Shrinkflation

[annedonnelly]

Enough of Mars Bars etc...
Aquafresh toothpaste was £1 for a 100 ml tube.
Bought some today.. Still a quid. Guess what? 75 ml now
25% price increase? 🤔

I think Colgate changed theirs a couple of years ago.

What intrigues me is there is obviously a trade off between the costs involved in changing the packaging against the benefits of confusing the customer about whether they're still buying the same product.

And what happens when a product gets so small that there's not enough space on the packaging to list the ingredients?

 

[presta]

And what happens when a product gets so small that there's not enough space on the packaging to list the ingredients?

Peel-away labels, like vitamins & Bovril.

 

[annedonnelly]

Peel-away labels, like vitamins & Bovril.

Oh like the one I had recently that had the instructions on the inside of the label but it wouldn't separate so I couldn't read them. Not idea really when it was a first aid product.

 

[midlife]

Was in B & M today and Aquafresh 100ml is £1

Heaven knows why people spend more than this on a tube of toothpaste.

 

[Electric_Andy]

Totally anecdotal evidence, but I remember being in discount shops e.g pound stretcher, B&M etc, and they seem to sell smaller packet sizes than those in supermarkets. My thought at the time was, they shrink the package down towards a £1 price mark which actually works out more expensive per weight but makes the shopper think it's a good deal. Not many people would Google the units/£ difference compared to the big 4 supermarkets who may well do a larger more expensive standard size but actually better value.

 

[ktmbiker58]

Just noticed that even Pampers A$$ wipes have suffered, last month pack of 4 X 60 sheets, this week 4 X 52 sheets

 

[PeteXXX]

PG Tips tea bags: used to be boxed in 240`s.
A while ago it became 210's

 

[Brandane]

Schwartz seasoning and spice jars, which used to come in glass jars, now come in plastic containers. And surprise, surprise! At the same time of this change, they have shrunk considerably. In the case of ground cinnamon, contents have dropped from 39 grammes to 30 grammes. To be fair, I have no idea how much they cost previously but I doubt very much if the price dropped at all, never mind by nearly 25%.

 

[Stevo 666]

Bars of chocolate were a sneaky one - a lot of the 100g bars quietly became 90g (and the price went up which you can kind of understand because of the price of cocoa), but overall chocolate really feels like a rip off these days.

 

[Deafie]

Bars of chocolate were a sneaky one - a lot of the 100g bars quietly became 90g (and the price went up which you can kind of understand because of the price of cocoa), but overall chocolate really feels like a rip off these days.

I went to buy a Mars Bar from a deli a few weeks ago, haven't bought one in a long time, I noticed how tiny it looked and they wanted $3.50, last time I bought one it was $1

 

[Stevo 666]

I went to buy a Mars Bar from a deli a few weeks ago, haven't bought one in a long time, I noticed how tiny it looked and they wanted $3.50, last time I bought one it was $1

I like chocolate, but at those prices I just refuse to hand over my cash.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

I think there are two types of "Shrinkflation".
1. Where the size of eof eg a Mars bar/Snikkers bar gets a bit smaller - you still eat just one so don't end-up buying/spending more.
but also:
2. where you start getting one fewer items in a pack eg I drink fair number of cappuccino coffee sachets (Nescafe ones) which in the UK you but in boxes of 8 sachets. Except now you only get 7 in a box. The size reduction doesn't mean you drink fewer coffees, just that you have to buy a new box more often so there is a direct cost to the shrinkflation.

(In the example of coffee sachets, given the impact of single use plastics, packaging, etc. quite why you have to buy the stuff in single use, non-recyclable plastic sachets whereas in France you get in in a recyclable card pot - Nestle UK just trying to ensure you use more than you need eg 1 sachet per cup. To avoid this I end-up emptying the sachets into a jar and use the stuff from the jar where 1 sachet=2 mugs of cappuccino).

 

[Mburton1993]

Jordans Frusli Bars.

Savers used to sell them for £1.49 a pack (6 x 30g bars). Now it's £1.69 and the pack is 6 x 25g bars.

Lost the equivalent of a bar for an extra 20p. I would've preferred them raising the price beyond £1.69 if it meant keeping them the same size.

 

[mistyoptic]

Schwartz seasoning and spice jars, which used to come in glass jars, now come in plastic containers. And surprise, surprise! At the same time of this change, they have shrunk considerably. In the case of ground cinnamon, contents have dropped from 39 grammes to 30 grammes. To be fair, I have no idea how much they cost previously but I doubt very much if the price dropped at all, never mind by nearly 25%.

View attachment 826523

In Sainsbury’s they now sell many spices in the “ethnic” aisle in plastic bags of 100g or more. Brand is Fudco and they are many times cheaper even than Sainsbury brand, let alone Schwartz

Edit to add a link
https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/groceries/product/fudco-cinnamon-powder-100g

 

[palinurus]

I keep some (Nescafe) instant cappuccino sachets at work in case the coffee machine isn't working and there's now seven to a pack instead of ten.