205939/https://consumerist.com/consumer/cadbury/cadbury-our-eggs-arent-smaller-you-are-bigger-250559.php |archive-date=May 10, 2007 |access-date=Aug 31, 2025 |work=The Consumerist}}</ref>

==Consumer response and complaints==

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==International comparisons==

In France, Carrefour labels products whose contents have been reduced without a price drop.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carrefour warns shoppers over shrinkflation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66760551 |work=BBC News |date=8 September 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref> Consumer organizations in other countries, such as the UK and the US, have also raised awareness about shrinkflation and skimpflation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: Are we getting less for our money? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/15/business/shrinkflation-skimpflation-prices |work=CNN Business |date=15 July 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

In France, Carrefour labels products whose contents have been reduced without a price drop.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carrefour warns shoppers over shrinkflation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66760551 |work=BBC News |date=8 September 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref> Consumer organizations in other countries, such as the UK and the US, have also raised awareness about shrinkflation and skimpflation.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: Are we getting less for our money? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/15/business/shrinkflation-skimpflation-prices |work=CNN Business |date=15 July 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>

== References ==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-==Shrinkflation==
+{{Incomplete|Issue 1=Needs more examples|Issue 2=Needs more cleanup}}
-'''Shrinkflation''' (from “shrink” + “inflation”; Dutch: ''krimpflatie'') is a corporate strategy where manufacturers reduce the volume or quantity of a product while maintaining the same or higher price. The packaging often remains unchanged, making the reduction nearly imperceptible to consumers.
+'''Shrinkflation''' (from “shrink” + “inflation”; Dutch: ''krimpflatie''), additionally referred to as also known as '''package downsizing''', '''weight-out''',<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Milligan |first=Brian |date=Jul 24, 2017 |title=More than 2,500 products subject to shrinkflation, says ONS |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40703866 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724104410/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-40703866 |archive-date=2017-07-24 |access-date=Aug 31, 2025 |website= |publisher=[[BBC News]]}}</ref> and '''price pack architecture''',<ref>{{cite web |author=J. Edward Moreno |date=2024-05-31 |title=What's a fancy name for shrinkflation? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/business/what-is-price-pack-architecture.html |access-date=Aug 31, 2025 |publisher=[[NY Times]]}}</ref> is a corporate strategy where manufacturers reduce the size or quantity of a product while maintaining an equal or higher price. The packaging often remains unchanged, making the reduction nearly imperceptible to consumers.
-The term is related to '''skimpflation''', where the ''quality'' of a product or service is reduced instead of its size or weight, without a corresponding drop in price. Both practices are considered forms of “hidden inflation” that affect consumer purchasing power.<ref name="NPR">{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Adrian Ma and Darian Woods |title=Skimpflation is hitting your favorite services |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1047035078/skimpflation-services-prices |work=NPR |date=19 October 2021 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
+Related to shrinkflation is '''skimpflation''', where the ''quality'' of a product or service is reduced instead of its size or weight, without a corresponding drop in price. Both practices are considered forms of “hidden inflation” that affect consumer purchasing power.<ref name="NPR">{{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Adrian Ma and Darian Woods |title=Skimpflation is hitting your favorite services |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/10/19/1047035078/skimpflation-services-prices |work=NPR |date=19 October 2021 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
 ==Definition and concept==
-Shrinkflation occurs when a product’s packaging remains the same—or only slightly altered—but contains less product, without a corresponding drop in price. This makes the reduction less noticeable to consumers, effectively increasing the unit price.<ref name="Consumentenbond2025">{{cite web |title=Krimpflatie op krimpflatie: inhoud verpakkingen stapsgewijs steeds kleiner |url=https://www.consumentenbond.nl/acties-claims/nieuws/2025/krimpflatie |website=Consumentenbond |publisher=Consumentenbond |date=7 February 2025 |access-date=14 August 2025 |language=nl}}</ref>
+Shrinkflation is defined by a rise in the general price level of goods per unit of weight or volume in proportion to the contents within a package diminishing,<ref name=":1" /> often leading to the price remaining the same.<ref name="Consumentenbond2025">{{cite web |date=7 February 2025 |title=Krimpflatie op krimpflatie: inhoud verpakkingen stapsgewijs steeds kleiner |url=https://www.consumentenbond.nl/acties-claims/nieuws/2025/krimpflatie |access-date=14 August 2025 |website=Consumentenbond |publisher=Consumentenbond |language=nl}}</ref> In many scenarios, companies will redesign the packaging to hide these flaws, such as making the bottom more concave, or giving the packaging an hourglass-like shape that can slowly get more exaggerated.<ref name=":2" /> Alternatively, the physical product can be modified to include more air,<ref name=":0" /> or in cases where the product arrives in a boxed state, may quietly reduce the amount of product inside the packaging without significantly updating the packaging.<ref name=":2" />
