In recent years, there have been cases in various parts of the world where the volume or weight of foodstuff and daily necessities were reduced while shelf prices remained unchanged. Reasons may vary but in the eyes of consumers, they are tantamount to “hidden price hikes”. This kind of “shrinkflation” phenomenon has become commonplace in many parts of the world including Hong Kong, yet consumers may be unable to identify it when shopping. The Consumer Council surveyed over 60 supermarket products with volume or weight changes around the past 3.5 years, and found that over 90% had a cut in volume or weight of as much as 30%, while 3 products (2 samples of biscuits and 1 sample of cat food) had been downsized twice in less than 3 years. Based on the average per unit recommended retail price (RRP), nearly 40% of the products with a RRP provided by the agents saw a de facto price increase of over 10%, with the highest at 26.2%. The Council reminds consumers to be more attentive to the volume or weight of goods, and whether there are changes in packaging design or description, paying special heed to compare the unit price, so as to estimate expenses in a more objective and accurate manner. The Council also calls on agents and retailers to improve product information transparency, clearly labelling any changes in volume or weight on both the packaging and at the point of sale, as well as displaying the unit price to provide consumers with more comprehensive information while mitigating the risk of negative brand image.
The Council selected products from its “Online Price Watch” with volume or weight changes between January 2021 and July 2024, as shown on supermarket websites, and submitted the collated information to relevant agents for verification. The scope of this survey included changes in the original and existing product volume or weight, whether the RRP has changed, and reasons for such changes, etc. The survey covered a total of 62 products, including foodstuff (43 products), daily necessities (17 products), and pet food (2 products). As there might be a time lag in volume or weight changes as shown on supermarket websites, the weight of 4 products had actually been changed as early as in 2020 as per the agent’s confirmation.
Over 90% Surveyed Products Downsized in Volume or Weight
Confectionery, Biscuits and Snacks the Most Common
Unless specified on the product packaging, such as “5kg”, “1-litre”, “10-pack”, etc., it is hard for consumers to spot minor changes to the volume or weight of a product. The survey found that among the 62 items with relevant changes, over 90% (58 products) had been downsized by 1.3% to 30%, among which 25 products had been reduced by 10% or more. The product downsized the most (30%) was a cornflakes product which had dropped from 250g to 175g in weight, followed by a canned hot dog sausage downsized from 250g to 200g (20%), and the third was a massage cream product, which was reduced from 156g to 125g (19.9%) in weight.
By product category, the most common type of downsized goods was confectionery, biscuits and snacks (24 items), with decreases ranging from 2.3% to 17.5%, followed by personal care products (10 items) with decreases from 2.9% to 19.9%. On the other hand, the volume or weight of 4 items increased, including 1 chocolate product, 1 kidney bean product, 1 baby lotion product and 1 hand wash product, with increases ranging from 0.3% to 11.9%.
3 Products Downsized Twice Within 3 Years
Varied Reduction Rates for Different Flavours or Series
One way to downsize goods is to reduce the number of pieces in a package, a phenomenon that mainly occurs in food products that are divided into several smaller packages. 1 orange biscuit bar product was downsized from 8 pieces to 7 pieces per package; 1 peanut chocolate product cut packets from 15 to 13 per package; and 1 biscuit sticks product cut packets from 9 to 8 per package, while the weight of each packet also shrunk from about 15.9g to about 14.8g.
Moreover, the volume or weight of some products shrank repeatedly between the survey period. Among them, the weights of 3 products were slashed twice within 3 years, including 2 sandwich cookies of the same brand and 1 cat food. The weight of the cat food was cut from the original 1.2kg to 1.1kg, then further reduced to 1kg, downsizing by 16.7% in total. Consumers should also note that products of the same brand but in different flavours or series may not have the same volume or weight adjustments. Taking a baby diaper product as an example, among the 5 sizes from newborn to extra-large, the number of pieces was reduced by 9.1% to 15.6%, the smaller the size, the greater the rate of reduction. Moreover, the weight of 2 different flavoured cup noodles from the same brand, originally both at 75g, had been reduced by 4% and 1.3% respectively after adjustment.
