Smaller Sizes, Same Price: How Shrinkflation Affects Consumers

No, it’s not your imagination: There really are fewer chips in that bag you just opened.

A lighter bag of chips than the one you bought a few months ago may not set off alarm bells, but shrinkflation (when a business makes a product smaller to offset the increasing costs it requires to manufacture it) diminishes many products consumers buy every day.

Corporations argue that they’re using shrinkflation in response to soaring inflation and it’s in the best interest of consumers, but those making the purchases aren’t so convinced. Smaller portion sizes mean consumers are getting less bang for their buck—all while corporations continue to reap record profits.

What’s Causing Shrinkflation?

As inflation and supply-chain issues continue to ravage the U.S. and global economy, businesses’ manufacturing costs are trending upward. Rather than raise their prices, they’re shrinking their products instead.

This way, they can continue to sell products at the same price, although they’re usually in smaller portions.

Despite consumers feeling unfairly duped by companies, shrinkflation is completely legal—as long as companies clearly mark their products with an accurate weight to which consumers can compare the overall price.

Things you buy every day have already been hit by shrinkflation, including:

• Cottonelle mega roll toilet paper used to have 340 sheets per roll; now, they’re down to 312 sheets.
• A bag of Doritos has shrunk from 9.75 ounces to 9.25 ounces, averaging five fewer chips per bag.
• One bottle of Aleve has gone from 100 caplets to 90 caplets.

Businesses say that shrinkflation is the better alternative to increasing the price of the product. In doing so, they argue that customers would be unhappy with more expensive goods.

“We took just a little bit out of the bag so we can give you the same price and you can keep enjoying your chips,” a Frito-Lay representative told Quartz while explaining the Dorito downsize. PepsiCo, the parent company of Frito-Lay, reported a 12.9% net revenue growth for 2021—and despite inflation, still predicts a 6% revenue growth for this year.

How Shrinkflation Affects You

You might not notice shrinkflation at first. Maybe a few fewer chips in your bag doesn’t bother you. But the reality is that you’re paying the same price for less of an item—a maddening reality for consumers already struggling with increased costs from overall inflation.

“It’s safe to say that as much as consumers don’t like inflation—they are more adverse to shrinkflation,” says Matt Pavich, senior director of retail innovation at Revionics, a price optimization software tool for businesses. “Inflation feels transparent and consumers are used to prices fluctuating due to channel, retailer, promotions, etc. but inherently don’t like it when one package once worked for their recipe and now they need to buy two.”

Some consumers say shrinkflation is a sneaky strategy because businesses use the same packaging but give customers less, arguing that it’s an attempt to deceive them. There’s an entire subreddit dedicated to posts that point out smaller portion sizes of popular products, with many users airing their grievances over the practice.

One marketing expert offers a different perspective. Utpal Dholakia, professor of marketing at Rice University, argues that product weight fluctuations happen all the time as companies conduct consumer research and adjust product lines to maximize sales and profitability. Dholakia says brands aren’t being sneaky and taking advantage of customers just because their product downsizing is now tied to inflation—it’s something they do all the time.

However, with consumers’ wallets already maxed out with inflationary price increases across the board, shrinkflation—no matter why it happens—remains a sore point for shoppers.

How You Can Avoid Shrinkflation

There is one way you can avoid shrinkflation: Paying attention to the unit price of what you’re buying.

According to Dholakia, brands usually don’t downsize all of their items simultaneously; consumers are still able to get a good deal if they buy a variation of the product, usually a larger one, that wasn’t downsized.

He gives the example of a 9.25-ounce package being shrunk down to 8.75 ounces while keeping the price of $3.05 the same. The downsizing means the price per ounce increases to 35 cents. The same brand offers a 14-ounce package for $4.31, and leaves the size and price unchanged. The large variation only costs 30 cents per ounce.

Aside from doing the math on the price per unit of your favorite products, you can also avoid shrinkflation by buying whole foods, rather than pre-packaged products, which are usually less susceptible to shrinkage.

And while you may feel strong loyalty to a particular brand or product, shrinkflation may push you to be open to other brands, typically generic, that offer a similar product but at the value you previously received.