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Here We Shrink Again – Summer 2024 – Part 1

Some big brands are continuing to downsize their products despite some easing of the inflation rate… so shrinkflation continues. Here is the latest batch of products that have gotten smaller, and next week we’ll feature more.

Tropicana Orange Juice

This is a big one in a category that has seen so many downsizings over the years. Remember when you could always buy half a gallon of orange juice? Those days are long gone (except for a few store brands). Tropicana has gone from 64 ounces to 59 ounces to 52 ounces and now to 46 ounces, depending on which size the retailer wants to stock.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tropicana 52 ounces to 46

Here, they don’t even pretend to keep the carafe looking roughly the same. In their current product line, they have eliminated the 52-ounce carafe and substituted a 46-ounce unimaginative bottle. These are all the container sizes they are now offering:

Tropicana sizes

Thanks to Edward E. who was the first to spot the Tropicana change, and to Barry R. for the photograph.

And it is not just their orange juice that has downsized… other beverages lost six ounces also, like this limeade.

Tropicana limeade

Kashi Go Cereal

People may think of Kashi as a new-age type of company but with old-fashioned values. They are actually owned by Kellogg’s, which has been playing cereal shrinkflation games full time in the past several months. This example comes from Sean M. (Boston Globe readers may be able to figure out who he is) who was distressed to find that his favorite morning cereal went from 13 ounces down to just 9.7 ounces. While you used to get six bowls of cereal out of every box, now there are only four.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kashi Go

At the same time the company shrank the product, they also reformulated it. And consumers are not very happy — posting nearly four dozen one-star reviews on their website.

Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets

Bruce B. forwarded an email to us from Chewy announcing that Purina was downsizing its kidney function dry dog food in the next couple of months:

Purina warning via Chewy

That’s a 26-percent reduction with no decrease in price. Yikes.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Purina Kidney

Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats

Leif S. and Phil K. discovered that Kellogg’s removed two ounces from Frosted Mini Wheats between the middle of June and the beginning of July. Thanks for this picture that we annotated.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats

Walmart Whole Almonds

Our ace shrinkflation spotter, Richard G., found a major size reduction on Walmart’s Great Value Whole Almonds. They went from a 30-ounce bag to one that was only 25 ounces. And the price stayed the same at $7.98. The one-pound bag also lost two ounces.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart whole almonds

Downy Fabric Softener

Brendan B. found a big change in Downy fabric softener at Sam’s Club. The old one was 170 ounces and provided 251 loads. The new version was the same price, with 20 fewer ounces. but supposedly provided 257 loads. The new equation must be less = more.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Downy

And who knows what “5x softening power” and “7x softening power” really mean. Further, to add to the confusion, in conventional stores like Target, there is a 140-ounce size of Downy and it only gets 190 loads. That’s 67 fewer loads with only a 10-oz. loss of liquid?

Kellogg’s Fruit and Yogurt

Shoppers lost about a bowl of cereal in each box of Kellogg’s Fruit and Yogurt. And note how the new box is actually taller than the old box. How did they do that? They made the new box more narrow.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Kellogg's Fruit & Yogurt

Clif Bars

Clif Bar has reduced the number of bars in each box. In the case of the old 12 packs, there are now only 10 bars. And the six bar pack is down to only five. Thanks to Richard G. for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Clif bars

Signature Oatmeal Packets

Following Quaker’s lead, Albertson Companies’ store brand, Signature, found at their various chains around the country including Star Market and Shaw’s in the Boston area, has reduced the number of packets in their oatmeal packages from 10 to a box to just eight. And the price stayed the same.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Signature Oatmeal

If you spot a product that has recently downsized, please try to take a picture of the old one and the new one showing the net weight or net count statements. Then email your find to Edgar (at symbol) MousePrint.org . Thanks!

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Here We Shrink Again – Spring 2024 – Part 2

We continue our spring fling this week with six more products that have been subject to shrinkflation recently.

