Shrinkflation

In economics, shrinkflation, also known as package downsizing, weight-out, and price pack architecture is the process of available products shrinking in size or quantity while the prices remain the same. The word is a portmanteau of the words shrink and inflation and was coined as the counterpart to economic inflation, wherein prices rise while the product remains unchanged. A related term, skimpflation, involves a reformulation or other reduction in quality.

Shrinkflation allows manufacturers and retailers to manage rising production costs while maintaining sales volume, operating margin, and profitability, and is often used as an alternative to raising prices in line with inflation. Some consumer protection groups are critical of the practice, but some economists defend it as a rational way to manage inflation and cost increases when customers are highly price-sensitive.