Shrinkflation
Charging the same price for less product
Example
Can you believe this shrinkflation out here? I'm paying the same price for 10 oz of pretzels as I used to for 12!
Related Slang
MSRP | Manufacturer's suggested retail price |
ORP | Original Retail Price |
Pink tax | Increased prices on women's products |
BIN | Buy it now |
Bearish | Negative outlook |
Bullish | Positive outlook |
Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing a product's size without reducing its price, thereby passing a stealth price increase on to consumers. This slang term is a portmanteau of shrink (what's happening to the product's size) and inflation (what's happening to the product's price). Businesses often engage in shrinkflation when they need to increase their profit margin, possibly due to rising production costs, but don't want to explicitly raise prices.
For example, in 2022, Charmin reduced the size of its Mega toilet paper rolls from 264 sheets to 244 sheets, while keeping the Mega package the same price. That's shrinkflation. Many consumers likely did not notice this change, allowing Charmin to make more money per package without much outcry about higher prices.