These are the 10 products most affected by shrinkflation
A vast majority of Americans have noticed shrinkflation this past year when they went out to buy essentials according to a new analysis.
While the Federal Reserve appears to have won the war on inflation without throwing the US economy into a recession many Americans are still reeling from the cost of higher priced essentials. This cost consciousness and price sensitivity has them checking the price tags with attentiveness when shopping.
One thing a vast majority have noticed is that the price of certain products might not have changed but they got smaller, otherwise known as ‘shrinkflation’. A recent analysis by LendingTree found that a third of the nearly one hundred products that were looked at had experienced the effect.
These are the 10 products most affected by shrinkflation
The group of products that saw the highest rate of shrinkflation, were household paper products. Sixty percent of the 20 products analyzed had reduced their sheet count over the period that was examined. Twelve mega rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper saw the biggest size reduction, going from 429 sheets per roll in 2019 down to 320 in 2024, shrinking by more than a quarter.
The runner-up for the most shrinkflation was 18 mega rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper, losing just under a quarter of its sheet count per roll. Both also experienced a price increase of 13.5% for 12 mega rolls and 17.5% for 18 mega rolls.
| Product | Change in cost | Change in size |
|---|---|---|
| Angel Soft toilet paper, 12 mega rolls | 13.5% | -25.4% |
| Angel Soft toilet paper, 18 mega rolls | 17.5% | -24.7% |
| Bounty Select-A-Size paper towels, 8 triple rolls | 36.4% | -18.2% |
| Quilted Northern Ultra Plush toilet paper, 18 mega rolls | 29.1% | -17.2% |
| Charmin Ultra Strong toilet paper, 24 mega rolls | 31.4% | -15.4% |
| Great Value Ultra Strong toilet paper, 12 mega rolls | 37.5% | -15.4% |
| Charmin Ultra Soft toilet paper, 12 mega rolls | 34.3% | -14.1% |
| Cottonelle Ultra Comfort toilet paper, 12 mega rolls | 21.1% | -14.1% |
| Sparkle Pick-A-Size paper towels, 8 double rolls | 83.8% | -12.7% |
| Scott Choose-A-Sheet paper towels, 6 double rolls | 25.8% | -9.1% |
The product that saw its price increase by the most while shrinking at the same time was Sparkle Pick-A-Size paper towels 8 double rolls size. The cost per sheet rose nearly 84% while the number of sheets shrank by almost 13%. The price for 30 rolls of Scott 1000 toilet paper increased by slightly less but the sheet count remained the same.
“People are already frustrated that things cost more,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief credit analyst. “Shrinkflation just adds insult to injury. It all adds up to a lot of Americans feeling squeezed every month to afford the basic things they can’t do without.”
Over the past year, 71% of respondents to the survey by the financial platform reported noticing at least one instance of shrinkflation over the past year and 57% multiple examples. Those most attuned to seeing shrinkflation were baby boomers with 70% reporting multiple cases while Gen Zers noticed it the least with less than half reporting seeing it.
However, of those that did notice the phenomenon, 87% agreed that it is becoming more common, and they don’t like it. 82% said they would boycott companies they see using shrinkflation. 80% Gen Zers said they have stopped buying products due to shrinkflation.