Shrinkflation? Singaporean wishes their paycheck went up in tandem with prices of goods

SINGAPORE: When a Singaporean posted on a local Reddit thread that the price of a 300ml bottle of green tea was the same as what was charged for a 500-ml bottle, they and many others took it to be not just an example of inflation but shrinkflation, which happens when a product’s size or quantity is reduced but its retail price is the same.

“Is this inflation at work? 300ml vs 500ml,” wrote the post author on a r/Singapore on Sunday (July 12).

They posted a photo of a certain brand of unsweetened green tea and wrote in the caption, “New bottle of 300ml green tea. Is this the accepted size going forward? Same price but less 200ml. Wow, inflation sucks big time. Never knew this was coming. I wish my paycheck went up in tandem, but this is unacceptable.”

However, upon fact-checking, it appears that for this brand, both 300ml and 500ml bottles are available in Singapore, though the smaller-sized portion was just recently introduced. The 500-ml bottle sells for around S$1.65, and the 300-ml bottle is priced at around S$1.35, making the bigger one better value for money. Buying in bulk means even lower prices. It’s possible that the post author only saw the new smaller-sized portion and concluded that it replaced the 500ml bottles.

This is probably why a commenter asked, “Is it the same price? They sell 2 versions in Japan, the small and bigger one. The price in Japan is also barely any different. It’s a concept in Japan where people just get enough to prevent wastage, even if it’s much worse value.”

Others, nevertheless, bemoaned that, in general, prices have gone up.

When a Reddit user said that they only buy 500ml beverages on sale at 7-11 because they cost S$1, some replied that they cost S$1.20 now, plus S$0.10 for the deposit under the BCRS scheme.

Another opined that shrinkflation “has been happening for a while with many products. Yeo’s bottles shrank. A lot of milk and fruit juices shrank from 2l to 1.89l. Many pre-packed foods like cookies, cereals or chips have also shrunk in weight.”

“My Ribena pastilles cost the same (~$2.3), and they reduced it from 20 to 15 pastilles!!!!!! I feel so scammed,” added a commenter.

Another advised the post author: “Just brew your own using teabags and store in fridge, much cheaper in the long run. 1x 50pc box can make like 8x1500ml worth of ice tea.”

When a commenter wrote, “Some canned drinks are 320ml instead of the standard 330ml,” another replied, “An ice age ago, they were 375ml.” /TISG

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