By Susan Duclos - All News PipeLine

We have all seen and felt the rising costs of foods and other products over the past year-plus, and those prices continue to rise as more and more empty shelves are being documented from coast to coast by consumers, and we have discussed the business practice of "shrinkflation."

A number of reports explain and show that shrinkflation, and listening to word of mouth and watching online chatter, along with seeing the visual proof of the practice is compelling, but when viewing those visuals together in one place, the insidious extent of this practice is quite shocking.

Quartz describes "shrinkflation" in the following manner:

Downsizing a product while keeping its price the same is sometimes called “shrinkflation”—a combination of the words shrink and inflation. Companies face higher prices for their supplies and may try to pass that onto the consumer. Downsizing a product reduces costs for manufacturers.

Shoppers tend to be price-sensitive but they may not notice subtle changes in packaging, or read the fine print on the size or weight of a product. The result is that consumers are less likely to notice getting less if the price is the same.

The graphic provided with examples by Quartz, shown above, while showing what "Shrinkflation" is does not adequately do justice to the breadth of the issue, nor what it means for families across America.

Related: The Hidden Ways Companies Raise Prices

The problem with the examples shown in the QZ article's graphic is it severely understates the scope of the issue. You look at it and think, 5 less Doritos, 3 less sheets per roll of toilet paper, and it is easy to wave it away thinking a mountain is being made out of a mole hill. 

The QZ article linked to a "subreddit" regarding shrinkflation, and bypassing the accounts of what is being seen and just focusing on the visual proof being offered, the monetary hit for a family is exponentially worse than even those of us that have been documenting this constant "shrinkflation" found it shocking. 

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