By Retail Brew Staff
less than 3 min read
Definition:
A portmanteau of “shrink” and “inflation,” the practice of brands shrinking the size of their products, often imperceptibly, while either keeping the price the same or raising it. Many consumers find the practice indefensible; brands, in their defense, say they’re trying to keep their prices low even as the price of their ingredients go up.
The origins of shrinkflation
Merriam-Webster added shrinkflation to its dictionary in 2022, the same year Retail Brew declared it word of the year. According to Google Trends, which dates back to 2004, searches for shrinkflation were virtually non-existent until 2020, and peaked in March 2024, shortly after President Joe Biden decried the practice in a video released by The White House the month before.
“Some companies are trying to pull a fast one by shrinking the products little by little and hoping you won’t notice,” Biden said. “I’m calling on companies to put a stop to this.”
Shrinkflation in context
If shrinkflation has an avenger, it’s Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and lawyer whose website, Mouse Print, frequently flags examples of the practice noticed by Dworsky and his readers.
Despite Biden’s video, there’s not been an abundance of political pressure or regulation to curb the practice in the US, but fur has flown over the issue internationally. The French supermarket chain Carrefour, par exemple, started putting up signs on their shelves warning customers about examples of shrinkflation in 2023. Lawmakers in both France and Germany have pursued legislation to curb and regulate the practice. Ditto for the Philippines.
In other countries it often goes by other names, which is why you might hear consumers in Norway complaining about krympflasjon.