Crest 3D White

P&G has been downsizing toothpaste repeatedly. The tubes are getting smaller, but somehow the packaging seems to stay about the same. The latest change was found by Richard G who sent these pictures. The 3.8 oz. tubes of Crest 3D White recently went down half an ounce to 3.3 oz. Tom B. also reported that Crest Enamel Repair was downsized to 3.7 oz. from 4.1 oz.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Crest 3D White

Dove Dark Chocolate

Once upon a time, these bags were over 10 ounces, now Dove dark chocolate bags are only 7.61 ounces. Thanks again to Richard G. for spotting this item.

*MOUSE PRINT:
Dove Dark Chocolate

Tide

P&G appears to have removed some of the water from Tide Free & Gentle because bottles went from 92 oz. to 84 oz. but each one still claims to be able to do 64 loads of laundry. Thanks to Shannon R. for this picture.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tide Free & Gentle

And to add insult to injury, P&G downsized the big jugs of Tide Oxi Odor AGAIN. This time it lost another 14 ounces, but magically you still get 94 loads theoretically from the new version. Thanks to Brendan B. for spotting this.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Tide Oxi Odor

Trader Joe’s Sparkling Water

Zhora V. spotted a big change in Trader Joe’s Sparkling water because the bottles didn’t feel as hefty as they used to. No wonder… the new ones are 8.5 ounces less. And it was now plain water instead of mineral water. What isn’t clear is how the price changed and when the new size was introduced.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Trader Joe's sparkling water

Walmart Equate Shampoo

Many brands of shampoo shrink over time, and store brands are no exception. If you see Head & Shoulders downsize, the retailer’s own brand can’t be far behind. Here, Walmart has removed an ounce from its Equate dandruff shampoo and conditioner.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Equate shampoo

If you find a product recently hit by shrinkflation, please take side-by-side pictures of the old and new, including the net weight or net count and email them to Edgar(at)ConsumerWorld.org . Thanks!

Updated every Monday!   Subscribe to free weekly newsletter.

Walmart to Pay Millions for Meat Dept. Overcharges – The Back Story

This is the craziest case MrConsumer has ever seen in his 47 years as a consumer advocate. While you may have heard about this case last week, what wasn’t reported was the clever way Walmart pulled off the alleged overcharging scheme.

Walmart was sued by a consumer claiming that for years the company has manipulated the weight and price of packaged meat, poultry, and fish sold by the pound, as well as certain bagged produce, such that shoppers were charged more than the lowest represented price per pound shown on shelf tags and signs.

Most of the overcharges occurred on “rollback” or sale/reduced items. Look at this example from the lawsuit.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart turkey

Turkey was 98 cents a pound according to the Walmart sign, but they were marked $1.48 a pound — 50 cents higher. So this 15-pound turkey the consumer was going to buy should have cost $15.07 and not $22.76 as marked. Instead, at the checkout, while the system was properly programmed to charge the 98 cents per pound price, it deceptively changed the weight to now be over 23 pounds. And magically, the consumer was charged the full $22.76 price on the tag — close to an eight dollar overcharge.

Here’s another example.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Walmart pork chops

The shelf label for these pork chops says they are $4.67 a pound, but the package is marked $5.17 a pound – 50 cents higher. Doing the math, the total price of that package should be $9.25, not $10.24 — which is almost a dollar higher. Yet, when the customer went to buy it, the checkout system somehow manipulated the weight of the item, raising it to 2.19 pounds instead of the actual weight of just under two pounds. The result, while the consumer was charged the price marked on the package, that was based on a higher price per pound than it should have been.

Walmart denies any wrongdoing but has tentatively agreed to settle the case for $45-million. Customers who purchased eligible groceries sold by weight from Walmart between October 19, 2018 and January 19, 2024 qualify for the settlement. If you have receipts, you can get two-percent back on eligible items up to $500. Others can get up to $25 depending on how many items they purchased.

June 5th is the deadline to submit a claim. Be sure to read the FAQs at that link.

Now my question for you, dear readers, is this: What was Walmart trying to do with this crazy practice of manipulating the net weights on the sales receipt? Were they really trying to intentionally defraud shoppers by cleverly making the sales receipt look like shoppers were charged the price on the item and the correct price per pound? If so, every state AG and weights and measures official across the country should go after them. However, I suspect something else was really going on here — some alternate explanation — but I just don’t know what it is.