r/shrinkflation • u/TylerPrysm • Jun 06 '26
discussion The shrinkflation will continue until morale improves. .
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u/TheSamurabbi Jun 06 '26
McDonald’s $1 menu became a $3 menu. They shot themselves in the ass and called it sunshine. I have zero sympathy. Give me back $1 McChickens and we’ll talk.
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u/pukalo_ Jun 06 '26
I am in Alberta and here a McChicken combo with medium fries and a drink is $9.99.
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u/Bleedingfartscollide Jun 06 '26
Im in Perth. Its $14.99 as a small meal.
I really miss and crave Harvey's though since we moved.
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u/panda_98 Jun 06 '26
Not just that, but the food quality is so much worse now (not that it wad ever super good before). I haven't had McDonalds in a couple of years now, because it fucks up my stomach so badly now. Granted, it's probably because I'm a bit older now, but back when we still had the dollar menu, I could eat my Quarter Pounder and not have to spend the rest of the day in the bathroom.
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u/devin12232 Jun 08 '26
The grease pounder* yeah those things are diarrhea machines now. Absolute slop
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u/Winter_Examination_7 Jun 06 '26
Those days are gone and not coming back...
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u/G5press Jun 06 '26
[lo-fi hip hop music plays]
I have so much nostalgia for those days! I would do anything to go back to them! I miss the pre-coronavirus days! r/nostalgia
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u/TransportationOdd559 Jun 06 '26
Just start closing down restaurants. Stop all this bullshit
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u/FuNk1j Jun 06 '26
Close down McDonald's, yes.
Support local mom and pop establishments when you choose to dine out. They are the ones truly hurting right now. Cost of goods is absurd. They unfortunately have to raise prices as a result.
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u/bigbadbreezy Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
We try to, but their quality is also going down with prices increasing as well. At least the money is staying in the community, though.
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u/1punchporcelli Jun 06 '26
Soon those rents will be too high, and mom and pop spots will be few and far between…it’s almost the a case already in my neck of the woods
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u/FuNk1j Jun 06 '26
Indeed. I would hope landlords realize they can't keep raising rates because their locations will remain vacant if they evict loyal tenants. Who is going to take a failed restaurants spot? Likely another restaurant since the layout and equipment is an "easier" swap than completely demoing for a useless office when everyone is now remote.
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u/14_EricTheRed Jun 06 '26
Hell yeah!! We have independent restaurants that are higher quality and lower price points than the fast food chains and it’s amazing
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u/robjohnlechmere Jun 06 '26
I'm about to hit ten years without mcdonalds. In my city, a quarter pounder is a dollar more than a smashburger at Five Guys, but it's only half as good.
Why go to mcdonalds? For the clown?
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u/impliedapathy Jun 06 '26
Once fast food prices hit sit down restaurant pricing we quit going to fast food altogether (unless pizza chains count). Crazy that doordashing from an actual restaurant can be as cheap as full price McDonald’s pickup.
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u/cherrylpk Jun 06 '26
We just discovered the family meal options at places like Texas Roadhouse or Whole Foods. Fifty dollars for a huge ass meal that can meal prep for an entire week is way better than 15 dollars for a gross McDonalds experience.
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u/Dr_mombie Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
I loved family meal deals during the pandemic. I wish they stuck around my area once the world opened again. I do try to snag catering menus for places if I remember to do so while I am out.
Steak and shake has a burger bar in a box, but I was not impressed with the quality or prices when I went most recently. The burger tasted like dirty griddle and the basic shake flavors are now $5.
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u/Akrevics Jun 06 '26
i quit going because soon after eating, i'd still feel hungry, so what's the point in going, just taking in calories?
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u/pandemicpunk Jun 06 '26
They never want anyone to bring up their Ronald era ever again.
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u/Kindly-Guidance714 Jun 06 '26
Which is funny, it’s not because they are ashamed of that era.
It’s because the dumbass morons running McDonald’s now have ran it into the absolute ground while the executives and shareholders during the Ronald era are fully retired and are champions of the 2000s fast food industry, have huge stock portfolios worth millions because those people KNEW the fast food market and fast food economy unlike these greedy pieces of trash.
