Name: Shrinkflation boycotts.
Age: Emerging.
Appearance: An uprising against downsizing.
Is shrinkflation just the opposite of inflation? No. Shrinkflation is when a product is reduced in size, but sold at the same price. It’s being charged the same for less, basically.
Sounds like it’s time for me to unleash my observational comedy routine about Wagon Wheels getting smaller. This is a good point. Wagon Wheels were first introduced in the 1940s, and they maintained the same size until 2006, when they shrank by 12%.
That’s outrageous! And Wagon Wheels are by no means alone. McVitie’s Digestives are down from 400g to 360g. Ben’s Original Classic Long Grain Microwave Rice is down from 250g to 220g. Pringles are down from 200g to 185g. And all without a commensurate reduction in price.
Might this be because brands are trying to be responsible about serving sizes? You’d think so, but no. Fairy washing-up liquid is also down by 50ml a bottle, and there has never been a public outcry about dish soap-induced obesity.
This is infuriating. Quite right. It’s a stealth price rise. And this is why a fifth of shoppers are boycotting shrinkflated products.
They are? Absolutely. A new report from Barclays has suggested that two-thirds of us have noticed shrinkflation, and 20% are now switching away from downsized products in a bid to attain better value for money.
Nobody is actively protesting? Not really, no. It’s less a case of burning barricades and more a case of quietly puffing out your cheeks at the price of crisps, and grabbing an own-brand alternative instead.
So there’s no shrinkflation Che Guevara for us to rally around? Not exactly. There is Edgar Dworsky, who runs the website Mouseprint.org, which is dedicated to combing through product fine print in order to uncover any underhanded shrinkflation instances, but he only really deals with the American market.
Disappointing. But by choosing not to buy shrinkflated products, we become our own freedom fighters. We are quietly and politely turning against the practice, and this will affect the manufacturers’ bottom line, and this in turn will make them think again.
No more kowtowing to shrinkflation! No more!
Except for Quality Street! Well, obviously except for Quality Street, even though you’re paying over the odds for a few toffees in a tiny tub. But tradition is important.
Do say: “People are sick of paying more for less. Shrinkflation is real.”
Don’t say: “No it isn’t, your hands just got bigger.”
