The price of groceries continues to rise, yet your dollar doesn't seem to go as far as it used to.
Consumer goods manufacturers provide less of certain goods to mitigate rising costs. While shrinkflation has been called a “hidden” tax on the shopper, shrinking portions and package sizes are no longer a secret.
Consumers will likely find that their Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Wheaties, and other brands of choice are coming in smaller and smaller packages without a price reduction to match.
Pantene Pro-V Curl Perfection conditioner exemplifies how essential hygiene products are not immune to shrinkflation. What was once a 12 fluid-ounce bottle is now only 10.4 fluid ounces, but the price remains the same (if not more).
While victims of seasonal allergies could once get 65 tissues in a box of Kleenex (as recently as 2022), they now get only 60—or perhaps even less, by the time this article hits the presses.
Folgers Coffee shrank its 51-ounce container to 43.5 ounces, and it is not the only coffee brand delivering its grounds and beans in smaller and smaller quantities.
Though PepsiCo claims that the change was in the works well before inflation took hold of the economy, shoppers will increasingly find Gatorade in 28-ounce bottles rather than the iconic 32-ounce containers.