Though manufacturers have always sought to cut costs and the trend is nothing new, it seems to have accelerated in recent months, as companies face sharply higher prices for raw materials and seek creative ways to cut costs. Companies paying to make corn into syrup for sweeteners - or for lumber into building products for houses - have to either eat the rising costs or pass them along to consumers. For example, some indexes contain the prices of items that consumers buy, and others contain the prices of items that businesses buy. Shrinkflation is not limited to items at the grocery store, with a number of restaurants also stealthily shrinking serving sizes in a bid to cut costs. Many wonder if the impact of shrinkflation is captured in official inflation statistics, and the answer is yes, in most cases.

Source: Daily Mail July 23, 2021 15:09 UTC