Shrinkflation, or when manufacturers make their products smaller rather than raise prices, is a contender for buzziest retail portmanteau. (Hang in there, phygital!)

It is not a term of endearment. On TikTok, outraged videos feature newly downsized products that cost the same as before.

• Almost half (48%) of consumers choose a different brand when they notice a product has been shrinkflated, according to an August survey by Morning Consult.
• Subsequently, 49% of them opt for private labels.

But what may make it even harder for shoppers to notice shrinkflation: the amorphous way terms like “family size” and “giant size” are emblazoned on products. Some cereal brands have recently reduced the contents of their family- and giant-sized boxes by more than 20%, and if shoppers are only looking at the size descriptors, they might miss that the actual size of the product is smaller.

They might be smaller giants. In a recent post on his website, Mouse Print, Edgar Dworsky, a consumer advocate and lawyer, compared recently redesigned boxes of Post Honey Bunches of Oats and Kellogg’s Corn Flakes.

• Honey Bunches of Oats had previously labeled a 23 oz. box as “family size,” but now does so for an 18 oz. box, and a 23 oz. box is now labeled “giant size.”
• Kellogg’s Corn Flakes had until recently labeled a 24 oz. box as “family size,” but now does so on an 18 oz. box, and a 24 oz. box is now labeled as “giant size.”

Shrinking family size is “problematic,” Dworsky told Retail Brew. “Because if you’re habituated to buy the family size…that gives [brands] an opportunity to tinker with the net weight and possibly go undetected by many folks.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

New consumer behavior survey data from decision intelligence company Morning Consult suggests that while a majority of adults in the US are concerned about climate change, consumers aren’t on the same page about the retail industry’s impact.

Morning Consult polled 2,200 US adults in late June, and found that only 60% of respondents said they were concerned about retail’s role in climate change.

• Survey respondents were asked to describe what it means to shop sustainably. Thirty percent said they didn’t know or didn’t care.

“As someone who…pays so much attention to all these different brand initiatives about sustainable product manufacturing, or delivery or packaging and all these amazing innovations…to see how little of it is breaking through to consumers was disheartening,” Claire Tassin, retail and e-commerce analyst at Morning Consult, told Retail Brew.

Self-reflection: The survey indicates that shoppers are more concerned about the impact of retail manufacturing on the environment than on individual shopping behaviors, Tassin told us. Only about a fifth of respondents consider their own shopping choices to have a “major impact” on climate change.

And retail industry innovations like reusable packaging and electric vehicles don’t seem to register with shoppers, Tassin said.

• Consumers worry more about product manufacturing than fast fashion and online shopping, the poll data showed.
• 27% of respondents said they were “very concerned” about the impact of product manufacturing, while 22% were very concerned about fast fashion, and 21% about individual shopping decisions.

Keep reading here.—MA

Today’s top retail reads.

Three cheers: American manufacturing jobs are experiencing a resurgence, not led by companies bringing jobs back from overseas, but by pharmaceutical plants, craft breweries, and ice cream makers. (The New York Times)

End of an era: Skinny jeans aren’t dead yet, but the end may not be far off. Retailers are drastically reducing their skinny jeans selections—by 52% in menswear and 29% in the women’s department in 2022—and say they view the style as more of a core item than a trend. (Sourcing Journal)

In the flesh: TikTok stars are turning their digital fame into brick-and-mortar success, not just by starting their own brands, but by making forays into resale. (Financial Times)

Seasons change: And this holiday season comes bearing gifts of low budgets, no third-party data, and inflation. Join executives from Lands’ End and FTD for Rokt’s upcoming webinar on delivering holiday happiness while adjusting to shifting consumer priorities. Sign up here.*

Power up the purchase: Customers are more likely to complete their buying journeys when they experience a seamless checkout. See how Bolt helps businesses use One-Click Checkout and frictionless shopping capabilities to get customers past the finish line here.*

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What happened in the world of retail this week in…1908 and beyond? Retail Brew takes you way, way, way back.

• On September 28, 2018, the Venta Maersk became the first cargo ship to complete a passage of the Northern Sea Route, which was previously inaccessible due to ice. It was carrying frozen fish and electronics.
• On October 1, 1982, Sony released the first commercially available CD player.
• On October 1, 1908, Henry Ford’s Model T went on sale for the first time.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Forget last-mile, it’s supply chains’ first mile that poses the biggest challenge
• How a luxury boutique hotel makes retail work
• Checking in with shop-in-shops