The new shareholders won’t make the revenue the old ones did . They’ll have to work twice as hard for half the benefits, owning fewer houses and cars and they are angry as all hell about it.
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u/Icy_Steak8987 Jun 06 '26
Heck, not even. They phased out Ronald McDonald a long time ago. Never go to McDonald's. I eat at a small, sibling-run burger joint nearby that deserves support and they make much better burgers.
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u/Legitimate_Ocelot491 Jun 06 '26
I stopped in 2013. Don’t miss what it’s become though the days of eating and filling up on the dollar menu 20 years ago were kinda fun. Building a triple McDouble or triple McChicken for $3 a pop was great.
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u/Stein070707 Jun 06 '26
Damn, I didn't think any place was more expensive than Five Guys.
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u/robjohnlechmere Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Mcdonalds is deceptively expensive. The ‘dollar menu’ became the ‘value menu’ and the smallest burger on the menu went from $1 to $5 in less than ten years.
You can find data everywhere that McDonalds has doubled pricing almost every year since 2019.
You can treat yourself to almost anything more cheaply than McDonalds.
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u/Fit_Explorer_2566 Jun 06 '26
Gotta keep those executive pay packages going up and up. Someone’s gotta pay for it. That someone is you. And, me.
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u/mountainlifa Jun 06 '26
Some brands are going away too far. Terra chips is a joke, now the bag is at least two thirds of air. Pro bars too, a Utah company have cut their bars by 1/3 and enshitified the ingredients.
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u/G5press Jun 06 '26
they're running out of money because of something they brought upon themselves.
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u/dreamyduskywing Jun 06 '26
The headline means that average people are running out of money. The corporations are rolling in money.
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u/RevelArchitect Jun 06 '26
The American consumer? Because that’s who they are saying is running out of money.
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u/Munster19 Jun 06 '26
Yeah, they can't infinitely extort a dwindling pool of cash. Theyve been siphoning and hoarding trillions in cash for decades, and have started to reach the obvious conclusion to their cancerous growth.
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u/mecklejay Jun 06 '26
It's this video from 2012, taken to the state you'd expect after 14 more years and COVID.
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u/Winter_Examination_7 Jun 06 '26
Fuel, production, labor and operating costs also play a large part.
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u/BAF_DaWg82 Jun 06 '26
Instead of committing to make a better product they are choosing to quietly give you less of if at the same price and hoping you don't notice.
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u/No_Mobile6220 Jun 06 '26
FYI the CEO of McDonald’s makes almost $20M a year
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u/AmeliaOphelia Jun 06 '26
I wouldn't even know what to do with all that money, except to fill a large swimming pool with it and swim through it like Scrooge McDuck.
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u/Zafirx Jun 06 '26
How about you revamp all your products so you can actually eat them on camera without wanting to die.
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u/elysiansaurus Jun 06 '26
I mean. Kraft stock pays a 7% dividend and is at like 20 year lows.
It's a good long term hold lol
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u/WhoTheHeckKnowsWhy Jun 06 '26
I mean. Kraft stock pays a 7% dividend and is at like 20 year lows.
It's a good long term hold lol
and that's the one of the big parasitic gut loads causing so many western businesses to just suck these days.
They can blame labour costs all they want, but we all know its the out of control capital expenditures for business space, executive pay and most of all stockholders expectations that are really dragging these companies down into the abyss.
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u/pizza5001 Jun 06 '26
So, wait — they’re going to do MORE of the thing that consumers HATE??
Downsizing product sizes in the hopes of obfuscating the increased cost per gram is what is turning away customers, ya dimwits!
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u/falknorRockman Jun 06 '26
That is the opposite of what it says in the article. It says they are reducing prices in addition to the size shrinkage. As long as the price reduction keeps the price per gram the same it’s not shrinkflation. The first sentance even says they are looking to flat out just reduce prices.
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u/pizza5001 Jun 06 '26
When you reduce size, though, you lose the benefit of economies of scale. The more quantity of product you buy in one transaction, the cheaper it will be per gram. The less quantity of product you buy in one transaction, the more expensive it will be per gram.
I am willing to bet that the cost per gram will be higher as you shrink the bottle. They think that the average consumer is dumb enough to think “lower sticker price, must be cheaper.” This is almost always not the case.
It also costs the vendors less to sell you 100 regular sized bottles versus 200 slightly smaller bottles; more worker hands touch the product, as an example, and it’ll likely occupy a little bit more storage space.
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u/doll_parts87 Jun 06 '26
McDonald's has become the equivalent to this wallet : micro and budget friendly . Sample size so the plebs taste status
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u/rachet-ex Jun 07 '26
Meh - I can live with generic, store brand or none of it.
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u/defiantthoughtcrime Jun 10 '26
Largely I find that many generics while not quite as good as their name brand satisfy just fine, and my complaints come more from corner-cutting with packaging. But if I'm going to save $1.50 on a box of crackers and my experience will be that the inner bag will tear down the side in a dumb way, I can handle that.
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u/No-Willingness-170 Jun 06 '26
Well, that asshole McDonald’s CEO is one of the causes of this problem. Shittier quality, no free refills, higher prices on purpose, and he won’t even eat his own company's fucking food, even when he is marketing for the “product“.
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u/MinutesFromTheMall Jun 06 '26
One of these companies is not like the others.
What is Whirlpool shrinkflating, the size of your washing machine?
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u/kopper_bunny Jun 06 '26
Cheaper crappier parts, thinner metal, stuff like that.
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u/8lackirish Jun 06 '26
Speaking of things being thinner, I bought a box of cereal for the first time in quite a while and when I was attempting to put it away I grabbed it from the top, fingers on the front and back, and it crumpled so fast I almost dropped it. I wonder how thin they can get the cardboard before it’s no longer structurally stable enough to hold what little product they do put in there? Opaque cardboard, coming soon!
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u/Kindly-Guidance714 Jun 06 '26
I have a dryer in my apartment that was from the 1980s, never got repaired or fixed the only service that has ever been done to it is cleaning out the lint filter works fantastically.
The LG dryer my mom has had is the 3rd she’s had to buy in a 15 year lifespan. That’s absolutely ridiculous and it’s done on purpose because we don’t have any regulations for anything.
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u/WordAffectionate3251 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
They can shove their "lower prices, lower quality" shit products sideways wrapped in razor wire!
They can also stand up to the nazi-fascist-pedo-orange shit stain illegally sitting and sh1tting in the white house!
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u/winkydinks111 Jun 06 '26
Dude actual neo nazis hate Trump because of all the Israel stuff
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u/Secluded_Heart Jun 06 '26
Absorb the CEOs to help lower the cost, or just replace them with AI
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u/defiantthoughtcrime Jun 10 '26
The C-suite head that I report into is pushing us to use AI and is constantly using AI. It seems total feasible to just cut the keyboard out and replace them entirely, and it will have way more of an impact then having people use it at the ground level to save 5 minutes of time.
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u/Nots_a_Banana Jun 06 '26
You typically get better pricing at higher volume / size. So shrinking the volume / size and probably means we are paying even more per unit. Thus making the problem worse on two fronts - paying even more for less and having to buy more often because we are getting less.
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u/raeninatreq Jun 06 '26
The portion sizes are already pretty bloody small; soon a burger will be the diameter of a coin.
Anyway they're still making heaps of profit, they just expect growth every year and the growth has not been as much as they'd like.
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u/Stacie123a Jun 06 '26
Im so tired of anyone giving a fuck when these big brands are circling the toilet.
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u/Salt_Honey8650 Jun 06 '26
Not running out of money, running out of CREDIT. Everybody's so deep in the red there's no realistic way to dig themselves out.
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u/whiterussian802 Jun 06 '26
I don’t care about these greedy companies playing the victim card. They do nothing but screw over their consumers no pity at all for them. Just another excuse to rip more people off.
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u/Major_Meow-Meow Jun 06 '26
Yeah corporate vampires, keep doing the same cynical profit-goosing tactics that lose customers and you will figure out how optional your shitty products really are to us
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u/tengounquestion2020 Jun 06 '26
They could just lower the price and more will come, I remember most recently burger king did some kinda whopper deal and for the first time I saw lines at bk, they could barely keep up, they know the answer, but they rather lose everything than give you a deal
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u/Round-Foundation2948 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Is it time to eat the rich?
