For most of you, this won’t be breaking news. Your groceries are shrinking right before your eyes. Well not literally, but if you are the person doing the grocery shopping, I bet you are noticing your favourite treat, cereal, cheese or even bread shrinking.
Whether it’s the hilarious size of what a block of cheese is now, to the fact that in a box of KD, it’s hardly filled to half.
Every week as we unload the groceries, there is at least one item where someone will say – did this get smaller?
For weeks, the cheese, the size of desserts, the amount of frozen chicken tenders and many othe typical family staples are becoming less and less, while paying more and more.
Last night was a new low for the grocery stores. The french bagette we got to go with our dinner was noticibly smaller in diameter. It only filled half the volume of the bag it was in.
Was it a one off mistake by the bakery? Based on all the other shrinking groceries, maybe this is the next stage of getting less. Classic french bagettes now being skinny?
Shrinkflation has been a buzz word online for quite a while, but it’s hard to ignore when you keep going to the store, paying more money and coming home will less food.
Last year there was even a segment on Last Week Tonight, where Katie and I learned about a website that is hardcore about tracking it.
The site is run by a guy known as MrConsumer and his website is called Mouse Print. If you are not sure what has been slowly shrinking over time or what some of the tricks they use at the grocery store, this website will get you up to speed.
Where will it end? Jumbo size used to family size, which used to be normal size and on and on.
Families who have a solid routine of what food you buy and how long it lasts knows all too well this is a problem.
Go take a look at frozen pizzas in any grocery store and you will quickly understand what I mean. They are all pretty much single serve pizzas, or at least for two people. Gone are the days of 1 pizza that can feed a whole family unless you want to pay what it costs to get a fresh one from Pizza Pizza.
Who I feel are getting screwed the most are families, especially if you have more than 4 people in your household.
Now you are buying at least one more package of whatever it was you bought just 1 year ago.
My wife does get a good laugh from how many times I will hold an item and wonder – did this get smaller? But it’s getting less and less funny. Grocery shopping is not as fun as it used to be and 1 part of that is certainly shrinking amounts for more money.
I will save a larger complaint about the overall grocery shopping experience for another day.
So what have you noticed has shrunk? Would love to hear in the comments.
