Shrinkflation is something most people in North America are experiencing right now, and frankly, it’s getting out of hand. You’ve probably noticed at the grocery store or supermarket that products are getting smaller and smaller, yet you pay the same price as always, or more. It’s time to confront this by exposing these cases, as several of these Reddit users have done.
”Just Like That… a Hundred of them Left…”
This Reddit user can’t understand why the packaging of the Q-Tips he usually buys has changed: “They thought no-one would notice”. Michael212427 noticed that a hundred of the units no longer came in the same package he paid for when he bought 500.
”Lay’s is Cheating on Us”
The product promotion might be “new size, same great flavor” as this Reddit user exposes, and he says: “I saw this today and I didn’t even care about the weird looks I was getting from people around me, because I was taking pictures of the ‘same’ bags of chips side by side. I mentioned it to a couple of people who looked really confused (haha) and they were like ‘Oh… no…”.
”¡Dawn Dish Soap with an Improved Bottle!”
This company improve the packaging in a way that suits them, such as maintaining the height and slightly stylizing the bottle so that the transition from 2.19 liters to 2.01 liters. User Candy_Andie didn’t let this go unnoticed: “Dawn’s new bottle design now has less fluid: the products cost the same”.
“50% Less Product than before. From .7 oz to .3 oz for the Same Price”
This translucent face powder from LUSH contains 0.4 oz less than its previous version as user k9jm shows. A prime example of shrinkflation, where the product appears to be the same size. It’s brutal!
“It used to be packages of 500 grams of bacon per month, more or less, but now it’s 375 grams at the same price”
User johnvosh explained, “The ‘No Name’ bacon was my favorite because it was one of the few that were still sold in 500 gram packages, but not anymore. Now they’re 375 grams for the same price”.
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“The Pringles I bought 2 weeks ago, on the Right, vs the ones I bought 2 days ago, on the Left”
The image posted by user roseallday00 is clear. The Pringles can used to contain 203 grams and now it only contains 188. Where did those 15 grams of chips go?
“Being eating Go Ahead apple bakes for 12 years, Never buying them again”
Reddit user RadioLiar posted this photo of GoAhead bars and how they’re getting much less than what they usually pay for. He wrote “Aside from the number in the top right corner, the packaging is exactly the same. I only noticed the difference when I took one out of the box. I exclaimed out loud, ‘What the hell is this crap?’. I’m genuinely very upset about this, as they’ve been a beloved part of my lunch every day since I was still in school”.
“Only ten Less, It’s not that Big of a Deal”
Reddit user supplesaturdays is clearly fed up with shrinkflation. He’s even resorted to sarcasm, mentioning that he’s getting 10 fewer Ziplock bags than he’s paying for at the same price as the 280 units he got a few weeks ago.
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“Improved Tartar Sauce Recipe”
That yellow ‘improved recipe’ label hides shrinkflation. When you read the label, as demonstrated by user hellod1st4nc3, you’ll notice that instead of 30 grams, it now has 28. He explained: “Replace ingredient number one with water. I says it’s made with real lemons, but I can’t find them on the ingredient list. It doesn’t even look the same”.
“16% Less Bread”
This ‘Split Top Wheat’ product was exposed by reddit user sw4llyk4g: “Same bread, same price, but smaller. This is the bread I buy for my family. The price hasn’t changed, but the loaf went from 24 oz to 20 oz. In practice, the cost goes up 16% for the same amount of bread. Does this count as inflation? It just makes me so angry”.
“I Took out my Scrapbook and realized that 0.2 oz had been removed”
Reddit user useful-pack9799 revealed, “I noticed they removed 0.2 oz from my freeze-dried ice cream”. Although the package looks the same, the contents inside, for which you pay the same price, are not.
“I’m watching you ‘French’s’”
User iwasbornin1979 is clearly paying attention to ‘French’s’ mustard: “Don’t think we’re not watching you while you slowly lower your quality. Photo 1: The one on the left is a few weeks old. The one on the right was bought today. At first, I thought the quantity had decreased, but I see they just changed the order of the grams and milliliters. So, everything’s fine, right? No..”
Terry’s Orange
The user livslittlemuffins has started to distrust ‘Terry’s Orange Muffins’. He indicates that the product “no longer tastes the same as before and find it ridiculous that they’ve stopped calling them chocolate. Anyway, somehow the price keeps getting more and more ridiculous”. He is already looking for a replacement.
“My favorite coffee product just got smaller”
User stopkloppandroll mentions, “I didn’t realize until I put the new one next to the older, almost finished one”. Like many others, this is the case of Don Francisco’s coffee.
“The Shrinkflation and Skinflation All in One. Thanks Dove”
“I’ve been using this deodorant for a while now, ever since I had coupons, and I didn’t realize how new the formula was, it was all a smokescreen. And now it contains 8% less product and no longer has coconut oil” says user reasonablecherry9137.
“My New Pack of Sandpaper Has Already Lost 25% of its Original Amount”
User Rodrat says: “I bought a new 400 count pack because I was out. While cleaning today, I found the old pack. It’s bad enough that they’re charging me almost $10 for such a meager amount, but cutting it from 4 to 3 is insane”.
“Milk Bones Stealthily Lower Ingredients”
User henryfigaro explains: “When the new batch arrived, I noticed they felt cheaper, crumbled more easily, and felt greasy. I checked the labels, comparing them to each other, and yes, they lowered the quality of the ingredients. And there’s no website or email address to contact them”.
More from Cheapism
- Ridiculous Photos Showing Just How Bad Shrinkflation Has Gotten — Reddit users shared some of the most surprising examples of shrinkflation, revealing how everyday products have quietly become smaller while prices stay the same or size.
- Americans Are Quietly Giving Up These Foods Because Prices Got Absurd — Rising inflation has significantly increased the cost of foods like meat, seafood, coffee and restaurant meals, making them some of the hardest-hit grocery categories in recent years.
- 22 New Aldi Products That Hit Shelves on May 27 — Aldi’s latest weekly Finds lineup features summer-themed products, outdoor accessories, seasonal decor, sporting goods, and new food items arriving in stores starting May 27, 2026.