Recommended Retail Price Not Lowered Along with Downsizing
Unit Prices Contrarily Increased by up to 26%
Despite cuts in product volume or weight, some consumers reflected to the Consumer Council that prices of some had risen rather than dropped. Based on the RRP of 39 products provided by agents, the Council calculated the retail prices per 10g/ml/piece and found that 16 products recorded an actual price increase of 10% or more per unit, mostly in the confectionery, biscuits and snacks category, and personal care products category. The item with the highest increase, an orange biscuit bar product, not only saw its weight shrink from 176g to 154g, but also a RRP hike from $33.5 to $37, i.e. price per 10g rose by 26.2% compared to that before the weight change, making it the item with the steepest price hike. The RRP of 1 massage cream product, ranked third in weight reduction, remained unchanged at $228, resulting in a price increase of about 24.8% per 10g. 1 biscuit sticks product with an unchanged RRP ($17.9) saw an approximately 21.2% price increase per 10g due to a diminished weight from 143g to 118g. Among these 39 products, only 1 baby lotion product had a volume increase of 0.3% with RRP unchanged, resulting in a 0.3% drop in price per 10ml.
Actual Retail Price of 85% Rose 1 Month After Volume or Weight Change
Shelf price is decided by retailers after considering the RRP and other factors, and is also the final transaction price for consumers. Based on past data from the Council’s “Online Price Watch”, the unit prices of 60 items[1] during the specified time period were compared and revealed that the average unit prices of about 85% of the items (51 products) were higher 1 month after volume or weight changes than 1 month before, with increases ranging from 0.5% to 103.6%, among which the average unit prices of 7 products rose by over 20%. 1 massage cream product mentioned above showed the largest change in average price per 10g, with an increase of over twofold (103.6%). On the other hand, the average unit prices of 8 products dropped from 0.1% to 17.9%. The survey also looked at the trend of price changes over extended periods, and found that 6 months after product volume or weight change, the average unit prices of as many as 95% of the products (57 products) had increased compared with 6 months before, among which 4 products rose by over 20%, with the highest being the same massage cream product at 39.6% increase per 10g. Only 3 products, belonging to either an individual brand of chocolate, or personal care product category, recorded decreases in average unit price from 1.2% to 19.6%.
Traders Urged to Proactively Display Changes and Unit Price to Boost Transparency
Shrinkflation affects people’s livelihoods. Korea and France have put in place corresponding control measures such as requiring traders to display relevant changes on packaging or in shops, showing such details within a specified time period to alert consumers, and offenders are liable to a fine. In Australia, a consumer rights organisation has also published a report on products most associated with shrinkflation. In this survey, some agents explained that they had to adjust the product volume or weight but maintain the original price due to rising costs, while others claimed that changes were for the purpose of standardising packaging in different markets to enhance production efficiency. The Council is of the view that consumers are the ultimate stakeholders affected and the party to pay, and agents have the responsibility to clearly state volume or weight changes of goods on the packaging or at the point of sale, so as to promote product information transparency and protect consumers’ rights to accurate information.
In addition, retailers may also follow the practice of many supermarkets and shops overseas by setting out the unit price of each product on the shelves, so as to facilitate consumers’ comparison of value of products in different volumes or weights and make judgements on the more economical product. Retailers should also have in-store displays at conspicuous places and on websites about any changes in product volume or weight to keep consumers informed. Consumers may also take note of these tips to discern shrinkflation:
- For frequently purchased foodstuff or daily necessities, pay heed to the volume or weight and the corresponding shelf price to calculate the unit price for comparison;
- Changes in packaging design or shape, or wordings such as “new formula” or “upgraded” may indicate a change in product volume or weight;
- Make good use of the Consumer Council’s “Online Price Watch”, which lists the retail price as well as the unit price per item for comparison (https://online-price-watch.consumer.org.hk/opw).
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[1] 2 out of the 62 items were included in the Council’s “Online Price Watch” after the date of weight change, and hence relevant data could not be analysed.