 ==Historical context==
-The concept of shrinkflation predates the term itself. Economists have documented cases as early as the 1970s, particularly during periods of high inflation when companies sought to avoid explicit price hikes.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gale |first=William G. |title=The Economic Effects of Inflation |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=1975 |isbn=9780815730411}}</ref>
+The concept of shrinkflation predates the term itself; economists have documented cases as early as the 1970s, particularly during periods of high inflation when companies sought to avoid explicit price hikes.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Gale |first=William G. |title=The Economic Effects of Inflation |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |year=1975 |isbn=9780815730411}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> However, '''shrinkflation''' as a term gained popularity in the early 2010s, attributed to British economist Pippa Malmgren, who used it to describe hidden inflation in consumer goods.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation is real – here’s why everything is getting smaller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/nov/07/shrinkflation-real-smaller-packet-prices-inflation |work=The Guardian |date=7 November 2017 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
-The term '''shrinkflation''' gained popularity in the early 2010s, attributed to British economist Pippa Malmgren, who used it to describe hidden inflation in consumer goods.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation is real – here’s why everything is getting smaller |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2017/nov/07/shrinkflation-real-smaller-packet-prices-inflation |work=The Guardian |date=7 November 2017 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
+After the COVID-19 pandemic caused supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and rapid inflation, a sibling term known as '''Skimpflation''' gained widespread usage, as businesses were cutting back service quality and/or product standards in order to maintain prices.<ref name="NPR" />
-'''Skimpflation''' is a more recent term, first gaining widespread usage in the early 2020s. It emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic, when supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, and inflation prompted businesses to maintain prices but cut back on service quality or product standards.<ref name="NPR" />
+For both of these problems, periods of economic stress and high inflation tend to accelerate the usage of these strategies, as demonstrated during the global inflation spike between 2021 and 2024.<ref name=":2">{{cite web |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: How inflation is reshaping consumer value |url=https://www.oecd.org/economy/shrinkflation-and-skimpflation.htm |publisher=OECD |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
-In both cases, periods of economic stress and high inflation tend to accelerate the use of these strategies, as seen during the global inflation spike of 2021–2024.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: How inflation is reshaping consumer value |url=https://www.oecd.org/economy/shrinkflation-and-skimpflation.htm |publisher=OECD |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
 ==Prevalence and examples==
@@ Line 25: / Line 23: @@
 These incremental reductions (“shrink upon shrink”) often go unnoticed by consumers.
+In one attempt to distract consumers from rising shrinkflation, Cadbury submitted a line which angered consumers in 2007; “Our Eggs Aren’t Smaller, You Are Bigger”, as consumers were reporting progressive shrinkage year-over-year for the eggs.<ref>{{Cite news |date=Apr 8, 2007 |title=Cadbury: Our Eggs Aren't Smaller, You Are Bigger |url=https://consumerist.com/consumer/cadbury/cadbury-our-eggs-arent-smaller-you-are-bigger-250559.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070510205939/https://consumerist.com/consumer/cadbury/cadbury-our-eggs-arent-smaller-you-are-bigger-250559.php |archive-date=May 10, 2007 |access-date=Aug 31, 2025 |work=The Consumerist}}</ref>
 ==Consumer response and complaints==
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 ==International comparisons==
-In France, Carrefour labels products whose contents have been reduced without a price drop.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carrefour warns shoppers over shrinkflation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66760551 |work=BBC News |date=8 September 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref> Consumer organizations in other countries, such as the UK and the US, have also raised awareness about shrinkflation and skimpflation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: Are we getting less for our money? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/15/business/shrinkflation-skimpflation-prices |work=CNN Business |date=15 July 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
+In France, Carrefour labels products whose contents have been reduced without a price drop.<ref>{{cite news |title=Carrefour warns shoppers over shrinkflation |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-66760551 |work=BBC News |date=8 September 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref> Consumer organizations in other countries, such as the UK and the US, have also raised awareness about shrinkflation and skimpflation.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |title=Shrinkflation and skimpflation: Are we getting less for our money? |url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/15/business/shrinkflation-skimpflation-prices |work=CNN Business |date=15 July 2023 |access-date=14 August 2025}}</ref>
+== References ==
 <references />