Retail

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Here We Shrink Again – Fall 2025 – Part 1

Shrinkflation seems to have slowed a little, but with the effect of tariffs on manufacturing costs, we probably can expect smaller products and higher prices soon. Here are some more products that have been downsized over recent months.

Honey Nut Cheerios

Even the biggest boxes of breakfast cereal can’t escape the shrinkflation chopping block. Earlier this year, General Mills inconspicuously lopped off more than two ounces from the mega size boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios. That’s two fewer bowls in every package.

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Honey Nut Cheerios downsized

All Free & Clear Detergent

As other liquid detergents have downsized, so has All Free & Clear. Almost two cups was removed from the prior 88 ounce version, making the new one only 73 ounces. Yet, miracle of miracles, you still get 58 loads (supposedly) out of every bottle.

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All Free & Clear detergent

Kroger Tall Kitchen Bags

Not to be left out of the downsizing frenzy are store brands. These Kroger tall kitchen bags lost five bags in every box. And probably the old 45-bag size had itself been downsized from 50 bags.

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Kroger tall kitchen bags

Dole Juices

We have seen refrigerated orange juices go from 64 ounces to 59 ounces to 52 ounces and in some cases to 46 ounces. Joining the ever-shrinking juice brigade is Dole. Their apple juice (and some other varieties) have just been reduced from 59 ounces to 52 ounces. Ace shrinkflation spotter Richard G. discovered that Dole Orange Peach Mango also downsized, for example.

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Dole Apple Juice

Ghirardelli Squares

Your dentist may be happy, but consumers probably won’t welcome getting two fewer chocolate squares in every bag of Ghirardelli dark chocolate mint. Now there are only 10 in a bag.

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Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate mint

Reynolds Parchment Paper

Here is an item that you probably only buy every few years — Reynolds Parchment Paper. The old size was 50-square feet. Then they came out with a 45-square-foot version. But, the company says it added the smaller 45-square foot version to accommodate retailers who wanted to be able offer a lower price. Both versions are still available, but not at the same store. [This entry has been edited to clarify that point.]

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Reynold 45 and 50 sq. ft. versions

Next week, we’ll show you a similar product-size variation with breakfast cereal whose net contents vary depending on what store you are in.

And, we’ll have part two with more shrinking products. If you find a product that has been recently downsized, please take a side-by-side picture of the old and the new and send them to Edgar(at symbol)MousePrint.org . Thanks.

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Beware Albertsons’ Bait & Switch Vaccine Offer

Many supermarkets and drug chains have just started promoting free flu shots by offering money-saving coupons good on other purchases at the store.

Customers of some of Albertsons’ divisions, like Star Market in Boston and Safeway in Seattle, just received such email offers for getting vaccinated at one of their pharmacies. You may have also gotten the offer if you are a customer of their other divisions like Vons, Pavilions, Jewel Osco, Randalls, Albertsons, United, Acme, Tom Thumb, and others.

Get up to $20 off your next grocery purchase

It says that if you get a flu shot at their store, they will give you a coupon for “up to $20 off your next grocery purchase*.” Sounds pretty generous until you follow the asterisk all the way to the bottom of the long email. There, in very small type, enlarged below, you learn the true nature of the offer.

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Star Market vaccine fine print

So this really is a “save 10% off on groceries” offer. In order to get the $20 off they promised, however, you have to make a $200 purchase. Say what? And if you buy less than $40 of groceries, you won’t get any savings because of the minimum purchase requirement. So if you were expecting to get $20 off your next grocery purchase, think again.

Albertsons Companies seem to bait recipients with seemingly very generous offers, but then in the fine print switch the deal to something far less valuable. Just last month we told you about another promotion of theirs where if you filled out a health questionnaire, you would get a $10-off grocery coupon. Buried deep in the promotion, and not even in the offer email, was the requirement of making a $50 purchase in order to get that $10 off.

Hmmm. There seems to be a little pattern developing here, so we asked the company to explain themselves, but did not get a response.

Interestingly, CVS, which usually is not praised for anything when it comes to prices, is offering a similar vaccine promotion, but they are completely upfront about it. Get a shot, and get a $10 off a $20 purchase coupon. Simple, straight forward, and no bait and switch.

CVS $10 off $20 coupon

Why can’t Albertsons do the same thing?

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Supermarkets Drop Prices, But Remember When Groceries Were Really Cheap?

lower pricesLast week, Stop & Shop, the leading supermarket chain in the Northeast, announced that it was dropping everyday prices on thousands of grocery items. Just weeks earlier, a few Albertsons Companies divisions including Star Market and Shaw’s in the Boston area introduced “New Lower Prices, Every Day.”

Interestingly, Albertsons even defines what it means by “lower prices” in the fine print on the homepage of all its divisions.

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Definition of "lower prices"

All these price cuts are certainly good news for inflation-weary grocery shoppers. But this move is reminiscent of similar price cuts done by various supermarket chains over the decades. (Funny how they don’t ballyhoo price hikes in store ads.)

Ace supermarket guru, Bill Wunner, who runs Coupons In The News, found this Stop & Shop ad from over 50 years ago when the supermarket made a similar announcement cutting prices:

Stop & Shop prices 1971

Look how low grocery prices were then.

Gold Medal Flour – 10 pounds was $1.15. Today $11.99.
Stop & Shop Butter – 1 pound was 77 cents. Today $3.99.
Skippy Peanut Butter – 28 ounces was 91 cents. Today $4.99.
Coffee Mate – 16 ounces was 87 cents. Today $3.99

And if you turn back the clock some more decades, there were supermarket price wars then too. And you could find even more amazing prices because back then groceries literally cost pennies (but wages were low too).

Piggly Wiggly ~1959Piggly Wiggly – (~1941-1944) – Palm Beach Post

Eggs – 21 cents a dozen
Maxwell House Coffee – 19 cents a pound
Maine potatoes – 21 cents for 10 pounds
Sirloin steak – 29 cents a pound
Carrots – 5 cents a bunch
[Piggly Wiggly does not show today’s prices on its website]

Ah, if only groceries were this cheap now.