We are being told inflation is low but are you noticing how the packages of things we buy are getting smaller? They sell a bar of soap and tell us they remodeled it to "fit the hand" better but it is just a smaller bar of soap folks. Nutrient bars are getting smaller and they charge the same for less. Do you all have addition examples of how smaller packaging is the invisible inflation?
Invisible inflation
8 years ago in #inflation by tbave (41)
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OMG The juice boxes for kids are a joke these days. When my oldest was little they had to have been twice the size they are now with my youngest. Also, pasta boxes: you open then and they used to be ¾ full, now they're barely halfway filled. Toilet paper rolls are narrower, like when I hang it on the roller there's a good half inch on either side of the roller bar showing where it used to almost fill it across. Paper towels are more loosely rolled so the rolls look the same size but there's less overall to them. Ugh, I could go on forever, lol!
Cereal boxes are thinner, mostly in the 'z' dimension (depth) which is harder for people to notice on the shelves.
They call this "shrinkflation".
This is soo true!
That's so funny you posted this, I just read an article yesterday that proves this is going on! I am definitely going to start paying closer attention to packaging! https://consumerist.com/2015/06/10/watkins-sues-mccormick-over-pepper-makes-federal-case-out-of-grocery-shrink-ray/
Coffee used to be sold in two-pound containers a few years ago as a standard. They're smaller now. I noticed shredded cheese a couple of years ago being reduced in size. There were two sizes on the same row with the same price. The older package had 1/4 cup more. Another way to hide inflation is to substitute items in the CPI (Consumer Price Index) basket of goods used to measure inflation. For example, in the food category, the original type of meat used in the calculation is substituted for a cheaper cut of meat, so the inflation appears lower. Etc, etc, etc.
America Is Turning Japanese. Candy bars are a lot smaller. This smaller packages phenomenon is definitely noticeable in the Dollar Stores.