shrinkflation — Scope | Disability forum
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shrinkflation

woodbine
woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
Are you old enough to remember when wagon wheels were the size of a small wheel, now they're more like a 50p piece, or when walnut whips had 2 walnuts?

What examples can you think of where something has "shrunk" in size but is still the same price?
2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

Comments

  • Oxonlady
    Oxonlady Scope Member Posts: 566 Pioneering
    Hi @woodbine, I can no longer eat my favourite chocolate bars or other sweet things due to diabetes but I remember that the likes of Mars Bars, Milky Way, Toffee crisp, Picnic, Topic etc were much larger in size and cheaper!
    One of my favourites was called Amazin Raizin but they stopped making it many years ago! 

  • coylygirl
    coylygirl Community member Posts: 283 Pioneering
    Curly wurly's - I needed a chocolate fix so bought a pack of 5, but they were tiny!
  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
    Tins of quality street and Rose's lots smaller and full of all the coffee creams and strawberry creams not many of the nice ones like hazelnut whirl 
  • Sandy_123
    Sandy_123 Scope Member Posts: 46,788 Disability Gamechanger
    I bought a pack of coconut snow balls couple of months ago, to be disappointed by the size, they were more then half sized.
  • leeCal
    leeCal Community member Posts: 7,550 Disability Gamechanger
    The last time I bought four inch nails they were literally half the diameter of the old four inch nails, mind you the old ones did take some knocking in. 
    Four by two is also more like 3 3/4” by 1 3/4” too, whereas years ago it was a full four by two inches, hence its name. 

    Ive also notice that the soles of shoes seem to be of a lower quality than years ago. The uppers seem to be similar but not the soles. Perhaps they think everyone drives or takes public transport so they’ve compromised on the soles? 

    “This is my simple religion. No need for temples. No need for complicated philosophy. Your own mind, your own heart is the temple. Your philosophy is simple kindness.” 
    ― Dalai Lama XIV

  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    Theres little hope left @leeCal if 4" nails aren't 4" anymore  :)
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • Francis_theythem
    Francis_theythem Community member Posts: 120 Pioneering
    I'm only 24 and even I remember these things - must have happened within the last 10 years or so! Sadly many mass produced biscuits and sweets seem to be getting like this. Smaller, less popular ones less so. My coconut crimbles have remained the same (fortunately!), but when I used to eat mars bars and milky way when I was out sailing with my dad as a kid - those were much bigger then. Alas.
    I have begun to go for small business crafted goods as much as possible now. They seem much better quality than mass produced products, so I fear it is a cost of having to cater for a much bigger market.
  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,521 Disability Gamechanger
    I think the start of the problem can be linked to the explosion in the number of £ shops in the last 15 years or so, in order to stick to a £1 price many things have had to become smaller, trouble is the model has been adopted by most retailers.
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

  • Lisatho11987777
    Lisatho11987777 Scope Member Posts: 5,911 Disability Gamechanger
    I had a pack of five curly wurlys not long ago  I was shocked how small and how thin they were  I think everything has got smaller but prices are quite high for what we are getting compared to what size they used to be 
  • Grinchy
    Grinchy Community member Posts: 1,808 Disability Gamechanger
    I remember mr freeze lollyices as being bigger than they are now, and your right on the chocolate bar front, they all seem to have shrunk, prices haven't though
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community member Posts: 13,368 Disability Gamechanger
    edited February 2021
    I think this is true...

    When we went from imperial to metric a shot of alcoholic spirit changed from 1 ounce to 25ml.

    1 ounce is 29.5ml so it was rounded down. They could have rounded it up to 30!

    However the humble pint was too tenacious and remained a pint (568ml) and was not changed to millilitres. In Europe a serving of beer is 500ml.
  • Adrian_Scope
    Adrian_Scope Posts: 10,821 Scope online community team
    I'm glad I'm not the only one that's noticed this. Most days I find something new that's appeared to have shrunk - particularly when it comes to snacks. Crisps may as well be bags of air now.
    Community Manager
    Scope
  • 66Mustang
    66Mustang Community member Posts: 13,368 Disability Gamechanger
    As well as for cost I think some snack portion sizes have gotten smaller so they can claim the calories are under a certain number - often 100.

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