Shrinkflation: Inflation’s Ugly Cousin

This article was written by Katya Sandino and originally published at Outsider Club
Remember when Subway got in trouble for selling ‘footlong’ sandwhiches that were less than 12 inches long?
They’re not alone.
If you feel like you’re getting less for your money these days, inflation isn’t the only reason why.
There’s also ‘shrinkflation,’ which is what it’s called when a company shrinks the size of its product, rather than raise its price. And its a disturbing trend that was last seen in the 1970s, right before the more traditional inflationary increase in prices.
If you’re a long-time buyer of a certain product you might notice when a company suddenly starts skimping. But not always. It’s a very subtle practice.
Mondelez International, for instance, literally cut corners by rounding the edges of its Dairy Milk Bar.
Tide reduced the amount of laundry detergent it puts in bottles, but kept the number of loads the same.
Wal-Mart reduced the length of its toilet paper rolls.

This post was published at Alt-Market on 10 September 2014.