In most European countries, it is mandatory for stores like supermarkets and drugstores to list the per volume price so that consumers can just see the difference instead of having to take out our calculators and do the calculations on our own. Maybe we can also do this in Sg!
But most people won't notice if the final price stays the same and per volume increases for the same product overtime. Unless they make a note of price per volume, most people only remember the final price.
@@user-bi8ko7kc6h The pricing tickets state how many grams per 100grams or how many mls per 100 mls your getting of the product. It's very noticeable and easy to make comparisons.
@@user-bi8ko7kc6h Same in the USA - they have for decades - it is small print & folks do not bother reading it very often. I watch it because I am a bargain shopper. But it is more a matter of comparing brands than keeping track of what brands are giving us less product.
Funny thing is I always notice this kind of changes all the time. Cause I love to check the weight on the bottle, visual aspect of the product etc. How the fried dumpling from hawker center get smaller.. how the biscuit doesn't need to break in half to dip into coffee anymore.. really enjoy your talking point series.. keep on the good work team 🙂
The worst ones are increasing price AND downsizing the product. Like certain curry puffs... practically all the fastfood brands selling burgers... And the incoming GST.... Good luck to us peasants...
Thank you for this! Unfortunately shrinkflation is happening on almost everything! Now the prices are rising & not by a small amount, by 20-30%!! That's outrageous. I've listened to to many corporate profit calls & they laugh that their profits are through the roof! Profit year over year. It's disgusting & disgraceful corporate greed.
Finally, I'm not the only one who noticed this 😂😂. I notice this yearssss ago. Companies want to keep the price low or stay at the same price so they have to reduce the volume of product.
@@arissajoan yes found best thing was to stop eating branded products all together or anything made in a massive factory.. is healthier for everyone too..
Ironically, when they say that they want to win the brand loyalty by not cheating on consumers the strategy is to deceive them unknowingly. Paradox it is!
This is also happening in the USA. Bacon was 16 ounces 500g.Now 12ounces! Cost summer 2021 $3.50USD. Now $6. McDonald's quarter pounder meal in medium size was $6.70 now $10. 500g ground beef (mince) was $3.50 now $5.25. Some things stayed same like sack of flour. 5pounds 2.5 kg for $1.97. Bananas 500g for .79 cents. Cooking oil doubled in price. We are now only eating at home and cooking cheap recipes. I also learned how to make restaurant clone recipes like famous coffee shop, pizza place, etc. If anyone is looking for a fabulous easy cookie try the 1970's "ice box" log cookies. I keep the log in my freezer and can have fresh chocolate chip or sugar or spice cookies in 12 minutes using toaster oven. Slice and bake. Microwave mug cakes are our other "new" favorite.
The most obvious for me have been the product sizes in Dollar Tree stores. They have to have that set price, so it is easier to compare what is there today to what you would have seen just a few years ago. The latest packages are almost cute as they appear child sized.
Foods are indeed shrinking but why do things taste so different now to how they did 20 to 30 years ago? I can't think of any products snack wise (junk food and drinks basically) that taste the same.
Things taste different because companies change the ingredients. E.g. Ovaltine tastes different now compared to when I was a child because they took out the malt and reduced the sugar.. So now if I want to taste the same Ovaltine I had as a child I buy the cheapest malt drink, add a couple of teaspoons of sugar and a teaspoon of the cheapest hot chocolate.
Can you do a series on shrinking salaries of typical Singaporeans... Locals? We used to be able to buy kopi for 70¢... Now is 1.50...obviously our salaries are shrinking....
Thanks for sharing the tips on some of the ways we can save on groceries. Most of the time though, when I’m pressed for time, I might just get the things I want from a single supermarket instead. In most areas, the “budget shops” aren’t always in close proximity. If time is money, then I feel like I’m actually indirectly “spending money” for wasting the time going through different stores just to save a few bucks..unless the saving is significant of course
Most of the world go through inflation recently, while shrinkflation is silently works its way into my super big Mac, triple cheeseburger, big size French Fries n beef jerky daily.😳😳
General rule is when you see the packaging has changed it is almost always shrinkflation or sometimes a change in which country it is produced where you might also experience a change in quality. (With sometimes the rare instances of changing to greener packaging due to trends) No company in the right mind would purposely invest in new machines as it costs a lot of money. There's also one more trick which is to sell "fun/bite size" which costs more by weight but it looks more.
Finally a program to talk about this! I have noticed and lamenting, the inflation didn't just happen now, we have this issue for quite a while!! When times are better, the manufacturer doesn't increase back the volume, should reduce the cost isn't it?
In the US and Canada, prices at supermarket includes price per unit measurement (e.g. price per ounce), so that it's easier to compare if a revised packaging affected the volume and to compare between products.
Great Episode! I’ve always noticed shrink flatiron and am really that it’s being brought to light for the masses. There is another peculiar thing I’ve noticed too and hope you can dive into it if possible. Brands do sell a different flavour of their products regionally. You’ll only notice if you use the same product alot over and over. For example, I used to drink Season’s Iced Lemon Tea and different cans have different taste. (Yes, bottled and canned have different taste too but this can versus can). Like one packaged for Singapore and one for Malaysia. Even water. Ice Mountain.. I’ve encountered differences and the only obvious tell is, the height of the cap is shallower for one of them.
This has been classified as business strategy called "just noticeable difference" so instead of increasing the product price every year (due to inflation etcetc) they'll just deliver less..
