Inflation Frustration: Products are shrinking, but prices aren’t

Mass. — As prices for everyday items continue to rise, consumers continue to battle shrinkflation – or downsizing – in which a product becomes smaller while its price remains unchanged or goes up.

Consumer World’s Edgar Dworsky has been tracking shrinkflation for years and sees it across a range of products.

“There are some frequent shrinkers,” Dworsky tells Boston 25 News. “Paper towels and toilet paper, cookies, potato chips. These are some of the products that just continually seem to be downsizing. At some point, they get so small they reintroduce a larger size because nobody really wants to buy a single roll of paper towels anymore.”

While inflation has slowed since setting a record in 2022, shoppers say they continue to notice the trend.

“It makes me absolutely angry,” Sergio Nunez told Boston 25 News as he left a grocery store in Somerville recently. “We just did a lot of grocery shopping for ourselves, and it cost us almost our entire paycheck.”

“Two bags of groceries used to be like maybe sixty bucks,” said Nancy Crombie. “Now you’re lucky if you get one bag at sixty bucks.”

Dworsky shared several recent examples of shrinkflation. A box of Ziploc sandwich bags fell from 280 to 270 bags per box, but Boston 25 found both listed at the same price on the Kroger website.

Similarly, Cascade dishwasher detergent packs, reduced from 52 to 47 packs per box, were the same price online at Walmart.

A 27.2-ounce box of “Mega Size” Honey Nut Cheerios was priced the same as a 7% larger “Mega Size” box of the same cereal.

Dworsky says consumers need to be more “weight conscious.”

“You shouldn’t buy based on size name, like ‘mega’, ‘giant’, or ‘large size’,” Dworsky says. “You have to look at the fine print… You have to be more net weight conscious.”

That means looking at the unit price on products, which stores are required to list on most items. Dworsky says paying attention to the unit price may help you spot a competitor with a better deal. And don’t rule out going with a store brand.

“The store brand is the last one usually to downsize,” Dworsky says.

Boston 25 contacted multiple manufacturers, including those behind Ziploc, Cascade, and Honey Nut Cheerios. Only one responded to our request for comment on why products were shrinking while prices stayed the same.

In a statement, a spokesperson for SC Johnson, which makes Ziploc, told Boston 25 its prices are lower this year:

“While pack counts can vary by product and retailer, in a small number of cases, counts were adjusted to help maintain accessible pricing in the face of rising costs. Starting in January 2025, the Ziploc® brand began adding 10% more bags per box for the majority of its product offerings at no additional cost. Additionally, as part of bringing value to consumers, we’ve worked closely with retail partners to expand promotional efforts. As a result of these actions, the average price for a box of Ziploc® brand bags consumers pay has actually decreased in 2025 by approximately 5%. Across the portfolio, our goal remains the same: to provide accessible, high-quality storage solutions that deliver value for consumers.”

A survey conducted in mid-October by the National Association for Business Economics, or NABE, found many businesses are trying to avoid raising costs for consumers in the next few months, including by slowing their pace of hiring new workers and reducing their profit margins.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW