15 Smart Ways Companies Trick Their Customers

By FizX on November 13, 2020@fizx

In marketing, there is a process in which product contracts in size or quantity or even get its quality lowered, while the price of that product remains the same. You can say making a certain product cost more without altering its original price. Sounds wrong? Well, it does for a lot of folks. Despite that, many well-known food and drink companies have been using this approach for years and with great success, check out some of the great success stories below.

In 2016, Pringles fans started seeing how their favorite chips are now smaller. In addition, some mentioned that the tube itself also shrunk, making it harder for some people to get in. Despite that, the price remained the same. “Is this Pringles can getting smaller or my arm getting fatter?” a consumer went on Twitter to express their concern. The company explained that the reason behind these changes was that production shifted from the USA to Malaysia. “The equipment we use in Malaysia is a bit different from our sister factory in the US … you’ll see that both the chip and the can are somewhat smaller to fit with the production facility,” the company explained.

Back in 2016, Toblerone revealed they were altering the famous design of their UK bars by adding bigger gaps between the mounds, which meant that the bars were about to have 10% less chocolate for the same price. Apparently, the unfortunate change was due to an increase in the price of the ingredients. People weren’t too happy about it, to say the least. Two years later, the company decided to bring back the original shape. Sadly, the price of the bar had to be raised as well.

For a long time, the clear glass cookware brand Pyrex was known for making fireproof glassware. Ironically, a few years ago, the pans started exploding when they got too hot. Apparently, the manufacturer switched to a cheaper ingredient that strengthened the glass against being dropped but weakened it against thermal shock.

According to Metro, last year, a man named William Knight happened across a “vintage” 1996 Mars bar in the bottom of an old box in his loft. After measuring the old bar against a modern-day one, the man was surprised how much bigger the “vintage” one was. Despite that, the price of the bar has more than doubled since then.

For many years, a Double Stuf Oreo pack has evolved from being 16.6 oz to 15.35 oz and is still being marketed for the same price.

Many well-known chocolate bars have been shrunken down over time, but their prices haven’t changed. For instance, a Twix bar is now about 14% smaller than it was back in the day. Apparently, in 2012 Mars, Inc. (who make Twix) announced a 250 calorie cap on all single-serve chocolate bars, and because of that, many of their products have been downsized.

Turns out, some bags of Lay’s potato chips contain fewer chips than others. Lay’s regular “Family Size” packs are 10 oz., but the company’s bags of flavored chips are 9.5 oz, yet both sell for the same price. According to the Associated Press, the difference is equivalent to approximately 5-6 chips.

Customers have been seeing that throughout the year’s many cereal companies have been decreasing the amount of cereal they’re selling in a box while maintaining the price the same. Many brands have been making the boxes slimmer, so from the first sight, it looks to be the same size as it used to be.

Back in 2017, customers started seeing that the size of family-size cartons of Tropicana downsized by nearly 9 percent. Despite the change, the price continued the same.

At the start of this year, someone on Reddit notified that Powerade was also influenced by shrinkflation. Apparently, the original 32 oz bottles were reduced to 28 oz, but the price continued exactly the same.

In 2014, Coca-Cola reduced the size of its big bottle from 2 liters to 1.75 liters. However, the price continued the same.

Cadbury declared that by the end of 2021, they’re going to decrease the calorie count of bars that are marketed in multipacks. According to BBC, the four-packs packs of these famous sweets are about to hold no more than 200 calories each. “We must play our part in tackling obesity and are committed to doing so without jeopardizing on consumer choice,” said Louise Stigant, UK managing director at Mondelez International, according to BBC. However, they’re not intending on reducing the price.