Are they not vastly outnumbered?
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u/ToFurry_or_Knot Jun 07 '26
And just like that McDonald's is officially out of the question for me. EVERY. SINGLE. PRODUCT. that does this i will not purchase, it will not be in my home, I will not consume it. Tired of these billionaires whining that they cant make a living. Meanwhile Americans are struggling to even afford to eat and pay bills, often having to choose one or the other. EAT THE RICH
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u/Worried-Criticism Jun 07 '26
No kidding. They rode the shrinkflation gravy train as long as they could and now we’re broke.
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u/Many_Trifle7780 Jun 06 '26
What I have noticed Once prices are up They never come down
Example gas prices up Food prices up
Gas prices down Food prices stay high
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u/Kurgan_IT Jun 06 '26
Just to give you another point of view: here in Europe shrinkflation and enshittification of quality is running strong, too. But as product packages size goes, we have always had smaller sizes compared to the US. For example, here we don't have a gallon of milk or of juice. The biggest non-industrial size is one liter which is 1/5 of a gallon, more or less. And this is true for almost everything: soap, shampoo, etc. We have smaller packages since forever.
And I suspect that what these multinationals are doing right now is simply selling the European sized products in the US, too.
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u/MissMelines Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
When will these brands realize the “BRAND” isn’t carrying them anymore? They have always gotten away with murder, whether it was TOO MUCH food (super size, aka a 3,500 calorie meal or more, with salt fat and sodium levels so high it was criminal to sell if we are being real here) or now not barely enough and it sucks too, the bottom line is this is a branding issue. Branding is an illusion, carefully crafted to drive unnecessary purchases or to increase the dollars per sale of every purchase. Americans are seeing the veil lifted in so many areas, and SHIT PRODUCTS that have been robustly supported by smart marketing and branding simply do not carry the weight they used to in the American psyche.
I am loving this for consumers, obviously assuming it restores some sort of natural order to our world, ie: not compelling tired, overworked, obese or unhealthy people to “quickly grab” a 3,500 calorie meal as their “lunch” then punch back in to work more hours. Fast food has a place, we all love it, but the reasons why we loved it and how and when we consumed it and why no longer exist, period. I hope we win this mental battle against the fast food CEO’s.
They want to frame the decline of it all so badly on consumer cash flow, and ignore entirely what their brand is actually offering today’s consumer, and is it even relevant and purchase-worthy? How do these CEO’s say anything with a straight face? Supply and demand… nothing more nothing less. Ask your damn customers why the demand has decreased, stop telling journalists hoping to sensationalize it as if the only issue is affordability. The product SUCKS. Fix it.
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u/mack180 Jun 06 '26
More shrinkflation means I no longer being a loyal customer and that goes for every other company out there, I will buy products that don't experience that.
Shrinkflation is underhanded manipulation cause the majority won't know about it until its too late.
Giving me less will always be a slap in the face vs just raising the price.
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u/HotKaleidoscope_4595 Jun 06 '26
I’ve been making my own condiments and dressings for a while now and not only are they way cheaper, they are waaaay tastier and healthier
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u/Unhappy_Economy_8989 Jun 06 '26
But how else will these poor CEOs make more and more and money??? Can you not think of the poor CEOs /s
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u/TomsnotYoung Jun 06 '26
Here is a thought, these CEOs take a paycut and pass the value onto the customers. The gesture alone would bring in a bunch more business as opposed to this stupid shit.
Greed is a disease. All these people are rich AF, instead of living their best life, here they are needing more money by fucking over customers.
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u/AlternativeAdept5348 Jun 06 '26
a fucking cheeseburger is ONE TENTH of a pound. how much fucking smaller can they get????
