Have you noticed that product sizes are shrinking while prices stay the same? These days, “everyone from President Joe Biden to Cookie Monster is taking a stand against shrinkflation,” said CNBC. In his State of the Union, President Biden made the allegation against Snickers bars, noting that “you get charged the same amount, and you got about, I don’t know, 10% fewer Snickers in it.” Meanwhile, the fictional Sesame Street character complained in a post on X, “me cookies are getting smaller.”
Their gripes aren’t without basis — as it turns out, there is data to back them up. For example, said CNN Business, “OREO Double Stuf Chocolate Sandwich Cookies saw a 6% decrease in size by weight from January 2019 to October 2023, according to a report from Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in December, using Labor Department data.”
What is shrinkflation?
Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What products are impacted by shrinkflation?
Why does shrinkflation happen?
Is there anything you can do to protect yourself from shrinkflation?
Explore More
To continue reading this article…
Create a free account
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
register for free
Already have an account? Sign in
Subscribe to The Week
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Subscribe & Save
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Unlimited website access is included with Digital and Print + Digital subscriptions.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.