Cheated twice over

Casually brushing my teeth the other morning I found myself thinking about the size of the toothpaste tube. It felt....lighter than usual. I have a small store of the same world-famous toothpaste brand that I bought a year ago. Comparing this year's sample to last year's I discovered I was right - this year's was 25% smaller, 75ml rather than 100ml. I felt cheated - I am sure we all do as 'shrinkflation' - the reduction in size of an item with no reduction in price - gets a grip on just about everything. From mouthwash to tea-bags, prepared meals to chocolate bars, salty snacks to wet-wipes, regular household items have shrunk while the sticker price remains the same. Sometimes called 'skimpflation', the phenomenon can also affect services, such as employing fewer staff in restaurants or hotels. It's all perfectly legal so long as the quantity in the product is clearly labelled. The really clever brands will do their downsizing over months or years in the hope that consumers won't notice.

No doubt major companies have been suffering the effects of inflation, like us all. In the US the average inflation rate in 2021 was 7%, 6.5% the next year, 3.4% in 2023 and so far this year is 3.1%. In the UK the average annual inflation rate in 2022 was more than 9%, dropping to almost 8% in 2023 and around 4% so far in 2024. But we have no idea how much the 'shrinkflation' phenomenon is a result of the inflation we have all gone through - soaring energy bills most obviously - or is due to big companies taking advantage of the recent market mayhem simply to increase their profit margins. The multinational market research company Ipsos published its latest Global Inflation Monitor last November; it found that 'shrinkflation' is most commonly felt in Britain, with 64% of those surveyed reporting noticing it. The European Commission has called it a "deceptive marketing technique". For most of us it's plain cheating.