EXCLUSIVE: Consumers are noticing 'shrinkflation' – and don’t like it

The trend of "shrinkflation" —  products shrinking in size, volume, or quantity while their prices stay the same or increase — has shoppers on edge.

According to results of a new survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers and business owners exclusively released to Chain Store Age by Clarify Capital, more than four-in-five consumer respondents (81%) have noticed shrinkflation, with three-in-10 (29%) having seen it very often since 2020.

Another 11% of consumer respondents haven’t noticed shrinkflation but have heard of it, while 8% have neither seen nor heard of it.

Almost four in five (78%) consumer respondents are worried about shrinkflation, and a slightly higher percentage (82%) think it will increase. Virtually all surveyed consumers (96%) believe businesses are not transparent about shrinkflation.

Shopper response to shrinkflation is negative, with 68% of surveyed consumers saying it will cause them to switch brands or companies and 45% indicating they will opt for generic alternatives. Roughly one-third will both buy in bulk to save money (36%) and keep purchasing the same product as usual (32%).

The top categories where consumer respondents have observed shrinkflation are:

• Snacks (80%).
• Candy (55%).
• Personal care products (46%).
• Cleaning products (41%).
• Produce (34%).

Business owners admit lack of transparency

The survey also revealed the following findings from business owners about their usage of shrinkflation:

• More than one-in-10 (12%) surveyed business owners (12%) have used shrinkflation as a strategy. Of those, more than one-third (36%) were not transparent with their customers about it.
• Surveyed business owners’ most common reasons for shrinkflation are to stay profitable (64%), to offset rising production and supply chain costs (44%) and to keep their business operational (32%).
• One-in-five surveyed business owners who have not used shrinkflation say they will.

[Read more: Deloitte: Consumers value price over loyalty in 2024]

Clarify Capital surveyed 202 business owners and 800 consumers to gather their perspectives about product shrinkflation on March 7, 2024.