Shrinkflation happens when manufacturers know that the customers who can’t afford to pay for the higher prices, if they increase their prices, will still be able to afford to buy their products. On the other hand, those who can afford to pay the higher prices will continue to buy their products despite shrinking sizes. It’s a very delicate balancing act to keep their customers.
Yes! I recently noticed that the processed sausages that I used to eat when I was younger became thinner… and I thought I remembered wrongly. This video confirmed my suspicion. Thanks team for always coming up with such interesting and insightful content! Looking forward to the next one!
Well suited title shrinkflation. It stings when the bags/wrappers weight is also substituted to keep the profit margin same but the person at the end gets least out of it.
We understand that companies have 2 choices (charge more or get less). But we also have 2 choices (pay for the item or purchase a different brand). What most people don't understand is the environmental damage being done, because you are purchasing more packages then before. Ice cream was 64oz and now 48oz a reduction of about 25%. before 4 carton = 256oz now 5 cartons = 240oz , Now you need to purchase 1 more package and you are still getting 16oz less.
I remember few years back when i was in KL they put price per unit in each price tag. It was easier to compare the price. Now i have to manually check and calculate each one.. 😬
In Brazil, there are laws obligating companies to warn customers of the reduction in weight, and changes to their formulas. But after some months, they can remove the warning in the packaging unless they do it again, and in the end, they just need to warn us and we can't do much if we still want their products and their old formulas.
Supermarkets do the same thing. Sometimes the smaller version of an item is more expensive than the larger version. You have to calculate the price per litre or kilogram and then compare it.
CNA can you pls do an updated on food price inflation n shrinkflation across foodcourt, hawker n fast food, restaurant food ? There’s so many complaints in social media of the pathetic portions amidst the lack inflated food prices. It’s a double blow to consumer having to pay more n getting less at the same time 😨
Sadly, shrinkflation and inflation are both practised for food served in restaurants and hawker stalls. Increase prices and reduce portions at the same time..., kaya toast in Toastbox? Chicken rice(only chicken and rice, no cumcumber slices)? Curry puff? Breadfrom breadtalk?
Actually, as per the definition of mass production the cost of production varies inversely to the no of commodity manufactured but the game of varying inputs changes the equation.
So after watching this video, I scrolled through Facebook and immediately saw an advertisement for Scott’s TP. It touted how their package had extra while the other brand’s packages were shrinking. This ad targeting is getting a little ridiculous as well as the fact that major companies know more about you then you do yourself.
shrinkflation and skimpflation has been going for over 20 years ago , like japan for example it's always been like that , some people just don't realize it until now
Reversing the trend of unhealthily huge packages of junk food is good in my opinion. But is upsetting in daily use articles. Also this enables steady pricing in all economic scenarios.
because humans feel things logarithmically, (example: a difference between 6 months and 3 months seems huge (3 month diff) but a diff between 12 years and 12 years and 3 months is no longer significant, as the number gets larger, the difference becomes less significant), companies try to play by that rule when decreasing product quantity so that we dont feel it, until it happens over a long period of time and we eventually feel the difference
Now, travel from store to store to get your best prices. But if you have to drive, add how much it costs to drive from place to place, the add it to your discounted items.. you will find you can't win.
I am recently very disappointed upon buying a tin of Julie's choc roll. It now comes in individually packed plastics, plenty of plastics! I just want a tin of densely-packed 750gm full chocolate rolls.
Much worse than shrinkflation is skimpflation, where companies change their formulas to swap their ingredients with cheaper alternatives, and make their food much worse. I knew that junk food was bad for me, but I kept eating it because it was tasty, simple as that, but then they changed their formulas and many of my favorite junk foods are no longer tasty, perfect opportunity to lose weight.
When i was a kid my mother could feed 3 kids and herself on one paket of minced meat. Actually we dont have to go that far back. When my oldest son was smal 30+ years ago i could feed him. my hubby and me two days on the same packet. Back then there was 500gram in each packet. Today there are between 400 and 450g in each. That mean that the familie of 4 no longer can feed the familie on one packet. So they buy 2. Now they got lots of meat and therefor eat more meat per day than we used to do. Not only do the producers and sellers earn more per kg. they also sell more. Smart. Except when they claim to help people eating less, they are in fact doing the exact opposite and making people fatter.
Thankfully, with the sizes and portions shrinking, and the recipes getting changed to use cheaper ingredients, making these foods taste terrible, this is the perfect time to eat healthier and avoid those ultra-processed foods.
I wonder if the cola at the budget store contains the same amount of cola as the grocery store. Here in Canada, our equivalent of budget store (dollar store) tend to actually have less product in them compared to the grocery chains. This is actually intended.
Real simple folks-Quit buying value added garbage . Learn to cook well and stop wasting your money on processed industrial food that destroy your health! Leave it for a once or twice in a year treat if you must.
I've stopped purchasing Loma Linda "Big" Franks any longer because shrinkflation has turned the name of the product into a GAG. I feel like someone somewhere is wondering how much smaller they can get before they change the name.
Yeah,cosmetics have gotten smaller too but cost more.Ladies,this has been going on for a while.They think our brains have shrunk too.But most of us girls notice sneaky stuff like this.You can't get past the average female.Size does matter,in commodities.🤔
500ml Bottle drinks become 475ml.. or worse Yeos Bottle drinks just went from 500ml to 375ml, Packet Soya Bean Milk in same containers now says it's 475ml..not 500ml.. Instant noodles per pack went from 80grams to 73grams..Even Snicker bars are getting shorter.