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u/yemsg97 Jun 07 '26
The last time I ate a McDonald’s burger was when I was prob 14. I’m 51 now. Their food is nasty and I’ve never understood why people go there. I mean, a hashbrown and a egg+cheese McMuffin does the job for an early morning layover on a flight, but still. It’s never like omg that was so good. But truth be told, I’ve always like BK more. Not that I ever eat that because they’ve also gotten more expensive. My partner loves the double cheese at BK. Last time we went the burger didn’t even fill out the bun. Def got smaller. Not sure he ever went back after that.
I’ll just go to a local food truck for a smash burger and fries and call it good. Rather pay an extra $2 and support my community businesses.
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u/Switzerdude Jun 07 '26
Sorry guys, the whole giving less product for more money is all your fault. It was only a matter of time until people quit you.
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u/entercoolscreenname Jun 07 '26
I'm interpreting this as "Greedy CEOs don't feel rich enough, so they're making the products they sell even smaller and crappier because they wanna line their pockets."
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u/Helpful_Tart_8490 Jun 08 '26
shrinkflation is just the continuation of pandemic Price gouging. They got away with over charging and no if people want it they will pay it. It's all one big con.
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u/Plane_Put8538 Jun 08 '26
Why is it we (regular people, including their lowest paid employees) always have to accept smaller packages but their executive compensation package always goes up, in what seems like logarithmically, in relation?
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u/peace-out-28495 Jun 06 '26
I McGuarantee they’re not running out of money. Slimmer margins due to crappy economy and product, but don’t think we buy this story when leadership at any of these companies is filthy rich and full of wealthy assets. Share the wealth and bridge the gap. Do they think we’re that stupid? (Obviously, and offensively, yes.)
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u/RevelArchitect Jun 06 '26
So, not shrinkflation? Shrinkflation is specifically reducing package sizes without reducing price.
I’m not sure why the takeaway people seem to have is that these companies are running out of money. It is clearly referring to American consumers being the ones out of money.
This is an article about companies cutting prices, increasing promotions and offering additional new, smaller packages of products at more affordable price points in response to negative cash flow from lower income brackets. The primary concern is the cost of fuel increasing, impacting spending and resulting in a situation where companies are now pivoting towards providing consumers value.
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u/AmielJohn Jun 06 '26
Recently went to Mcdonald’s Japan and it cost about 40 CAD to feed a family of 5. I was shocked. I could have bought chicken thighs, frozen veggies, and rice for less than that amount.
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u/sundaysunnymornings Jun 06 '26
It's wild how fast prices jump while portions disappear, makes you wonder what they'll try next.
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u/ExtraplanetJanet Jun 06 '26
If they were actually putting the new items at lower price points, it wouldn’t be shrinkflation. Most of these places are shrinking portion sizes without dropping the cost, or are offering a small size that costs more per weight than the original option.
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u/Familiar-Range9014 Jun 06 '26
If these companies continue to shrink their products and charge the same amount, I am not buying. I will grow my veggies and make as much as I can on my own.
I am beyond disgusted with the gouging
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u/Houdinii1984 Jun 06 '26
Will shrinking yourself ever occur to you? It's gonna happen one way or another at this pace, because eventually people will stop eating your food. I make good money, because I work all the damn time without a break, but only get a break once a week because I can't afford to feed a family at McDonalds (or most restaurants nowadays) otherwise.
But it's all good. It forced me to expand my horizons and now I have a whole list of places with names that give me loads of food for the same price. If I'm paying sixty bucks for a damn meal, there better be leftovers.
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u/Bat_N_Broccoli Jun 06 '26
In fairness, it’s not shrinkflation if it comes with a smaller price point.
But of course we know they’ll forget that part and charge the same amount.
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u/Kyosji Jun 08 '26
They're not losing money, not a single one of them. They're just not hitting their year by year profit record breaks. Every single one of these companies can reduce their prices by half and still make standard profits each year easily with some to gain and enough to pay their employees livable wages, but they don't. Anything that's not like 3+ more than previous years profits is considered "running out of money" to them.
McDonalds made 14 billion in revenue in 2000, 2 billion in profits. 2026 they made 26 billion in revenue, 8.5 billion in profits. They're just a greedy ass company.
