According to the body, who analysed size changes in products from September ‘15 to June ’17, the majority of changes were found in food and drink products, which accounted for 70% of size reductions and 71% of size increases. This equates to 206 products that shrank (1-2.1%) and 79 that increased (0.3-0.7%).
Food products with large increases and decreases include bread and cereals; meat; sugar, jam and syrups; chocolate and confectionery.
Despite this however, the cost of products largely didn’t change - whether the size increased or decreased.
ONS said: “This analysis suggests that when size changes occur, the prices charged for the products frequently remain the same, meaning that when products get smaller, consumers tend to end up getting less good value for their money – in other words, products undergo “shrinkflation”.
“Conversely, when products get bigger, consumers may end up getting better value for their money.”
Frequencies of products with size changes: