Toilet paper, cereal, chips, candy: We're getting less for the price

Analysis of nearly 100 common grocery items shows slimmed down packaging and less quantity compared to a few years ago, while prices for dozens of products are the same, or even higher.

There’s no point hiding it. Shoppers have caught on that many of their everyday grocery essentials -- toilet paper, breakfast cereals, snack bags of chips and sweet treats in a bag look, or feel, different.

A study of nearly 100 common grocery products found that one-third of those purchases have gotten smaller or weigh less compared to five years ago, and that 71% of shoppers have noticed it, according to a new report from LendingTree.

The report found that of the 98 products selected for the study (using Walmart prices and product sizes over the time period), paper goods such as toilet paper and kitchen towels, have seen the biggest size change compared to 2019 and 2020. It said that as many as 12 of 20 (or 60.0%) of household varieties of paper products have reduced their sheet count.

“For consumers it’s been a double whammy. You have the content going down, but the price going up. - Edgar Dworsky, editor of consumer advocacy website ConsumerWorld.org

When a product gets slimmed down, such as fewer sheets in a roll of toilet paper or fewer chips in bag, it’s known as “shrinkflation,” explained Edgar Dworsky, editor of consumer advocacy website ConsumerWorld.org, who was a former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts.

Shrinkflation happens during periods of rising inflation, which not only makes it more expensive for shoppers to buy things but also for companies to make all kinds of products because they have to pay more for raw materials, production and delivering the goods, said Dworsky, who has tracked over three decades how high inflation has impacted prices of products in stores.

“There's a good reason that Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, and Madeleine Dean are all singing from the same hymn book when it comes to shrinkflation,” Zak Stambor, senior analyst, retail and ecommerce, with market research firm eMarketer, said in a statement to Bagable.com.

“It's an easy-to-understand strategy they can use to shine a spotlight on corporate greed. Once people become aware of this tactic, it is difficult to overlook,” he said. “For example, consumers might not notice that Angel Soft toilet paper rolls have decreased from 429 sheets to 320 sheets, but they will notice the need to replace them more frequently.”

Credit: LendingTree

It's also not a coincidence that [grocery] brands' growing use of shrinkflation and consumers' growing awareness of the tactic has come at the same time that private label brands have grown market share, Stambor said.

Still, “at a time when consumers are sharply focused on value, brands that pull the shrinkflation lever too frequently risk turning off customers,” he added.

Elsewhere, breakfast cereals have slimmed down. The report analyzed 16 cereal brands and noted that seven had reduced their quantity per box over the past five years.

One example: family-size Raisin Bran downsized 7.9% from 24 ounces to 22.1 ounces but its price per ounce increased from to 23 cents from 15 cents.

“People are already frustrated that things cost more,” Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst, said in the report. “Shrinkflation just adds insult to injury. It all adds up to a lot of Americans feeling squeezed every month to afford the basic things they can’t do without.”

Credit: LendingTree

In the candy aisle, the report found five of the 13 offerings analyzed changed size.

The party-size Reese’s miniatures and party-pack Rolo chewy caramels both decreased to 35.6 ounces from 40 ounces while their prices increased 68.2% per ounce, the report said.

Another snacking item, a party-sized bag of Lay’s sour cream and onion potato chips, shrunk by 15.3%, going down to 12.5 ounces from an earlier 14.75 ounces. A party-size bag of Cheetos decreased to 15 ounces from 17.5 ounces, the report said, while the price jumped to 40 cents from 17 cents an ounce.

“For consumers it’s been a double whammy. You have the content going down, but the price going up,” Dworsky said. “It's almost like we have to change the definition of what shrinkflation is.”