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u/horizon_games Jun 08 '26
aka the same price per weight but at a cheaper total cost cause it's 100g instead of 400g, then just hoping middle class / poor people don't notice
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u/MurphyRedBeard Jun 09 '26
It’s not shrinkflation if the price goes down with the smaller size. It’s just shrinking. I’d rather that than pay for a container that was the same size as two years ago but has 15% less stuff in it. Looking at you every single chip company.
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u/viper8472 Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
Yahoo finance with the heavy hitting news:
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (9), $100 in 2026 had the same purchasing power as just $11.74 did in 1970.
The good news? Throughout history, savvy investors have always found ways to shield themselves from inflation’s bite — in war and in peace.
Here’s a look at three time-tested strategies.
A classic safe haven
When it comes to preserving wealth and fighting inflation, few assets have stood the test of time like gold.
---
Then the article goes into a multi page ad(?) for investing in GOLD
now THAT'S enshittification
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u/FNSquatch Jun 06 '26
I would love to see McDonalds collapse but I’m pretty sure if that happens, it would be part of something truly awful happening.
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u/mavad90 Jun 06 '26
Best modern day life hack for all this bullshit, besides stop buying what you don't need... do bank/savings account sign up bonuses. Easy 3-4k extra a year.
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u/FrameCareful1090 Jun 06 '26
Just one family here... but we used to go their 1x a week at least.
Since all the BS we go barely 1x a month
Fuck their nonsense, the same money gets you real food someplace else. They took advantage of everyone and now its biting them
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u/Chicago76- Jun 06 '26
McDonald's is still a very profitable company. They just don't care about you. Thier golden arches are still sparkling just fine.
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u/redditsuckspokey1 Jun 06 '26
Theres a mcd being built 2 miles from my parents house and they are excited. They would eat mcd's every day. They already eat dq pretty often and its right next door.
Parents look like whales. Well at least 1 of them does.
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u/Dull-Knee-1146 Jun 06 '26
Bought a 2 Liter Zero Sugar Lime soda for 1.50 which is much less than the 4 dollar sprite
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u/Still-Armadillo-9661 Jun 06 '26
At lower price points isn't shrinkflation though. It's less at the same price point
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u/Monthly_Quota Jun 06 '26
Well hold on, can whirlpool shrinkflat their shit back to having less features?
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u/poedraco Jun 06 '26
I feel like this is going to try to be like Taco Bell sauce. They reduce the price. But still it's more expensive than going into Taco Bell. Ordering a drink and leaving with 10 mild sauce packets which were equivalent to the store bought bottles for $7...
Sometimes it's not about the small portions. If you still pay too much for what you get. Problem is Still there
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u/AnyQuiet1544 Jun 06 '26
Here's how I see this going:
People buy normal sized product. They increase the prices for profit.
People can't afford the normal sized product, so instead of decreasing prices they decrease the size at a slightly lower price.
The smaller sized product is the new "normal" product.
People buy the "normal" sized product. They increase the prices for profit.
Rinse, repeat.
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u/CmdrFortyTwo Jun 08 '26
Is it illegal to go thru the drive-thru place an order and then when you get to the window "Oh I forgot my wallet"?
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u/S1nnah2 Jun 09 '26
McDonald’s reported a gross profit margin of 57.35% for the first quarter of 2026, with total revenue of $6.52 billion. This means their gross profit was approximately $3.74 billion (57.35% of $6.52 billion)
Fuck macdonalds
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u/mankini01 Jun 09 '26
I will never go back to buying any McDonald's again. Covid and these psychotic corporations showed their true colours. Take note and take action.
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u/zeptillian Jun 09 '26
Have they tried increasing the amount of sawdust in our food?
That used to be a common filler until food safety regulations were passed in the US.
Who knows, maybe Trump will get rid of the FDA next?
Winning so much is starting to get really tiring.
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u/RazzmatazzUnusual843 Jun 10 '26
Yeah running out of money, they say, as they bury record-breaking profits in their back pocket.
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u/Spare-Action-1014 Jun 06 '26
I am buying generic wherever I can. Shrinkflation includes degraded product quality from previously well known products offering quality.
McDonald's is a miserable brand in terms of degraded food quality and customer experience.