Three out of four Americans said they have noticed “shrinkflation” at the grocery store within the past 30 days, with snack foods catching their attention most frequently, said a Purdue University report on Wednesday. Shrinkflation is the practice of reducing the amount of food in a package while keeping the price the same.
In a survey of 1,200 adults, 77 percent said they had noticed shrinkflation in “some” or “several” items in the past 30 days. Most commonly named were snack foods (77 percent of respondents), packaged desserts and treats (53 percent), and frozen foods (46 percent). Consumers with children reported noticing shrinkflation in a greater variety of items than those without children.
“Detecting shrinkflation in a product can be more difficult than detecting changes in price,” said Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability. Most consumers said they “often” or “always” check product prices, but only half said they check the weight or the unit price.
Respondents split nearly equally on whether they would prefer food companies to keep prices the same but reduce the package size or raise prices while keeping the package size the same. A small majority, 53 percent, said they would prefer the price increase.
Consumers said they spend $197 a week on groceries and at restaurants, an increase of 5.9 percent from a year ago.