Adam: Everywhere, food retailers are shrinking products, upping prices

And then there's the habit of slapping a "special" sticker on a product being sold at the regular price. Buyer beware.

Shrinkflation is the new buzzword in the retail world as companies slyly reduce the sizes of their products in the face of rampant inflation to save money or turn a profit.

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Everything from boxes of cereal to cookies, drinks, frozen veggies and even tissue, have been downsized with consumers none the wiser. All the attention has rightly been focused on the big grocers, who really should have no cause to complain since their profits skyrocketed during the pandemic. They made money, but are still finding new ways to squeeze consumers and fill their pockets.

But as welcome as this attention is, shrinkflation is not just about cereal boxes, cartons of cookies or drinks in the big-name grocery stores. It is about everything you buy wherever you shop.

My attention was drawn to the issue when a friend wondered, as we were enjoying a feta and spinach snack, whether I had noticed that the size has shrunk over time. I hadn't thought about it, but on reflection, realized he was right — and from then on decided to pay attention to portions and prices of food items I buy. I noticed the change with a leek and cheese pastry I regularly purchased from a mid-sized mom and pop shop. Same with Greek potatoes and portions of hot food such as rice, from various outlets. I checked out a few shawarma joints I patronize but the results were mixed. Some had clearly reduced their portions, though a couple had not.

As my research continued, I discovered that "specials" in grocery stores are not what you may think. As most shoppers know, when a store sticks a "special" label on a product, it usually means cheaper prices. It may be to clear old products off the shelves for new ones. Or because the "best-before" date is arriving, or something else. But the prices aren't always "special."

I first noticed this with bowls of salad I usually buy from my local big-name grocer. Usually, a bowl of spinach salad sells for $6.99. The one with lettuce goes for $5.99, and the larger the bowl, the higher the price. On a couple of occasions, I noticed "special" stickers on the spinach and lettuce salads — but at their usual prices. I tracked this for a couple of weeks and one day, spoke to the lady who was stocking the shelves, asking why they had put a "special" sticker on a product being sold at the original price. She shrugged and said the very bright red sticker was nice and attractive, and shoppers were drawn to it.

In other words, this was a deliberate marketing trick to lure shoppers — and nothing to do with any price reduction.

More and more, I saw this practice extended to sliced watermelon, cantaloupe and pineapple. At another shop, there was the ubiquitous red sticker on chicken wings and thighs, selling at the regular price. On further inquiry I was told this is an old marketing trick. Some "specials" do mean lower prices, but because shoppers don't routinely memorize prices, shops often take the liberty to tag products as "special" without lowering prices. The tactic is being used more and more in the wake of the pandemic.

Be that as it may, I don't begrudge the practice among small businesses, which took such a beating during the pandemic. Since most can't increase prices, one way to reduce costs and hopefully stay alive may lie in reducing the size or portions of products they sell. I can live with that. But not with the big-name grocery chains that made a killing during the pandemic, when many people were losing the shirts off their backs. By all means let's hold them accountable for shrinking the sizes and weights of shampoo, frozen food or boxes of crackers.

But let's not forget that it's not all they are doing. There is much more going on that may be unethical. Maybe by talking more and more about it, we can shame them into changing their ways.

Mohammed Adam is an Ottawa journalist and commentator.

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