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'Shrinkflation' takes edge off rising prices, industry says
Manufacturers and vendors defend the practice of reducing package sizes instead of increasing prices to keep products affordable for consumers.
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A worker arranges products in a supermarket in Jakarta on Dec. 19, 2023. (Antara/Rivan Awal Lingga)
M
ore than half of Indonesians say products they regularly buy have been downsized in a phenomenon known as shrinkflation, or the practice of reducing the size of a product while maintaining its price in an effort to conceal the effects of inflation.
Momogi corn sticks, for example, a popular snack since the early 2000s, formerly weighed 14 grams per packet but are now only 5 g after having been reduced in size several times. Their price remains around Rp 500, a fact that has sparked online debate.
Hari Kurniawan, who owns the Loemintoe bakery supply store in Senen Market in Central Jakarta, said it was sometimes necessary for his suppliers to reduce the content of a product to maintain the quality without increasing the price.
Speaking to The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, he added that many of his customers were owners of small and medium enterprises and that they might look elsewhere if the price tag changed.
In order to match the preferences and budget of different store owners, he added, he carried a variety of brands to offer similar goods at different price levels.
Hari said product sales had not been substantially impacted by shrinkflation, drawing from his experience selling basic pastry goods. He claimed that the quality of products was of greater importance to small business owners.
"Producers [Hari’s suppliers] must compete with numerous smaller competitors who offer cheaper and smaller products, leading many to downsize the products they sell," he said. “There will always be a market for people who eventually opt for a smaller-sized product.”
