While the shopper breaking out a tape measure may seem a bit extra, perhaps they have a good reason. In recent years, shoppers have faced not just inflation, but also a more insidious strategy called “shrinkflation.”
In layman’s terms, shrinkflation means paying the same price for a smaller quantity of an item than you previously received. For instance, in recent years, Doritos has slightly decreased the number of chips in each bag. Meanwhile, Gatorade redesigned its bottles to hold less liquid while maintaining the same height. Notably, these differences likely aren’t readily apparent to shoppers when they’re wandering the grocery aisles.
The Costco shopper’s desire to get their money’s worth is understandable. For $5.99, however, Costco’s pumpkin pie is, indeed, a steal. While many stores sell 22-ounce pumpkin pies, Costco’s pumpkin pie weighs in at 58 ounces. Fortunately, the next time you go to the store, there’s no need to break out the tape measure—this shopper has already done that work for you; you may, however, need to test if Costco’s pies are made with real pumpkins.